The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company, under the direction of
Liz Smith, presents the American
classic The Crucible by Arthur Miller on
Thursday, November 19, Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21 at 7 pm in
the Belmont High School Auditorium, 221 Concord Avenue.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best
Play, THE CRUCIBLE is an ageless tale of fear, greed and power written by one
of the greatest American playwrights of all time. Set during the
Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the play is a
powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance and hysteria can tear a
community apart.The story revolves around what happens to a
town when the Pastor spies his own daughter and a group of girls dancing in the
woods. When
the teenage girls are discovered trying to conjure spirits, the 17th century
town of Salem explodes with accusations of witchcraft. Once this charge
is leveled we
learn of the disputes and jealousies that reside in this farming community
whose law is their faith and whose judges must uphold not only the law but also
the authority and power of the church. The vicious trials that follow
expose a community paralyzed by terror, religious extremism and greed, and a
marriage forever changed.
The Crucible,
written in 1953, was intended by Miller to be an allegory for the McCarthyism
of the 1950s, when many of his colleagues were blacklisted for being associated with
Communism.Miller himself was called before the House Committee on
Un-American Activities in 1956 and refused to name names.
Students from the Performing Arts Company enjoyed a field
trip to Salem in early October where they visited the Witch Museum, the Witch
House, Pioneer Village (a plantation that replicated life in 17th
century Salem), and spent time wandering through the Salem Graveyard looking
for their character’s gravestones.
Tickets for The Crucible are
$10.00 for adults and $8.00 for students/seniors and are available at the door.
Tickets may also be reserved in advance by calling the Tickets Hotline at
617-993-5844. Email:
ticketshotline@belmont.k12.ma.us. Reserved
tickets will be held until 30 minutes before the performance. Tickets may also
be purchased in advance from Champion's Sporting Goods, 53 Leonard St. in
Belmont Center, and Ooh La La Fudge, 495 Trapelo Road in Waverley Square. For
further information: www.belmonttheatre.org
