Theater Review
A Powerful 'Crucible'
At Northern Stage
By Charlie McMeekin

Mary Warren (Kimberly Sullivan, center) fires an accusation at Elizabeth Proctor (Regan Thompson) as her husband John Proctor (Jeff Williams) looks on, in Northern Stage's powerful performance of The Crucible, through March 18 at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction. For tickets call 802-296-7000.

From the moment my wife and I entered the theater at the Briggs Opera House in White River to see Northern Stage's production of "The Crucible," we were captured in a nervous anticipation of what was to come. We knew the story line, as does almost every American high school student. . . the Salem witchcraft trials, the prosecution and persecution of innocents in a play written by Arthur Miller as a response to the hysteria brought on by the McCarthy era in American politics.

We did not expect a production as moving, as authentic, and as primal as the one we witnessed that evening.

It began with the set, always a treat at Northern Stage productions. This one featured a plank floor. Nothing fancy. But the edges were raw where the wood had literally been ripped rather than sawn, with jagged edges reaching out to the audience. And there was a collection of trees and stumps which literally burst through the floor, leaving a violent upthrust of violated stage. Simple, stark, severe, and scary.

The show opens with preacher Samuel Parris on his knees, praying for God to bring peace to his existence. He spotted his niece Abigail dancing in the woods with some of the other girls of Salem, and thinks at least one of the girls was unclothed, a mortal sin.

Abigail, at once childlike and frighteningly seductive and calculating, is worth the price of admission, but she's just one of many who complete the constellation of this star-studded cast.

Abigail begins sharing information that she has created about townspeople, and she preys on the personal traumas of people in Salem. The local pastor, Reverend Parris, full of the self-righteousness of an educated Harvard man, calls in a veteran minister, Reverend Hale, to help him sort through the growing crisis.

The action reaches its peak when Elizabeth Proctor is charged with witchcraft, as is her husband John, after a breathtaking confrontation with his former mistress. The juggernaut of justice is in high gear, and leads one character to state "I will tell you what is walking Salem now. Vengeance is walking Salem. And vengeance writes the law."

As bleak as the story is, it remains a strange testimony to the power of the human spirit. Characters facing the gallows choose to hold on to their integrity and dignity rather than life itself.

Bleak material indeed, but the saving grace of the evening is that the acting, the costuming, the incidental music, and the sets are absolutely superb. Even for Northern Stage, this production raises the bar. You will wait a long time to witness acting of this quality again.

Certainly one indication of the power of the performance was its effect on the audience. This is not designed to be a participatory production, but at one point, the arrogance and pomposity of the government officials actually led the majority of the audience to respond audibly in disbelief to the claim that they "would not deal in lies." It was a moment when theater transcended performance and tapped into what is perhaps a growing frustration among many Americans about power gone awry.

McCarthy is now history, and Salem a tourist attraction. "The Crucible" reminds its audience that the power of fear, a particularly insidious weapon, is still alive and well, and that all of us are called on to show the same moral strength as Giles Corey, an innocent eccentric who died from being pressed.

His last words as heavy stones were placed on his chest to crush him were, "More weight. More weight."

"The Crucible" runs through March 18 at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction, with performances Wednesdays through Sundays. Tickets may be reserved by calling 296-7000.