The Observer, April 4, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 23
GLTF breathes new life into Miller classic
The Crucible, Arthur Miller's McCarthyism-meets-Salem play about witch-hunting, introduces its audience to the inherent flaws of moral panic and proceeds to show how those flaws can be exploited to the benefit of the crafty. This theme, the most important of the masterpiece's plot, shines through beautifully in The Great Lakes Theater Festival's production, which opened last Saturday at the Ohio Theater in Playhouse Square.
Miller penned The Crucible during the height of the McCarthy-related communist hunt that haunted U.S. legislature through the beginning of the 1950s. Miller saw hypocrisy in the accusations that were being tossed around, and thought it necessary to present this information using a famous vehicle, such as the Salem witch trials. Though not entirely historically accurate, his account of the trials acts as a perfect comparison to the McCarthy trials, and brilliantly displays the social consequences of such actions.
This production is well executed from the top down, starting with superb direction from Drew Barr. While the cast contains some weak links, the direction is so fundamentally sound that the weaknesses are easily overlooked and forgotten. Characters interact perfectly, and lines are delivered so poignantly that the audience feels the emotion seeping through. When John Proctor is delivering his final monologue, the pauses and breaths are so perfectly timed that the crowd can't help but weep with the protagonist.
Of course, good direction would mean nothing without a competent cast. Luckily for Barr, not only is this cast competent, it is, for the most part, excellent. Mr. Proctor, played by Andrew May, is cast perfectly as the thoughtful and somber lead, while Abigail Williams, a character easily overplayed due to her absurd nature, is performed dead-on by Sara M. Bruner. In addition, both Mary Warren, with her fragile nature and broken spirit, and Reverend Parris, whose personality turns as the play unfolds, are perfectly crafted by the actors, Alicia Kehn and David Anthony Smith. Even when the cast is at its weakest (in the cases of Elizabeth Proctor, played by Laura Perrotta, who comes off much too soft and timid, and Reverend John Hale, performed by Jeffrey C. Hawkins, who can sometimes seem emotionless), the show seems to overcome, and even hits a stride that pulls the stragglers in and sets them straight.
The set and costumes, designed by Narelle Sissons and Kim Krumm Sorenson respectively, seem modern and are out of place with the setting of the play. Even so, they do not harm the overall production, and it is admirable that Sisson and Sorenson had the courage to take such an unusual chance. In addition, the lighting, arranged by Rick Martin, beautifully highlights the best features of the set.
Miller's play has become a standard to the theater world. This has allowed it to become a fall-back play, leading to subpar productions on both the small and large scale. It has become easy to take for granted the beauty of The Crucible's words. But Great Lakes manages to highlight the most glorious parts, putting on a production that is both enjoyable and heart wrenching, a paradox fitting for Miller himself.
