January 28, 2006

In Review | The Crucible
by Tidings reviewer Robert Miller

OSW produces a sturdy version of a classic

Arthur Miller’s powerful testament, “The Crucible,” written and performed in 1953, is now playing at Oregon Stage Works on A Street. It is a stark enactment of the spiritual battle against the dark forces in the world, particularly as epitomized by the events leading to witch trials in Salem, Mass., in 1692 that resulted in 19 hangings and earned it the dubious distinction of Witch City.

The women of Oregon Stage Works’ staging of “The Crucible” are among 20 actors in the production. Submitted photo

Miller admits in a foreword that his play is not history as understood by the academic historian, yet it captures “the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history.” When produced in 1953, it was seen as an indictment of the McCarthyism of the 1940s and 1950s, and in fact Miller himself, following on the heels of many of his friends, was eventually hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee and found guilty of belief in communism; a verdict overturned in 1957 in an Appeals Court.

The play’s title is an apt one, crucible denoting an ordeal people undergo when subjected to forces that test and often change them. And so, at the outset, we find the Rev. Samuel Parris (Steve Wood) beside the bed on which his young daughter Betty (Sophie Javna) lies inert, apparently hexed. He is alternately praying and weeping. He is distracted by Tituba (Isabelle Alzado), his slave from Barbados, given to mumbling and sorcery, and then his niece, Abigail Williams (Shanna Hill), intrudes to tell him the rumor of witchcraft is rife and he needs to deny it to all the people packed in the parlor downstairs.

But Parris, the night before, had caught Abigail and some girls dancing naked in the woods and seen Tituba screeching and swaying like dumb beast over a fire. Nevertheless, he little knows Abigail’s capacity for evil, and has called for the Rev. John Hale (Darren Smith) of Beverly, who regards the summons to ascertain witchcraft as, in Miller’s words, “a beloved errand.” And what pagan revelry and abomination he unravels, culminating in the hysterical naming of the “Goody” witches by Tituba, Abigail and even Betty — a chorus of denunciators trying to save their own necks. (“Goody” is short for “Goodwife,” a respectful title for a married woman in the Puritan community.)

During these proceedings, it happens that John Proctor (Jim Bowen), a farmer with two boys and who wife is expecting their third child, finds himself alone with Abigail in Betty’s bedroom. They have had an adulterous relationship, and she tries to arouse him again, reminding him: “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near!” He responds: “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby.” Shunned, she seeks revenge by accusing Elizabeth of being a witch, and plants a poppet (a symbol of witchcraft) in the Proctors’ house as evidence. Elizabeth (Kate Sullivan) knew of her husband’s infidelity, had fired Abigail their servant, and forgiven him.

Woven into the story is the feud between the Putnam and Nurse families, both wealthy landowners, each supporting a different minister. So the play moves inexorably to the trial overseen by Deputy Gov. Danforth (Terry Kolkey), a court disciplinarian, dedicated to the rooting out of all witches, being conducted in the vestry room of the Salem meeting house. The final scene is played out in a prison cell. Now it is John Proctor’s life that is at risk, for he has been accused of being in league with the devil.

A strong cast of 20 actors brings the play to life, though it seemed to me that the voices were at times overloud and too declamatory. I specially commend Jim Bowen’s strong and solid John Proctor; Kate Sullivan’s shining purity as Elizabeth; Terry Kolkey’s imperious and commanding Danforth; Steve Wood’s perpetual perturbation as the Rev. Parris; and the kindliness of Adrienne Shelley’s Rebecca Nurse.

Alzado first directed “The Crucible” in 1996 as his thesis project at the University of Montana; not his choice, but the faculty’s. He thought no one would come. Instead, the theater was sold out every night, with a line of people outside hoping to get in. Alzado here returns to it, again as director, with a highly charged production.

“The Crucible” plays through Feb. 26 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. For reservations, call 482-2334.