Set in Salem, Mass., during the 17th-century Salem witch trials, Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning play "The Crucible" is as relevant in today's climate of conspiracy theories and fake news as it was when it was written in 1953 as an allegory targeting McCarthyism.
The Literature Live! performance series at Sag Harbor's Bay Street Theater will celebrate its 15th anniversary when "The Crucible" opens a two and a half-week run next Thursday.
Literature Live! was started by Tracy Mitchell, the theater's executive director. ”This program came about when seeing how little of the performing arts were being incorporated into my own daughter’s curriculum," she says. "I was shocked, because my own exposure to theater had been so life-changing, and I can’t imagine, if I hadn’t had that, what experiences I would have missed out on in my own life."
In addition to its performances for the public, Literature Live! presents free performances for local school groups and others from as far away as New York City and New Jersey. Those daytime performances can be arranged with the theater on a first-come-first-served basis.
For the BOCES-approved Arts-in-Education program, teachers are provided with curriculum guides in advance, to help with content and additional aspects of learning. Each student performance will be followed by a question-and-answer session with various members of the team.
Directed by Will Pomerantz, the theater's associate artistic director, the production stars Allen O'Reilly as Reverend Samuel Parris, Kate Fitzgerald as Abigail Williams, and Teresa DeBerry as Mrs. Ann Putnam and Rebecca Nurse.
Other performers are Gabriel Portuondo as Thomas Putnam and the Bailiff, Sonnie Betts as Mercy Lewis, Anna Francesca Schiavoni as Mary Warren, Joe Pallister as John Proctor, Meg Gibson as Elizabeth Proctor, Keith Reddin as the Reverend John Hale, and Matthew Conlon as Deputy Governor Danforth.
Public performances will take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 p.m. (except on Thanksgiving, Nov. 23), with 2 p.m. shows on Nov. 11, 24, 25, and 26. A sensory-friendly performance for individuals with sensory sensitivities, autism, or other special needs, is set for Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $37, with both shows on Nov. 11 free for veterans.
Teachers and administrators can register their school groups by contacting Allen O'Reilly, the theater's director of education, at [email protected] or by calling 631-725-0818.
