ARTHUR MILLER’S THE CRUCIBLE ON BROADWAY DIRECTED BY IVO VAN HOVE

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible on Broadway directed by Ivo van Hove

Now showing, Closes 17 Jul 2016

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible returns to Broadway in a new production directed by the acclaimed Belgian director Ivo van Hove. Set during the Salem witch trials of the 1690s, The Crucible is a timeless parable of morality, a scorching indictment of intolerance, and a central work in the canon of American drama.

Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.

With a stellar cast including Tony winner Sophie Okonedo (A Raisin in the Sun), Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Ben Whishaw (Spectre), Arthur Miller’s landmark 1953 play mounts a much anticipated return to Broadway in Spring 2016. Acclaimed Belgian director Ivan van Hove (A View from the Bridge) is at the helm.

The Crucible is the story of a small, close-knit Puritan community whose lives are torn asunder by the climate of fear and suspicion that grows within them all as mass hysteria overtakes during a trial for witchcraft. By holding up a mirror to the panicked 1692 community, and bringing the strong moral purists to life, The Crucible allows us to look closer at the atrocities committed in the 1950s during the McCarthy era – transmitting a stark criticism of so-called morality that still resonates into today’s world.

Based on events that transpired in the now notorious town of Salem in 1692, the story unfolds as rumours begin to abound that witches may be living amongst the townsfolk. When the Reverend Parris finds his daughter ill, he becomes suspicious and questions his niece Abigail Williams about tales of her night-time forays in the forrest with other girls and Tituba, a servant in the town. Abigail refutes these stories, claiming to have been possessed by witches, begining a frenzied hunt to discover who else among them habour such secrets.

As tensions mount and accusations are layered upon everybody, it becomes clear that Abigail may be using her notoriety as a way to damn the devout John Proctor, her married ex-lover and implicate his wife, when she realises that their illicit affair will not be rekindled. But the consequences are not some part of a childish hoax, but very real, with the cost being the life of the accused.

Thrilling and insightful The Crucible is still a visceral and damning look at the nature of humanity and remains important today as we continue to be quick to publicly shame, whilst ignoring the hypocrisy of our own thoughts and actions.

Cast
Ben Whishaw as John Proctor
Sophie Okonedo as Elizabeth Proctor
Saoirse Ronan as Abigail Williams
Ciaran Hinds as Deputy Governor Danforth
Bill Camp as Reverend John Hale
Jim Norton as Giles Corey
Tavi Gevinson as Mary Warren
Jason Butler Harner as Reverend Parris

Tina Benko as Ann Putnam/Sarah Goode
Teagle Bougere as Judge Hawthorne
Michael Braun as Ezekiel Cheever
Jenny Jules as Tituba Thomas
Jay Ryan as Thomas Putnam
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Susanna Walcott
Elizabeth Teeter as Betty Parris
Ray Anthony Thomas as Francis Nurse
Brenda Wehle as Rebecca Nurse
Erin Wilhelmi as Mercy Lewis

Creative
Written by Arthur Miller
Produced by Scott Rudin
Directed by Ivo van Hove
Set and Lighting Designer Jan Versweyveld
Costume Designer Wojciech Dziedzic
Original Score Philip Glass

Walter Kerr Theatre
Adres: 219 W 48th St,
New York, NY 10036, Verenigde Staten
Capacity: 975
Opened: 1929
Designed by Herbert J. Krapp and erected by the Shubert family, this venueoOpened originally as The Ritz Theatre in 1921, taking only 60 days to build (a New York record for the time) and is still today one of the smaller venues in the district with less than 1,000 seats. It has undergone various changes as a radio and tv station from 1943 to 1965, a children’s film theater and finally reopened as a theatre in 1990, named for the eminent critic and playwright.

# More information on website thecrucibleonbroadway.com

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