Chris Mahar
(This article appeared in the May 8, 2003 edition of the Taconic Weekend. Reprinted with permission of the Gazette Advertiser.)
Chris Mahar had to crane his neck around to see the action for most of “The Crucible,” but the production was so solid that he decided it was all worth it.
“The Crucible”
Cocoon Theatre, Route 9, Rhinebeck
Through May 11
8 p.m. • Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
3 p.m. • Sundays
(845) 876-6470
My first piece of advice concerning the Cocoon Theatre’s production of “The Crucible” is: Go see it. My second is: Get there early and grab the front seats. My third is: Wear clean, matching socks.
The show is excellent and the performance by the large cast is extraordinarily polished and professional, but if you get to the theater late (or just on time, as I did) you will spend most of the evening craning your neck around and popping out of your seat to catch all the action. The Cocoon Theatre is a cozy black box – really just a room that can be arranged in any number of configurations of audience space and performance area – with only a small stage raised a few inches off the ground and no raked seating. This creates a very intimate feel, making the production almost interactive as the actors pass by mere inches in front of you. Unfortunately, too many seats have been packed in for the audience, with not much concern for sightlines. I found myself bobbing and weaving like a prize fighter, looking for an opening in the row of heads in front of me as the action occurred simultaneously on either end of the stage.That is my only serious criticism of the production, however. Arthur Miller’s dramatization of the 1692 Salem witch trials is mounted admirably by director Ellen Honig and her cast of many.
The staging is particularly effective. When the audience enters the theater (after removing their shoes, something the Cocoon Theatre requires audience members to do for all of their shows and the reason I recommend wearing presentable socks) they are confronted by the full cast, ringing the far side of the stage. The audience completes the circling of the stage and in a sense becomes a member of the town, watching and passing judgment on the action happening literally in their midst. There is no backstage, and when a character is not in a scene he or she is sitting on the perimeter, facing the action. They don’t necessarily watch what is going on all the time – sometimes they knit, sometimes they sleep – but the combined presence of all those off stage is felt as an all-seeing, all-knowing eye. There is a real sense of claustrophobia and paranoia that is created from this, fitting for a small town where everyone knows each other’s business and where private behavior is subject to public scrutiny.
There is not much in the way of set or props – simple benches and tables used in a variety of ways suggest the scenery while the actors are the real center of focus. The costumes are wonderful recreations of period dress, though I did see one or two barrettes and hair scrunchies that I think true Puritans would frown on.
“The Crucible” starts in the home of the Rev. Parris, not long after he discovered his daughter, his niece Abigail Williams and several other young girls dancing in the woods with his slave, Tituba. Not only is dancing illegal for the Puritans, but Parris’ daughter seems to have fallen into a comatose state after being startled by her father’s sudden appearance in the clearing. Parris is afraid that this could have been caused by supernatural means, but he is even more afraid that his “enemies” in the town could use the charge of witchcraft in his family to bring him down. The Rev. Hale, a supposed expert on witchcraft, is called in from a neighboring village and soon Abigail and Tituba are grilled about what exactly was going on in the woods. Seeing a way out of trouble, they both claim that they were bewitched by the devil himself and start giving names of other people they supposedly saw in the devil’s possession as well. The witch hunt soon spirals out of control as Parris uses it to purge the town of those he thinks are against him, the wealthy Thomas Putnam uses it to make land grabs on his accused neighbors’ property, and Abigail uses it to remove Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of John Proctor, a man she loves and with whom she has had an affair.
Based solely on the accusation of a small group of girls and fueled by the hysteria caused by their theatrics in the court, many innocent people are arrested and made to sign false confessions, while 19 more are hanged. Eventually, even those who created the court and who ostensibly control it realize what a mistake they have made, but are now powerless to stop it. The juggernaut rolls on, bringing innocent people down and tearing the community apart.
The hero and the star of the play is John Proctor, excellently played by David Conover. He is not a perfect man – he has cheated on his wife and is a little quick to anger – but he is also fair and loyal and one of the few people not caught up in the hysteria around him. As Proctor, Conover charges about the stage, threatening and cajoling, attempting to bring people back to their senses. His last scene, as he debates whether or not to save his own life by blackening his name, is riveting, the turmoil evident on his face.
Also noteworthy is Danelle Cautella, who has the difficult task of playing Abigail Williams. It would be easy to play Abigail as a deluded, vindictive psychopath, but Cautella instead shows the anguish and hurt and even the innocence in her, as well as the evil, and so there is a more complex character.
John LeFever, as the stubborn, litigious and, in the end, heroic old man Giles Corey, gives one of the most natural performances I have seen in a long time. It is almost as if LeFever is not acting at all but simply responding to what is going on around him. Rather than delivering lines, he really seems to be just talking to his fellow townspeople.
Each of the actors in this show gave a great performance, but I simply don’t have room to talk about all of them. I will just say that you should see the play for yourself and discover what a challenging, intelligent production it truly is.
And remember the socks.
Chris Mahar is glad he is living in a country that no longer plays on its population’s fear in order to illegally arrest individuals and remove their constitutional rights.