The Crucible (Broadway)

The Crucible (Broadway)

Associate Producer of THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller, a drama, opened at the Virginia Theatre, Broadway from March 7 to June 9, 2002, having grossed USD $7,657,715 during a limited run of 102 performances and 19 paid previews (previews began on February 16, 2002), with an average ticket price of $66.86. The Crucible played one additional performance on June 9, 2002 as a benefit for The Actors Fund.

Arthur Miller’s tale of the Salem witch trials, in which a group of girls accuse upstanding women in the town of witchcraft to divert suspicion from their own activities, has been seen as an allegory for Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Communist crusades of the 1950s.

Produced by David Richenthal, Manocherian / Leve / Boyett, Max Cooper, Allan S. Gordon, Roy Furman, US Productions, Élan V. McAllister, Adam Epstein and Margo Lion; Produced in association with Dede Harris, Morton Swinsky, Clear Channel Entertainment, Old Ivy Productions, Jujamcyn Theaters, Jeffrey Ash, Dori Berinstein, Roni Selig, Margaret McFeely Golden, Michael Skipper, Gene Korf and Robert Cole; Associate Produced by Toby Simkin, Eric Falkenstein and Debbie Bisno; Produced by special arrangement with The Roundabout Theatre Company;

Directed by Richard Eyre; Original music by David Van Tieghem; Set & Costume Design by Tim Hatley; Lighting Design by Paul Gallo; Sound Design by Scott Myers; Wig Design by Paul Huntley and Fight Direction by Rick Sordelet.

STARRING Laura Linney (Elizabeth Proctor); Liam Neeson (John Proctor); Tom Aldredge (Giles Corey); Angela Bettis (Abigail Williams); John Benjamin Hickey (Reverend John Hale); Brian Murray (Deputy-Governor Danforth); Christopher Evan Welch (Reverend Samuel Parris); Stephen Lee Anderson (Hopkins); Kristen Bell (Susanna Walcott); Laura Breckenridge (Girl in courtroom); Jennifer Carpenter (Mary Warren); Betsy Hogg (Betty Parris); J. R. Horne (Judge Hawthorne); Patrice Johnson (Tituba); Sevrin Anne Mason (Mercy Lewis); Paul O’Brien (Thomas Putnam); Jeanne Paulsen (Ann Putnam); Frank Raiter (Francis Nurse); Lise Bruneau (Voice of Martha Corey); Jack Willis (Marshall Herrick); Helen Stenborg (Rebecca Nurse); Dale Soules (Sarah Good) and Henry Stram (Ezekiel Cheever)

WITH UNDERSTUDIES Lise Bruneau (Elizabeth Proctor / Ann Putnam / Sarah Good); Paul O’Brien  (John Proctor); MacIntyre Dixon (Giles Corey / Judge Hawthorne / Francis Nurse / Ezekiel Cheever); Jennifer Carpenter (Abigail Williams); Michael Winther (Reverend John Hale / Reverend Samuel Parris / Hopkins / Ezekiel Cheever); J. R. Horne (Deputy-Governor Danforth); Stephen Lee Anderson (Reverend Samuel Parris / Thomas Putnam / Marshall Herrick); Laura Breckenridge (Susanna Walcott / Betty Parris / Mercy Lewis); Kristen Bell (Mary Warren); Marsha Stephanie Blake (Tituba / Voice of Martha Corey) and Dale Soules (Rebecca Nurse)

Associate Set Designer: Michael Brown; Associate Costume Designer: Ilona Somogyi; Assistant Costume Designer: Frank Champa; Associate Lighting Designer: Philip Rosenberg; Assistant Sound Designer: Robert Kaplowitz; Dialect and Vocal Coach: Deborah Hecht; Casting by Daniel Swee, C.S.A.; Casting Assistant: Mele Nagier; Technical Supervisor: O’Donovan & Bradford, Gene O’Donovan and David Bradford; Production Stage Manager: Susie Cordon and Stage Managed by Laura Brown-MacKinnon.

General Managed by Robert Cole Productions; Company Managed by Lisa M. Poyer; Management Associate: Grant A. Rice and Erika Shannon; Child Guardian: Kathleen A. Hogg; Press Representative: Richard Kornberg and Don Summa; Press Assistant: Carrie Friedman; Press Intern: Cori Poff; Marketing Online by Toby Simkin; Marketing by The Walton Group, Scott Walton and Hugh Hysell; Group Sales by Showtix and Pat Daily; Advertising by SpotCo, Drew Hodges and Darby Lunceford; Photographer: Inge Morath and Joan Marcus; Artwork Photographer: Firooz Zahed; Video Services by Journey Entertainment and Peter Bloch; Merchandising by Show Propery, Inc, and Randi Grossman; Theatre Displays by King Display and Wayne Sapper.

Production Carpenter: Tony Menditto; Head Carpenter: David N. Anderson [for the Virginia Theatre]; Automation Operator: Bruce E. Thiel; Production Electrician: Patrick T. Gilmore; Head Electrician: Donald Beck [for the Virginia Theatre]; Production Props: Michael Pilipski; Head of Props: Scott Murain [for the Virginia Theatre]; Production Sound Engineer: Clayton R. Steward; Wardrobe Supervisor: Lorraine M. Borek; Mr. Neeson’s Dresser Kathe Mull; Ms. Linney’s Dresser Dana Goodfried; Dresser: Sandy Binion and David Oliver; Costume Construction by Eric Wintering, Inc., CosProp and Jennifer Love Costumes; Millinery by Lynne Mackey Studio; Shoes by Great Northern Boot Company; Production Hair Supervisor: David H. Lawrence; Moving Light Programmer: David Arch and Paul J. Sonnleitner; Production Assistant: Jennifer Cicelsky and Tanya M. Gillette.

Assistant to Mr. Richenthal: Judy Insel; Assistant to Mr. Neeson: Joanna Cannon; Production Intern: Stacey McMath; Legal Counsel: John Breglio and David Berlin; Insurance by Marsh USA Inc. and Robert Boyar; Payroll by C.S.I. and Lance Castellana; Accounting by Lutz & Carr and Anna Stewart Fitzroy, CPA; Travel Services by Linden Travel and ProTravel, Inc; Rehearsal Space at the New 42nd Street Studios and at the Manhattan Theatre Club; Scenery Construction by Showman Fabricators, Inc,; Automation by Feller Precision, Inc.; Lighting Supply by Fourth Phase Lighting Inc. and Sound Equipment by Sound Associates.

  • SSDC: The Director is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc. an independent national labor union.
  • EQUITY: The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actor’s Equity Association, The union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
  • USA: United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American Theatre.
  • IATSE: Backstage and Front of House Employees are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
  • ATPAM: The Press Agents, Company and House Managers employed in this production are represented by the Association of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers.

The Crucible
by Arthur Miller

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AWARDS:

  • TONY AWARD NOMINATION for Best Revival of a Play to The Crucible;
  • TONY AWARD NOMINATION for Best Actor in a Play to Liam Neeson;
  • TONY AWARD NOMINATION for Best Actress in a Play to Laura Linney;
  • TONY AWARD NOMINATION for Best Direction of a Play to Richard Eyre;
  • TONY AWARD NOMINATION for Best Featured Actor in a Play to Brian Murray;
  • TONY AWARD NOMINATION for Best Lighting Design (Play or Musical) to Paul Gallo;
  • DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINEE for Outstanding Actor in a Play to Liam Neeson;
  • DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINEE for Outstanding Director of a Play to Richard Eyre;
  • DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINEE for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play to Brian Murray;
  • DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINEE for Outstanding Revival of a Play to The Crucible;
  • DRAMA LEAGUE WINNER for Distinguished Production of a Revival to The Crucible;
  • OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE NOMINATION for Outstanding Revival of a Play to The Crucible;
  • OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE NOMINATION for Outstanding Actor in a Play to Liam Neeson;
  • OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE NOMINATION for Outstanding Actress in a Play to Laura Linney;
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The Crucible, set in Salem, Massachusetts, is Arthur Miller’s powerful and haunting drama that compares the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s to the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Petty bickering, a bit of dancing, affairs, all lead to accusations of witchcraft amongst the townspeople. Family stresses and small-town intrigue lead to false confessions, despair and the ultimate consequences.

Did you know?

Miller was questioned by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Un-American Activities in 1956 and convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to identify others present at meetings he had attended.
Miller originally called the play THOSE FAMILIAR SPIRITS before renaming it as THE CRUCIBLE.

Broadway Production History

Crucible E.G Marshall Reverend John Hale Arthur Kennedy John Proctor and Beatrice Straight Elizabeth Proctor in the 1953 Broadway productionThe Crucible first opened on Broadway on January 22, 1953, and ran for 197 performances, closing on July 11, 1953 at the Martin Beck Theatre. Lullaby composed by Anne Ronnell; Hymn composed by Alex Miller
Starring E.G Marshall (Reverend John Hale), Arthur Kennedy (John Proctor) and Beatrice Straight (Elizabeth Proctor).
Produced by Kermit Bloomgarden, staged by Jed Harris with Scenic Design by Boris Aronson and Costume Design by Edith Lutyens; Company Manager: S.M. Handelsman; Business Manager: Jack Schlissel; General Manager: Louis A. Lotito; Production Stage Manager: Del Hughes; Stage Manager: Leonard Patrick; Assistant Stage Manager: Donald Marye; Assistant to Jed Harris: Shirley Berick; Casting Consultant: Jane Broder; Press Representative: James Proctor and Merle Debuskey.

Cloris Leachman was originally slated to play the role of Abigail Williams in this production. Prior to coming to Broadway, this production played four performances January 15 – 17, 1953 at the Playhouse Theatre in Wilmington, DE. Leachman left the production the day before opening in Wilmington, at which point Madeleine Sherwood, originally slated to play Mercy Lewis, assumed the role. In June 1953, this production underwent several changes. The woods scene between John Proctor and Abigail Williams was added to Act II, and most of the set was eliminated with the action instead playing in front of black drapes. Playwright Arthur Miller re-directed some scenes.

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Subsequent revivals of The Crucible have appeared on Broadway as follows:

Apr 6, 1964 – May 2, 1964
Belasco Theatre
4 previews, 16 perfs.
Directed by Jack Sydow. Starring Denholm Elliott (Reverend John Hale), Farley Granger (John Proctor) and Anne Meacham (Elizabeth Proctor)
Produced by Michael Dewell, Frances Ann Dougherty and The American National Theatre and Academy; Musical Director: Dean Fuller; Scenic Design by Peter Larkin; Costume Design by Alvin Colt; Lighting Design by Tharon Musser; Production Supervisor: Robert Calhoun
The production won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play.

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Apr 27, 1972 – Jun 3, 1972
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
13 previews, 44 perfs.
Directed by John Berry. Starring Pamela Payton-Wright (Abigail Williams), Robert Foxworth (John Proctor), Philip Bosco (Reverend John Hale) and Martha Henry (Elizabeth Proctor)
Produced by Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center (under the direction of Jules Irving and Robert Symonds); Scenic Design by Jo Mielziner; Costume Design by Carrie Fishbein Robbins; Lighting Design by Jo Mielziner; Production Stage Manager: Patrick Horrigan; Stage Manager: Barbara-Mae Phillips

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Dec 10, 1991 – Jan 5, 1992
Belasco Theatre
23 previews, 31 perfs.
Directed by Yossi Yzraely. Musical Director: John Kander. Starring Michael York (Reverend John Hale,) Martin Sheen (John Proctor), Maryann Plunkett (Elizabeth Proctor) and Fritz Weaver (Deputy-Governor Danforth)
Produced by National Actors Theatre (Tony Randall, Founder and Artistic Director); Executive Producer: Manny Kladitis; Scenic Design by David Jenkins; Costume Design by Patricia Zipprodt; Lighting Design by Richard Nelson; Sound Design by T. Richard Fitzgerald; Hair Design by Robert Fama; General Manager: Niko Associates, Inc. (Manny Kladitis, Founder and President); Company Manager: Erich Hamner; Production Supervisor: Thomas A. Kelly; Production Stage Manager: Glen Gardali; Stage Manager: Donna A. Drake; Technical Director: Gene O’Donovan; Incidental Music Supervisor: David Loud; Casting: Georgianne Walken and Sheila Jaffe; General Press Representative: Springer Associates, Inc.; Fight direction by B. H. Barry

Film & TV Production History

There have been 3 major productions in film, in 1957 – The Crucible (also titled Hexenjagd or Les Sorcières de Salem), a joint Franco-East German film production by Belgian director Raymond Rouleau with a screenplay adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre, in 1996 – The Crucible with a screenplay by Arthur Miller himself. The cast included Paul Scofield, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Winona Ryder. This adaptation earned Miller an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, his only nomination, and in 2014 – The Old Vic’s production of The Crucible which starred Richard Armitage and directed by Yaël Farber was filmed and distributed to cinemas across the UK, Ireland, and the United States.

The play has been presented several times on television. A 1968 production starred George C. Scott as John Proctor, Colleen Dewhurst (Scott’s wife at the time) as Elizabeth Proctor, Melvyn Douglas as Thomas Danforth, and Tuesday Weld as Abigail Williams. A production by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End in 2006 was recorded for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s National Video Archive of Performance.

Character List

  • John Proctor – A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined. Read an in-depth analysis of John Proctor.
  • Abigail Williams – Reverend Parris’s niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed. Read an in-depth analysis of Abigail Williams.
  • Reverend John Hale – A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine Parris’s daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.
  • Elizabeth Proctor – John Proctor’s wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold.
  • Reverend Parris – The minister of Salem’s church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, powerhungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community.
  • Rebecca Nurse – Francis Nurse’s wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess.
  • Francis Nurse – A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife.
  • Judge Danforth – The deputy governor of Massachusetts and the presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and scrupu-lous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft.
  • Giles Corey – An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles’s wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in contempt of court and pressed to death with large stones.
  • Thomas Putnam – A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.
  • Ann Putnam – Thomas Putnam’s wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is convinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.
  • Ruth Putnam – The Putnams’ lone surviving child out of eight. Like Betty Parris, Ruth falls into a strange stupor after Reverend Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the woods at night.
  • Tituba – Reverend Parris’s black slave from Barbados. Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request.
  • Mary Warren – The servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her, who tried unsuccessfully to expose the hoax and ultimately recanted her confession.
  • Betty Parris – Reverend Parris’s ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft.
  • Martha Corey – Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft.
  • Ezekiel Cheever – A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice.
  • Judge Hathorne – A judge who presides, along with Danforth, over the witch trials.
  • Herrick – The marshal of Salem.
  • Mercy Lewis – One of the girls in Abigail’s group.

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