THE CRUCIBLE to be Presented Selected as Part of Bay Street's Literature Live! Series

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts has revealed 2023's much-anticipated, Literature Live! presentation: Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning play THE CRUCIBLE has been cast! The Classic yet timely THE CRUCIBLE opens on Thursday, November 9... public performances run through Sunday, November 26. Will Pomerantz will direct the compelling drama chosen for this, the 15th anniversary of the popular Literature Live! performance series.

As part of the programming of Literature Live!, free performances are available to school groups. Teachers and administrators may register their school groups by contacting Director of Education & Community Outreach, Allen O'Reilly, at allen@baystreet.org or by calling 631.725.0818.
 
The cast will feature Allen O'Reilly as Reverend Samuel Parris, Kate Fitzgerald as Abigail Williams, Teresa DeBerry as Mrs. Ann Putnam and Rebecca Nurse, Gabriel Portuondo as Thomas Putnam and The Bailor, Sonnie Betts as Mercy Lewis, Anna Francesca Schiavoni as Mary Warren, Joe Pallister as John Proctor, Meg Gibson as Elizabeth Proctor, and Keith Reddin as Reverend John Hale, and Matthew Conlon as Deputy-Governor Danforth. (In order of appearance).

Additional crew members include Assistant Director Stefanie Anarumo, Scenic Designer Mike Billings, Costume Designer Barbara Erin Delo, Lighting Designer Justin Poruban, Sound Designer David Brandenburg, and Production Stage Manager Michael Wizorek.

THE CRUCIBLE is a gripping play set in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. It explores mass hysteria, deception, and the consequences of false accusations in a Puritan community. The story follows the unraveling of a tight-knit society as paranoia and fear lead to a witch hunt that destroys lives.

Free admission is available to all school students, teachers, and administrators who can reserve weekday performances at times that work for them on a first-come, first-serve basis. Literature Live! is an annual BOCES-approved Arts-in-Education program where teachers are provided curriculum guides in advance to help with content and additional aspects of learning. Each student performance will be followed by a talkback and Q&A session with various members of the team and the audience.
 
Now in its 15th year, Literature Live! was started by Bay Street Theater's Executive Director Tracy Mitchell: ”This program came about when seeing how little of the performing arts were being incorporated into my own daughter's curriculum. I was shocked because my own exposure to theater had been so life-changing, and I can't imagine if I hadn't had that, what experiences I would have missed out on in my own life.” Bay Street Theater is committed to supporting students with little or no access to the performing arts in schools. To date, Bay Street has served over 80 schools and over 35,000 students, including those with special needs, homeschoolers, and students from as far away as New Jersey and New York City in person, and numerous others with digital access during COVID-19. 
 
Literature Live! is sponsored by Irvin Stern Foundation, Sunny & Abe Rosenberg Foundation, Rea Charitable Trust, Town of Southampton, Neuwirth Foundation, Alan & Annette Leve Foundation, The Bridgehampton Association, and an Anonymous donor as well as Sag Harbor Books, Michael Hebron, and PSEG Long Island and more forthcoming!

Tickets for the public start at $37 and are available online 24/7 at baystreet.org or by calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500, open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 30 minutes prior to performances.

Meet the Cast (alphabetically):

Sonnie Betts

Sonnie Betts (Mercy Lewis) is excited to be back at Bay Street under the direction of Will Pomerantz. Last summer Sonnie played “The Girl” in Ragtime on the Bay Street stage.  Other regional credits include The Sound of Music (Gretl), A Christmas Carol (Grace Smythe) and Evita (Ensemble) at Gateway Playhouse.  Most recently, and a personal favorite, Sonnie played Matilda in Matilda Jr. at Gateway's Conservatory. 


 

Matthew Conlon

Matthew Conlon (Thomas Putnam/Deputy Governor Danforth) appeared in the acclaimed production of “Men's Lives” by Joe Pintauro at Bay Street's outset, and is thrilled to return. A slew of NYC work includes the premiere of “Freud's Last Session “ with Fritz Weaver at HB Playwrights and the Drama Desk-nominated “The Traveling Lady” at EST. Regional roles include Oedipus and Atticus. Locally, he appeared in “The Diary of Anne Frank” at the Patchogue Theater, and, as a regular at the Hampton Theatre Company, was seen last season in “The Lifespan of a Fact”, and recently in “Man of La Mancha” as well as “Baskerville”. 


 

Teresa DeBerry

Teresa DeBerry (Ann Putnam/Rebecca Nurse) is an actor, director, choreographer, and theater educator, who has worked locally with Bay Street Theater, Neo-Political Cowgirls, and Robin Aren Productions. Other credits include Cleveland Public Theatre, Oberlin Summer Theatre Festival, Karamu House, The Alliance Theatre, Horizon Theatre Out of Hand Theater, and Georgia Shakespeare. Teresa is very excited about performing in an American classic like The Crucible.


 

Kate Fitzgerald

Kate Fitzgerald (Abigail Williams) is thrilled to be returning to Bay Street after joining the world premiere of Double Helix (Rosalind u/s, Adrienne u/s). Other credits include Goodspeed Opera House Festival of New Musicals: Double Helix (Rosalind), North Shore Music Theatre: Peter Pan (Wendy), The Gamm Theatre: The Children's Hour (Rosalie Wells), Lyric Stage Company: A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder (Swing), Boston Theatre Marathon: Circles, Trinity Repertory Company: House and Garden, A Christmas Carol, Boston Conservatory: Candide (Cunegonde), Her Naked Skin (Eve). Kate recently graduated from Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical.


 

Meg Gibson

Meg Gibson has worked for the Joseph Papp Public Theatre, ART in Cambridge, Mark Taper Forum LA, Yale Rep., Studio Theatre in DC, Williamstown Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Atlantic, and more. Her recent TV credits include The Americans, Law and Order, The Servant, NCIS New Orleans. 


 

Allen O'Reilly

Allen O'Reilly (Reverend Samuel Parris) has appeared at Bay Street Theater, Cleveland Play House, The Alliance Theatre, Geva Theatre, Clarence Brown and was an Associate Artist with Georgia Shakespeare for twenty-four seasons. TV/Film includes: Chicago Fire, Sleepy Hollow, TURN: Washington's Spies, The Enormity of Life, The Assassin's Code, and Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius 


 

Joe Pallister

Joe Pallister's TV Credits include: THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT (Jozef Jasar - HBO Max - EP 105), THE BLACKLIST (Captain Nowakowski - NBC TV - EP 408), QUANTICO (Jack Maloney - ABC TV - EP 311), FBI (Fire Captain - CBS TV - EP 019), POSE (Security Guard - FX - Pilot) Stage Credits include: ART (Serge - Guild Hall), A STEADY RAIN (Joey - Guild Hall), OF MICE AND MEN (George - Bay Street Theater), A RAISIN IN THE SUN (Karl Lindner - Bay Street), ROMANCE (The Doctor - Bay Street Theater), TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (Bob Ewell - Bay Street Theater), THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (Mr. Kraler - Bay Street Theater), THE GRIFT (Bay Street Theater), THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN (BABBY BOBBY - Guild Hall), ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (McMurphy - Hampton Theatre Company), DOUBT (Father Flynn - Hampton Theatre Company), A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Stanley - Hampton Theatre Company).  Film roles include Steve in REFUGE, and Hunter in DARK WAS THE NIGHT.

 

Gabriel Portuondo

Gabriel Portuondo (Thomas Putnam and The Bailor) is from Brentwood, NY, and a graduate of Bucknell University, and Columbia University (MFA-Acting), as well as a founding member of Magis Theatre Co. Most recent credits include Banquo in MacBeth and the Narrator in The Grift with Bay Street Theater, and Hercules in The Alcestiad with Magis Theatre Co. Gabriel's one-man show THE RIME (a theatricalization of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) has run at the Montauk Lighthouse, the Virginia Arts Festival, and Theatre Row in NYC. Favorite roles include Ariel - The Tempest (Inwood Shakespeare); Angelo - Measure for Measure (Shakespeare &Co.); Horatio - Hamlet (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ) and Oberon – A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ).

 

Keith Reddin

Keith Reddin (Reverend John Hale) has performed On and Off Broadway as well as in many regional theaters. He also writes for the theater, film, and television.

 

Anna Francesca Schiavoni

Anna Francesca Schiavoni is ecstatic to be returning to the Bay Street Theater stage. Her favorite credits include The Prince of Egypt (Young Miriam/Leah, DreamWorks Theatricals), Indian Summer (Izzy Rizzo, Bay Street Theater), Into the Woods (Little Red, CMPAC), Pippin (Catherine, LIMTF), Hamlet (Ophelia, GW Shakespeare Company), and Little Women (Jo March, SFPA). She is a recent graduate from The George Washington University and a life-long Sagharborite, who is grateful to everyone involved with this production. 

Literature Live! is made possible by Irvin Stern Foundation, Sunny & Abe Rosenberg Foundation, Rea Foundation, Town of Southampton, Neuwirth Foundation, Alan & Annette Leve Foundation, The Bridgehampton Association, PSEG Long Island, Sag Harbor Books, Michael Hebron, an anonymous supporter and more forthcoming!

Bay Street Theater is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center, that endeavors to innovate, educate, motivate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. It serves as a beacon, social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, a center for innovation and new work development, and a home for a community of artists.

Bay Street Theater is a fully vaccinated company. All attendance is available via touchless ticketing. Masks are optional upon entry to the theater and when seated. For a full list of COVID-19-related safety procedures and guidelines for in-person events, please visit us online at baystreet.org.

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