The
Branford High School Drama Department is tackling one of the most challenging
and epic plays of American theater in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Miller’s
thinly veiled critique of the communist paranoia of the 1950s is played out
upon the backdrop of colonial Salem
and its notorious witch hunts.
Though the
students are too young to have direct experience with the Cold War, the themes
still resonate with the actors, according to Director Maria Ogren. The drama
has some deep messages but, because these issues remain timeless, the students
learn as they perform.
“The kids
are reading about these issues in class and they get it,” Ogren said. “Just
because they weren’t around in the ‘50s doesn’t mean they can’t grasp what
Miller was saying about humanity. The Crucible is a monument to Salem and what happened
there. As long as this play is read and staged, we have a warning. We actually
did this and we should think about it.”
The
Crucible by Arthur Miller runs Thursday to Saturday, Dec. 4 to 6 at the Branford High School auditorium at 7:30 p.m. all
three nights. Admission is $5.
- Ben Rayner
Pictured: The cast of Branford
High School’s production
of The Crucible rehearses the pivotal scene in which Elizabeth Proctor is
charged with witchcraft and taken into custody.
Photo by
Ben Rayner