American Repertory Theater of WNY to Present THE CRUCIBLE, Begin. 10/30

The American Repertory Theater of WNY brings the bewitching timeless classic THE CRUCIBLE by America's Shakespeare, Arthur Miller. This legendary piece of the 1692 Salem witch trials will be presented on October 30th and runs Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 pm at ART in the Box, 16 Linwood Avenue, Buffalo NY 14219. All showtimes are 7:30 pm with ticket prices ranging from $25 general admission ($20 online), $18 student/military veteran ($15 online).

In a period of early American history, a small community in 1692 Massachusetts was under besieged by the Devil's red-right hand. This evil curse took the form of witchcraft that ensnared the young innocent women of Salem, Massachusetts.

Or so it seemed.
A upstart Reverend Hale is sent to this community to flush-out claims of children becoming under the influence of witchcraft. Seeing that the community may very well be under the control of this black magic, Hale orders a full investigation that leads to these innocent young women the center of prosecution.

Then all hell breaks out.

Under direction of ART/WNY alumni Drew McCabe (TWILIGHT ZONE REDUX; RED CLAY; DEAD ENGLISH), THE CRUCIBLE will also feature Thomas LaChiusa as prideful John Proctor, Lisa Vitrano as Elizabeth Proctor, ART/WNY alumni Christopher Standart as the legendary Judge Danforth, Sara Marioles-Mitch plays the infamous Abigail Williams with her team of Wiccas including Jenny Marie McCabe (Mary Warren), Leanne Troutman (Mercy Lewis), Erica Lorenzetti (Betty Parris), Leacel Hillenbrand (Susanna Walcott) with the talented Danica Riddick as the legendary hoodoo guru TITUBA. Steve Brachmann takes the compelling role of Reverend Hale. The sordid bunch of land grabbers and witch hunters includes David C Mitchell (Thomas Putnam), Michael Breen (John Hathorne) Shanyna Raichilson-Zadok (Ann Putnam), Scot Kaitanowski (Reverend Samuel Parris), with the "good guys" featuring Victor Morales (Cory Giles), Virginia Brannon (Rebecca Nurse), Murray Galloway (Francis Nurse), Priscilla Young-Anker (Sarah Goode), Christopher Andreana (Cheever) and Peter Calleri (Hopkins) rounding out the cast.

Known through the mandatory reading in most high school english classes is the history behind the 1953 play by Arthur Miller and the backstory behind the inspiration of THE CRUCIBLE. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the U.S. government blacklisted accused communists and Miller himself was questioned by the House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities in 1956 and convicted of "contempt of Congress" for refusing to identify others present at meetings he had attended.

This dark-piece of Miller's past is best seen in the arch of John Proctor's character as he stands accused of witchcraft and he both desperately and honorably holds onto his name.

The play was first performed at the Martin Beck Theater on Broadway, NYC on January 22, 1953. The production won the 1953 "Best Play" Tony Award. The production has seen over thousands of both national and international performances including two movie attempts including the 1957 film adaptation by Belgian director Raymond Rouleau with a screenplay adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre, and by Miller himself for the 1996 production featuring Paul Scofield, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Winona Ryder. This screenplay earned Miller an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay based on Previously Produced Material, his only nomination.

The play was adapted by composer Robert Ward as an opera with the same title which was first performed in 1961 and received the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the New York Music Critics Circle Citation.

THE CRUCIBLE also saw several productions made for television. One notable 1968 production starred George C. Scott as John Proctor, Colleen Dewhurst (Scott's wife at the time) as Elizabeth Proctor, Melvyn Douglas as Thomas Danforth, and Tuesday Weld as Abigail Williams.

The American Repertory Theater of WNY is proud to present this American theater classic October 30th and run to November 22nd. For further information on THE CRUCIBLE please visit www.artofwny.org or to reserve tickets contact 716-634-1102.

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