‘Crucible’ pays tribute to Miller

TOM TITUS

When Michael Ross directed Arthur Miller’s “A View From the Bridge”

at the Newport Theater Arts Center five years ago, he was

particularly impressed with the playwright’s ability to delve inside

a character’s psyche.

“One of Miller’s great strengths as a writer was his complexity of

characters,” said Ross, who is preparing another Miller play, “The

Crucible,” for an April 29 opening at the Huntington Beach Playhouse.

“Although Miller’s impetus in writing ‘The Crucible’ was based on

his outrage toward McCarthyism,” the director observed, “I believe

the longevity of the play is due to Miller’s eloquence in depicting

how intolerance and hysteria can rip a community apart.”

“There is a cast of 23 in ‘The Crucible,’ and all of us are

totally committed to bringing Miller’s play to life,” Ross declared.

Heading that cast are Anthony Cohen as the farmer John Proctor,

caught up in the witch hunt that spreads throughout Salem, Mass., in

the late 16th century, and Lori White as his wife, Elizabeth, facing

charges of witchcraft. Valorie Curry portrays the young maid who

comes between them and launches the religious fervor against her

rival.

Lewis P. Leighton will enact the “Joe McCarthy” figure of Deputy

Gov. Danforth, who presides at the local inquisition. Nick Cook and

Ed Dyer are clergymen caught up in the storm, while Melissa Donn is

the young girl whose accounts of “demonic possession” fuel the

emotional flames.

“The Crucible,” written in the early 1950s at the height of the

Army-McCarthy Communist-hunting hysteria, focuses on the dangers of

near-totalitarian powers vested in an agency of authority, whether it

be a New England village of over 400 years ago or the United States

Congress.

“Arthur Miller and my father died within six days of one another,”

Ross noted. “Even though their politics could not be more dissimilar,

both Miller and my father believed in not compromising one’s beliefs

and one’s ideals to the dictates of society.

“We are dedicating this production of ‘The Crucible’ to both

Arthur Miller and my dad.”

“The Crucible” will be presented from April 29 to May 15 in the

Library Theater at the Huntington Beach Central Library, 7111 Talbert

Ave. Performances will be given Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m.,

Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. Call (714)

375-0696 for ticket information.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.