THE CRUCIBLE

 

It’s a damnable cliche to say upon the production of some classic, canonical work that it’s as relevant today as it was when first produced but it also tends to be true. Arthur Miller may have told the tale of the Salem Witch Trials with an intent to comment on 1950s anti-Communist hysteria but it works just as well as a rebuke of the fires of fanaticism currently burning in Florida and elsewhere, and will work just as well for whatever will be ailing us in twenty years time. (Probably some intersection of oppression of and/or by robots) Great plays don’t change and neither do we. In the small Invictus space, director Charles Askenaizer gives us a superb rendition of Miller’s masterpiece. None of the cast ever leaves the stage (when not in action, they sit in pews as if in congregation and sometimes point mutually accusing fingers)
The show treats us to some damn near perfect performances from actors who literally might have been born to play their roles. None more so than Mark Pracht as John Proctor, the dour but righteous man of reason and compassion (heavily disguised by cynical masculinity) who is undermined by the fatal flaw of his adulterous lust for the servant girl Abigail Williams (Michaela Voit) who responds to his (eventual) rejection with dabblings in, then accusations of witchraft that spiral into the collective madness that left dozens of people dead.    As perfectly incarnated by Voit, Williams is an antagonist for our media saturated era, more, it would seem, than Miller’s. Revenge seems to give way to the thrill of celebrity as her motivation, and we can never be quite sure how much of her lies she believes. Indeed many quintessentially American evils lie in both this play’s background (anti-Blackness, rapacious ogligarchy) and foreground (the aspiration toward theocracy) While everyone’s mileage will vary, and I do come in with a preexisting affection for the material, I can say I was completely gripped during this show’s three hour running time and it never felt long in the slightest. Presented by Invictus Theatre Company 1106 W Thorndale Chicago Thru - Jun 11, 2023 Monday, Thurs-Sat: 7pm Sundays: 3pm