Latest news with #SalemWitchTrials
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘John Proctor Is the Villain' stars Sadie Sink and Fina Strazza, playwright Kimberly Belflower on reading ‘The Crucible' for the first time
'I hadn't read it since college,' says playwright Kimberly Belflower of Arthur Miller's iconic play The Crucible. She drew inspiration for John Proctor Is the Villain from that 1953 drama and found herself compelled to reread the work — an allegory of the McCarthy era in American politics told through the lens of the Salem Witch Trials — in 2017 at the height of the #MeToo movement. A comment by Woody Allen comparing the movement to a 'witch hunt' sparked the idea to revisit Miller's play because she says her 'brain just thinks in fiction.' Belflower recently sat down with Gold Derby and other journalists at the 2025 Tony Awards Meet the Nominees press event. Set in 2018 in a small town in Georgia, John Proctor Is the Villain centers on a group of high school juniors reading The Crucible in English class when accusations of sexual misconduct begin rippling through their community and hit extraordinary close to home. 'I don't know if I would have come to the same conclusions if I wasn't re-reading it in that exact moment in time,' Belflower observes of her reaction to The Crucible, adding, 'I love to revisit things over time because they have different resonances in our larger culture, but also in your own personal time.' She believes the play has been striking a chord with young theatergoers, especially young women, because 'it's a play that takes young girls seriously and recognizes them as the smart, multidimensional people that they are, and gives them the space to be vulnerable and messy and ugly and weird.' More from GoldDerby What happens in the 'Andor' finale, and how it leads into 'Rogue One' 'Every actor likes to play a villain': Ron Howard on playing himself in 'The Studio' Krysten Ritter is returning as Jessica Jones in 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 Belflower leaves the door open to reworking more Arthur Miller plays, too. 'There have been so many women playwrights who have been re-examining Miller. There's Eleanor Burgess' Wife of a Salesman. Most recently I saw the Bushwick Starr production of Julia May Jonas' A Woman Among Women, which is re-examining All My Sons," says Belflower. "Both of those, it legit makes me want to go back and reread a lot of Arthur Miller.' Unlike Belflower, John Proctor featured actress Fina Strazza had never read Miller's play as a student. While she first dove into the text to prepare to star in Belflower's work, the new play didn't influence her take on the original material. The actress, who made her Broadway debut in Matilda at eight years old, told Gold Derby, 'Even though our show has a very assertive, direct title proclaiming that John Proctor is the villain, it's really just encouraging people to re-examine historical texts and allow different perspectives, and maybe open yourself up to the possibility that the people you think are heroes might have some flaws as well.' Strazza, who plays the unflinchingly thorough, star pupil Beth in the production, adds, 'I've re-read it a few times and found different heroes and different villains. I like to think that Elizabeth Proctor is the hero of that story.' SEE Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' When Gold Derby interviewed Sadie Sink last month, the Stranger Things and The Whale actress recalled reading The Crucible in high school but admits, 'I was just trying to make it through the year honestly. It was mostly about getting it done.' The stage veteran of Annie and The Audience knew she wanted to return to the stage after her recent film and television work and said, "When John Proctor came along, it just felt like it was something that spoke to me but also could really matter and felt like really important work that needed to be shared on the biggest scale possible, and I didn't know that meant Broadway at the time.' John Proctor Is the Villain is the most Tony-nominated Broadway play of the season with seven citations. In Gold Derby's latest odds, the drama ranks second in Best Play and could be a challenger to the frontrunner Oh, Mary! The play also ranks second in the all-important Best Director category for Danya Taymor, who pulled off an unexpected victory last year in the musical director category for her work on The Outsiders. Elsewhere, the play ranks third in Featured Actress for Strazza, Featured Actor for Gabriel Ebert, and Sound Design, and fourth for lead actress Sink and in Lighting Design. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' 'It should be illegal how much fun I'm having': Lea Salonga on playing Mrs. Lovett and more in 'Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends' 'Death Becomes Her' star Jennifer Simard is ready to be a leading lady: 'I don't feel pressure, I feel joy' Click here to read the full article.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Crucible review – Miller's resonant tale of terror given radical sense of humour
There is never a time when Arthur Miller's play about a world turned upside down by collective hysteria and scapegoating does not bear some resonance. But the present moment – of dangerously disputed truths and lies – is an especially pertinent moment to revisit Miller's analogy between accusations of witchcraft and McCarthyist terror. This production is faithful to the original 17th-century setting, amid the heat and panic of the Salem witch trials. There is period dress: bonnets for women, pointed hats for men and ribbons for the judges, along with a range of broad British accents for these original American pilgrims. But director Ola Ince brings a quietly radical touch in the form of humour – more absurdist than comic, with accusations of flying girls and demon possession taking on preposterous tones. The men, mostly the judges of the last two acts, appear bumbling, like yokels arguing over the fate of their chattel at a country fair. Deputy Governor Danforth (Gareth Snook) is particularly clownish, though no less awful for it. A few songs by composer Renell Shaw give the town's girls and women a greater voice in an otherwise dutiful revival which flies in the first half but slows to a trudge by the third act. Maybe because of the laughter, there is also less creepiness to the band of girls who accuse the adults of satanism, and less terror to the court scenes, too. You see the panicked calculation in Tituba (Sarah Merrifield)'s original, forced 'confession' but you do not feel her visceral fear. The note of absurdism makes it less terrifying, more ridiculous. Still, there is some fine acting from Gavin Drea as John Proctor and Hannah Saxby as his sometime lover, Abigail Williams, who burns with the young, single-minded passion of the spurned. The showdowns in court, with the judges and those between John and Elizabeth Proctor (the a played compellingly by Phoebe Pryce), come weighted with emotion and tragedy. It is also painful to see Mary Warren (Bethany Wooding) as she tries to explain the peer pressure that made her lie in court and be disbelieved by the men around her. Amelia Jane Hankin's set design has a Quaker bareness, pious and unadorned, with wooden bedsteads and big kitchen tables. There is an almost painterly quality to some scenes with a top window on the stage featuring a tableau of the accused: women standing as still as statues, waiting for their fate to be decided by the men in power. It is a shame the pace slows to such a degree (performed at three hours on press night). Even so, discretely powerful scenes go some way to bringing the tension back, and as the first Miller play to be staged at the Globe it is a powerfully pertinent choice. At Shakespeare's Globe, London, until 12 July
Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
The Crucible review — a stolid, no-frills revival at the Globe
The skies were busier than usual above Shakespeare's Globe, with aeroplanes and helicopters buzzing away overhead. But that, in a way, seemed fitting for a play that has its share of sudden interventions, real or imaginary, from on high. It certainly makes sense to bring Arthur Miller's portrait of the Salem witch trials to the period stage of the Globe. No gimmicks, no ultra-modern conceits. Ola Ince's stolid, no-frills production possesses the aura of a travelling show that has pitched its tents by the Thames and set out its wares for the passing public. If the tempo drags during the lengthy first-half exposition, the groundlings find themselves drawn into the tumult in the courtroom scene, witnesses and officials taking their places among the audience. This
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fannin County school play canceled over copyright violation, principal says
A play being put on by students at Fannin County High School was canceled after one performance, frustrating parents. The production of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible,' an examination of both the Salem Witch Trials and an allegory for the dangers of McCarthyism during the Red Scare of the 1950s, premiered Friday. Its Saturday night performance, however, was canceled by Fannin County High School, leaving parents perplexed and, according to some posts responding to the announcement, frustrated with the school. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] In a statement posted Saturday afternoon, the high school did not provide details about why the show would no longer be staged. 'I'm extremely disappointed in this decision. For whoever had a problem with the play, they should have been more proactive about learning that information way before our kids put hours and effort into their show. They should not be penalized for doing a play that was approved months ago,' one commenter said. After an outpouring of support by the community, the show went on at a local theater and on Monday, the school explained why the show was canceled. TRENDING STORIES: Parents sue after they say 6-year-old daughter was racially attacked at school: 'It's disturbing' 'It just smelled funny': Uber drivers unwittingly used as drug mules in metro Atlanta Gwinnett County shelter for unhoused community reopens 2 years after flooding damage 'When this news became available on Facebook earlier today, a number of people stepped into action to make the play happen and as a result, THE SHOW WILL GO ON!!!!!' a parent told Channel 2 Action News on Saturday night. In a statement released by the high school, Principal Dr. Scott Ramsey and other school leaders said they'd 'received several complaints as to an unauthorized change in the script of the play.' While the changes themselves were not detailed, and Channel 2 Action News has reached out for more information, school officials said the copyright violation from their license of the play made their decision for them. 'Upon investigation, we learned that the performance did not reflect the original script. These alterations were not approved by the licensing company or administration. The performance contract for The Crucible does not allow modifications without prior written approval. Failing to follow the proper licensing approval process for additions led to a breach in our contract with the play's publisher,' school officials said. 'The infraction resulted in an automatic termination of the licensing agreement. The second performance of The Crucible could not occur because we were no longer covered by a copyright agreement.' The school also confirmed in their statement that the script is taught in English classes at the institution, though it is not a required text. 'It is regretted that there was a copyright violation that resulted in our inability to perform the play,' officials said. Channel 2 Action News asked the school for more information about the script changes, and how they were found and investigated and are waiting for a response from the school. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
Historic book of town's witch trials to be displayed
A 300-year-old rare book that details events said to have inspired the infamous Salem Witch Trials will go on display. The book, from 1716, was purchased by two charities for Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, from a rare book seller. It recounts the 1662 trial of Rose Cullender and Amy Denny, who were from Lowestoft and accused of being witches. Daniel Clarke, heritage officer at the museum, said the book would be part of an exhibition later this month. Mr Clarke explained not much was known of Cullender or Denny other than they were widows. "It was quite tricky for women in the 17th Century, because if you weren't married or had a job you were in quite a precarious state," he said. "They were your two routes to safety." They were both accused of bewitching local children during various incidents and were tried at court in Bury St Edmunds. "It is terrifying to think that these poor women that were probably already on the periphery of society were accused of something that was very unusual." Renowned judges including Sir Matthew Hale found them guilty and they were sentenced to death and later executed. "The Hale's trials are considered to have inspired the Salem Witch Trials," Mr Clarke continued. "There has been some confusion over which ones actually did, but some have suggested it is actually this one, of the couple that we've got really good documents attached to." The Salem trials took place in Massachusetts in the US and saw 20 witches convicted, while some 150 more men and women were accused between 1692 and 1693. The book of Cullender and Denny's trial is called A Tryal of Witches, At the Assizes Held at Bury St Edmunds for the County of Suffolk, and was published 54 years after the trial itself. Mr Clarke said the book was "fascinating" as it was also published a year after the last witch execution of Mary Hicks in Huntingdon, in modern day Cambridgeshire. "Whether it was being published because it was such a part of the public discourse at the time is really interesting," he added. Bury Society and Friends of Moyse's Hall Museum bought it for £3,000. Mr Clarke said the museum believed the book still had its original binding and it looked "brand new". It will go on display as part of the Superstition: Strange Wonders and Curiosities exhibition at the museum, from 15 February to 6 April. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Historian offers new theory for Sutton Hoo graves Landlord hunts for motorbike-riding lioness' bones Town's 'guncotton explosion' recalled on anniversary Moyse's Hall Museum
