Font Size: A A A

Bluefield College Theatre will present Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" during six separate performances, Thursday through Tuesday, November 12-17.

October 20, 2009

Each show will begin at 7:30 p.m. in BC's Harman Chapel with the exception of a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. Admission will be $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Members of the BC family will be admitted for free.

Written in 1952 at the height of the McCarthy era, "The Crucible" is a scathing look at what happens when people allow fear and suspicion to overcome reason. The play tells the frightening story of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, when a handful of hysterical girls turned the Puritan village of Salem into a nightmare of paranoia and madness.

"The play is a metaphor of the Red Scare and the McCarthy era of the 1940s," said BC theatre student and cast member Caleigh Keith. "It was written in response to Senator Joe McCarthy, who was against communist sympathizers."

In 1950, Sen. McCarthy gave a historical speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, in which he accused more than 200 people in the State Department of being members of the Communist party. Aided by the Federal Bureau of Investigators (FBI), McCarthy began his "witch hunt" for Communists, calling people before Congress to testify about their loyalty to the United States government.

Set in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, "The Crucible" portrays the Salem Witch Trials in which people accused of witchcraft are prosecuted.

The main characters of the play are the hero, John Proctor, played by BC theatre student Donnie Bales; the antagonist leader of the girls, Abigail Williams, played by Keith; and Proctor's wife, Elizabeth, played by theatre student Jennifer Bohannon.

"Even though the play was written more than 50 years ago, it is meaningful today," said BC's Charles Reese, assistant professor of theatre. "It says something about the tone of our country. It also speaks to the negative effects of gossip and has much to say about Christian values."

In addition to the six performances, November 12-17, open to the public, BC Theatre will present two matinees for surrounding schools.

For information about this or other BC Theatre performances this fall, contact Reese by phone at 276-326-4244 or by e-mail at .

Comments: