The Crucible by Arthur Miller

October 15 - November 7, 2004
Loading Dock Theater

Arthur Miller's haunting and terrifying look at the Salem witch trials of 1692 - a classic work that continues to excite and enrage audiences. In telling the story of a young girl, a rejected lover, who accuses her fellow townspeople of practicing witchcraft, Miller delves into the darker parts of the human spirit to discover why a small Massachusetts community could be so ready to condemn 19 innocent people to death.

Cast:

Staff:
Directed by Casey Radmann

Photos: (Click picture for larger version)
 

Reviews:
"Peter Hansen's portrayal of the well-intentioned, hunk-o-farmer John Proctor is right on. He is at once Herculean and curly headed cupid, a physical presence that endears him — to both the audience and to Abigail — as sexy and lovable. Only later, after his wife stands accused of witchcraft by his scorned mistress Abigail, does he prove his acting prowess in a kick-down-the-door rampage to defend his family's name.

Heidi Bakke as the doe-eyed, dim-witted witch court witness Mary Warren, cultivates appropriate naiveté and impressionability. Her fear of the power held by the God-fearing leaders of Salem is palpable — she crumbles at their very mention of spirits. Similarly, Kathleen Hardy as the voodoo slave Tituba is equally captivating, commanding a pin-drop silence of the theater as she weeps for mercy and repents her devil-worshiping ways.

The goodbye scene between John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth, as played by the frail, flush-faced Karla Reck, comes as respite to all this tedium. With Proctor facing certain execution, light flushes through the cracks of the set's rustic arrangement of 2-by-4's, bathing the doomed couple's last moment together in the golden hue of redemption."

-- Christy DeSmith, Special to the St. Paul Pioneer Press - October 17, 2004

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