The Crucible at La Lumiere Theatre

The La Lu Players, La Lumiere School's Theatre Ensemble, commences a three-night run of Arthur Miller's timeless "The Crucible."

Miller wrote “The Crucible” during the Red Scare in the USA of the 1950s and drew artistic inspiration for what had been unfolding around him from an equally problematic antecedent - The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s.

Witch hunts date back to the Europe of the 1300s and continued in The Americas as well as the USA - with varying levels of government and clerical sanction - until the late-1700s. The Salem Witch Trials - and by extension, the metaphorical Red Scare witch hunt of the 1950s - were progeny of long-standing practice.

And as history has shown, the pursuit of witch hunts expanded beyond the rooting-out of witches. The record includes hundreds of episodes in which people “different than us” were tracked, tried, convicted, and punished simply because of that difference - difference, to be underscored, defined by those who label difference as such.

One connective thread between these real and metaphorical witch hunts reveals itself boldly: the use of fear as of way of not only influencing but shaping public perception. When wild accusations and falsehoods replace the diligent pursuit of fact. When an inability to admit error in a myopic - and demagogic - pursuit of fidelity, purity, and righteousness erodes the clarity of any shared collective moral vision.

In The La Lu Players' historically accurate presentation of The Salem Witch Trials via Miller's "The Crucible", it is left up to the audience to draw parallels to 2022 - while each audience member still owns, like one's name, the ability to recognize just who and what the true witches be.

The show runs Tuesday February 15, Wednesday February 16, and Thursday February 17 with performances commencing at 6.30 pm {central time}. Tickets are free but attendance is limited due to Covid protocols. For additional information, call 219.326.7450.
Ages: Junior High and Above