One of Theater’s most haunting stories set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the late 1600s was brought to life at The Storm King School and it was as powerful and thought-provoking as ever. Two riveting performances of Arthur Miller’s 1953 classic, The Crucible, took place at the Walter Reade Jr. Theatre recently courtesy of The SKS Performing Arts Department and the play’s talented cast.
Based on the historical events of the 1692 Salem witch trials, the play depicts the real consequences of false accusations based on blind religious faith and the extreme behavior that can result from dark desires and hidden agendas. The play’s four acts follow the dilemma of John and Elizabeth Proctor, a farming couple who get caught up in the witch trials after Abigail Williams, with whom John had an illicit affair, accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft in hopes of taking her place at John’s side. Desperate to clear his wife’s name, John attempts to convince the court of her innocence, but instead finds himself in trouble when Abigail turns on him. The end of the play, based on true events, is both tragic and disturbing as John is arrested for witchcraft himself.
“The Crucible was a challenging play to produce due to the intensity of the subject matter,” explained Performing Arts Department Chair Anne Fulton. “We decided to do the show with a minimal set and props to portray the starkness of the time. Each cast member had a substantial amount of dialogue and cues to memorize, and the history behind the story had to be understood to make the play believable. For a few students, it was their first experience performing on stage. Madison B. ’24 and Mohanad A. ’25 as the Proctors, Andrea L. ’25 as Abigail, and Caroline C. ’24 as Mary Warren handled their scenes very well. All of the cast gave excellent performances and I’m very proud of their accomplishments. I’m also looking forward to working with many of them again on our upcoming musical, Cinderella, this spring.”
Congratulations to the cast for their outstanding performance and thank you to all of the faculty, staff, and parents who supported our student-actors and the show. A special thanks to the stage crew for making the show happen behind the scenes.
CAST OF CHARACTERS (in order of appearance):
BETTY PARRIS:
Kaitlyn M. ’27
REVEREND SAMUEL PARRIS:
Ethan B. ’25
TITUBA:
Bijou S. ’24
ABIGAIL WILLIAMS:
Andrea L. ’25
SUSANNA WALCOTT:
Isabella B. ’26
MRS. ANN PUTNAM:
Dana X. ’24
THOMAS PUTNAM:
Yusei S. ’25
MERCY LEWIS:
NaRae T. ’24
MARY WARREN:
Caroline C. ’24
JOHN PROCTOR:
Mohanad A. ’25
REBECCA NURSE:
Matilde B. ’24
GILES COREY:
Nicole T. ’24
REVEREND JOHN HALE:
Jasper L. ’24
ELIZABETH PROCTOR:
Madison B. ’24
FRANCIS NURSE:
Burak O. ’25
CHEEVER:
Adrian Y. ’27
WILLARD:
James Bennett (faculty)
DEPUTY GOVERNOR DANFORTH:
River T. ’24
SARAH GOOD:
Stephanie L. ’24
