Golden West’s ‘Crucible’ powerful

Tom Titus

Arthur Miller’s landmark drama “The Crucible” may have been written

under the specter of McCarthyism in the early 1950s, but it resonates

just as powerfully today as government encroachment threatens --

often of necessity -- our personal freedoms.

It is a difficult, demanding play -- not in the least for its

antiquated dialogue, quite normal for those living in the late 17th

century, but tough to wrap one’s tongue around today. Miller’s

treatise on human rights, cloaked in the Salem witch hunts, demands a

roller coaster of emotional involvement which often careens into the

hysterical.

Golden West College has mounted a superlative production of this

challenging work, assembling a large and unusually accomplished cast

under the methodical direction of Tom Amen, that features many

familiar faces along with some impressive relative newcomers. It is

that rarity of a play that discomfits both the mind and the emotions.

Miller’s characters face a choice not quite as severe as that

presented by the House Un-American Activities Committee 50 years ago

-- confess to practicing witchcraft or be executed -- but the

parallels certainly are clear. Lives were merely ruined in the early

‘50s, but they were taken in the 1690s.

Heading the Golden West cast as the iron-willed farmer John

Proctor, marked for trial because of his now-regretted affair with a

local teenage schemer, Mark Bedard renders one of his strongest

performances in a Golden West career replete with them. Bedard is

particularly effective in the final scene as he agrees to confess,

but only on his own personal terms.

Elizabeth Ballard beautifully enacts his wife, Elizabeth, a model

of perfection who is also targeted by her young rival. Without

employing the emotional fireworks assigned to other characters,

Ballard quietly registers strength and sinew.

As the chief inquisitor, Deputy-Gov. Danforth, John Parker is a

commanding presence, feigning a facade of democracy as he mercilessly

grills each suspect, who is presumed guilty until proven innocent.

Joshua Matheson excels as the Rev. John Hale, summoned to find

witchcraft among the citizens but ultimately springing to their

defense.

Steven Silva firmly portrays the duplicitous town minister, Rev.

Parris, more interested in earthly than heavenly glories and

zealously guarding his influence. Abbie de Vera is a dynamic Abigail

Williams, the young harlot who ignites the conflagration after being

rebuffed by ex-lover Proctor.

The fragile Mary Warren, determined to set matters right but

caught in Abigail’s inescapable thrall, is beautifully rendered by

Charity Royanne. The kindly, old Rebecca Nurse, inexplicably caught

in the witchcraft web, is given a moving portrayal by Gwen Woolridge.

Bruce Alexander pumps perhaps too much venom into his defiant

character of litigious landowner Giles Corey, while Nick Cook is a

willing accomplice in the shameful trials as Judge Hathorne. Debbie

Gerber as young Mercy Lewis and Jim Follett as Corey’s adversary

Thomas Putnam also acquit themselves well.

Particularly impressive is a stage debut in a pivotal role is

Stephanie Witfield as the haunting domestic from Barbados, whose

“conjuring of spirits” ignites the fear-driven conflagration. High

school sophomore Sarah Vita also registers highly for her brief but

intense performance as Parris’ stricken daughter.

“The Crucible” contains five scenes, each in a different setting,

and technical director/lighting designer Sigrid Hammer Wolf has

fashioned starkly contrasting backdrops merely by altering the stage

furniture. Susan Thomas Babb’s period costumes enrich the 17th

century flavor of the production, while Wesley Hunt’s sound design,

setting the stage for each scene, is eerily effective.

Miller’s complicated “Crucible” is not an easy assignment, but

when performed with the requisite power and passion, as is the case

at Golden West College, it is an unforgettable experience.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.