THEATER REVIEW: The Crucible

The State College Community Theatre’s production of THE CRUCIBLE solidified my opinion that community theater has come a long way in the past several years. There was a time when I would cringe if I heard that they were going to do a drama as important as Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE. Now I feel confident that I will see a professional level production. 

 

Set in 1692 during what will become known as The Salem Witch Trials, THE CRUCIBLE tells the true story, with some artistic license, of John Proctor and how intolerance and mass hysteria can destroy good people. A moral story that is relevant today.

Music and sound effects set the mood of the play from the moment the audience entered the theatre. Costumes and lighting continued the sober effect. Jon Vickers-Jones (scenic designer), Greg Ray (lighting), Laura Lee Hancher (costumes), and Matt Eissler(sound) can be thanked for leading their crews to the total over-all effect.

Director Marilyn Knoffsinger showed great respect for Miller’s script. Her actors delivered the lines with the power that they deserved and made it easy for the audience to follow what can be a wordy play.

Usually in community theatre the balance of talent is not even; thanks to good casting, this was not the case in this production. I like to watch actors when they are not featured in a scene to see how well they stay in character. Never was this a problem. Background characters stayed focused. This can make a big difference during a dramatic scene.

Although this was almost an ensemble cast several bits did stand out for me. Rachel Moon’s dramatic scene early in the first act gave the audience a feel for the tension that would come later.

Jordan Satillo played the part of Abigail with the right touch of vindictiveness hidden beneath an innocent face. She had ample chances to show that talent can come in young packages.

Samuel Reitman probably had to show the widest range of emotions in the role of John Proctor. He made us believe the goodness and the guilt that tore at this man. As John’s wife Elizabeth, Lori Wilson gave a beautifully understated performance.

There is not space to mention each of the cast members, but they were all equally impressive and each deserves individual paragraphs.

I do have to mention the very effective curtain call. There were some tears in the audience.

Community theater is special. The people on stage are our friends, neighbors, office mates, or family members. Most have full time jobs and still make time to learn lines and attend nightly rehearsals so that they can entertain the rest of us for several hours. In the process families are created made up of cast, crew, and audience. What could be more special than that?

THE CRUCIBLE will run on July 26 at 8pm and July 27 at 2 & 8pm. Call the box office at 814-466-7141 or visit their website at http://www.scctonline.org/. There was a large attendance last night and I think as word gets around, tickets may become scarce.

(Note from Wendy:  Pat's obviously been busy theater-hopping, so her Wednesday book review is skipped this week.  All three of her weekend theater reviews were posted today, so be sure not to miss one!!)