Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Department of Drama Continues Its 2019-20 Season with Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’

Monday, November 4, 2019, By Joanna Penalva
Share
College of Visual and Performing ArtsDepartment of Drama

The Syracuse University Department of Drama continues its season with Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” directed by faculty member Geri Clark. “The Crucible” previews Nov. 8 and runs through Nov. 17 in the Storch Theatre at the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex, 820 E. Genesee St.

Recognized today as a mid-20th-century American classic, “The Crucible” is set in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1692 amid a whirl of paranoia and hysteria fed by the winds of unfounded accusations of witchcraft. Miller fictionalized the historic record of the Salem witch trials to explore how fear warps judgment and extremism eradicates truth. In doing so, he created a theatrical world where innocence and guilt are indistinguishable and only fanatics speak with impunity.

Miller wrote “The Crucible” in 1953, prompted by the investigations of U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The so-called Red hunt, ostensibly initiated to root out communists in the U.S. government, cast a wide net and eventually ensnared many private citizens, including many academics and artists. Careers and lives were recklessly ruined.

Miller found parallels to the country’s experience of the McCarthy hearings in the record of the Salem witch trials, especially in the way its “terribly serious insanity” obliterated “all nuance, all the shadings that a realistic judgment of reality requires.” This holds true today for director Clark, who finds the play especially relevant in a time where false information can spread like wildfire and information must be tempered with care and caution. Clark’s vision for the production is “a response to the dishonesty and lack of honor that has come to light within our political system.”

The dramatic core of “The Crucible” coalesced in Miller’s mind when he read notes on the testimony of Abigail Williams in the historic record of a trial. He understood immediately that Abigail and John Proctor, husband to Elizabeth, had had an affair. This triangle became the human heart of his play and the catalyst for the unfolding drama. As Abigail’s accusations overwhelm the town, John and Elizabeth and others are swept up in a kind of communal madness from which there seems no escape. They are sane people in a world gone mad. Surely, therein lies relevance to the world beyond the stage

Director Clark adds, “It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to produce one of our greatest playwright’s most important plays in a time when the message will resonate in such a different way.”

In selecting “The Crucible” for the season, Department Chair Ralph Zito points out that there is “no correlation between the age of a play and its timeliness.” The play’s issues of “moral choice, integrity and justice” have stayed relevant throughout history and remain so today, he says.

The Crucible

By Arthur Miller

Directed by Gerardine Clark
Scenic Design: Maria E. Marrero
Costume Design: Garvin “Vinny” Hastings
Lighting Design: Jonathan Hayes
Sound Design: Kevin O’Connor
Dialect Coach: Blake Segal
Stage Manager: Brian Beighle

Cast

Andrea Baker (Martha Corey)
Michael Cagnetta (Francis Nurse)
Tori Dedo (Rebecca Nurse)
Hannah Dolan (Mercy Lewis)
August Kiss Fegley (Betty Parris)
Jack Fortin (John Proctor)
Gabriel Girson (Judge Hathorne)
Trevor Hart (Marshall Herrick)
Veronica Hersey (Susanna Walcott)
Madeleine Ince (Elizabeth Proctor)
Connor Johnson (Hopkins)
Melanie Johnson (Tituba)
Calvin Keener (Ezekiel Cheever)
Catie Kobland (Abigail Williams)
Elizabeth O’Malley (Mary Warren)
Francesca Panzara (Sarah Good)
Zach Person Deputy (Governor Danforth)
Jacob Rosen (Reverend Parris)
Lily Schmidt (Mrs. Ann Putnam)
William Schuyler (Mr. Thomas Putnam)
Justin Slepicoff (Reverend John Hale)
Ian Soares (Giles Corey)

Understudies

Andrea Baker (Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Proctor)
Michael Cagnetta (Deputy Governor Danforth)
Gabriel Girson (Ezekiel Cheever)
Trevor Hart (Mr. Thomas Putnam)
Veronica Hersey (Mary Warren)
Connor Johnson (Reverend John Hale, Judge Hathorne)
Calvin Keener (Reverend Parris)
Francesca Panzara (Rebecca Nurse, Mrs. Ann Putnam)
Maria Victoria Polanco (Betty Parris, Susanna Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Tituba)
Eli Schwartz (John Proctor, Hopkins, Marshall Herrick, Francis Nurse, Giles Corey)

Additional Credits

Assistant Scenic Designers: Samantha Olszewski, Allison Turlo, Jason Zong
Assistant Costume Designers: Brandon Eridan, Addie Livingston
Assistant Lighting Designer: Lily Meaker
Assistant Stage Manager: Rebecca Malamud
Casting Associate: Wallis Dean
Casting Assistant: Emilia Smart-Denson

Performance Dates

Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. (preview)
Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. (opening)
Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.
Nov. 13 at 8 p.m.
Nov. 14 at 8 p.m.
Nov. 15 at 8 p.m.
Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. (open captioning)
Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.
Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. (ASL interpreted)

  • Author

Joanna Penalva

  • Recent
  • Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences Departments Come Together on Diversity and Engagement Initiatives
    Tuesday, May 17, 2022, By News Staff
  • As the School of Education’s Italy Program Returns, Sara Jo Soldovieri ’18, G’19 Reflects on Its Influence
    Tuesday, May 17, 2022, By Martin Walls
  • Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising Team Helps Match Students With Unique Experiences That Enhance Their Studies
    Tuesday, May 17, 2022, By Jen Maser
  • COVID-19 Update: Public Health Protocols for Summer 2022
    Tuesday, May 17, 2022, By News Staff
  • New Law Scholarship Honors the Ongoing Legacy of the Hon. Theodore A. McKee L’75
    Tuesday, May 17, 2022, By Robert Conrad

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse University Art Museum Piloting Object-Based Teaching and Research Faculty Fellows Program

Faculty from all disciplines are invited to apply for a pilot Faculty Fellows Program being hosted this summer by the Syracuse University Art Museum. The program focuses on object-based teaching and research. It is both a way for the art…

Innovator Lorrie Vogel ’88 to Deliver 2022 VPA Convocation Address

Innovator Lorrie Vogel ’88 will deliver the 2022 convocation address to bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at the college’s convocation ceremony on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the stadium….

M.F.A. Exhibition ‘Steady/Retcon’ to be Exhibited on New York City’s Governors Island

  Master of fine arts (M.F.A.) candidates in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) are presenting the thesis exhibition “Steady/Retcon” over two weekends in May at the Syracuse University Governors Island House, 407A Colonels Row, Governors Island, New…

Department of Drama Presents ‘As You Like It’

The Department of Drama presents the final show of the 2021/2022 season with “As You Like It,” a ravishing new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic story by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery. The production, directed by Rodney Hudson, will perform…

Movie Based on SU Press Book ‘Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano’ Debuts

“The Survivor,” a movie based on the Alan Scott Haft book, “Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano,” debuted on HBO and HBO Max on Wednesday, April 27. It is being released on Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.