DEKALB, ILL, August 23, 2022 – The horror of your family or your village being consumed by the evils of Satan is enough to scare most. This fall, Stage Coach Players (SCP) presents one of Arthur Miller’s greatest plays, The Crucible, a story that revolves around the Salem Witch Trials and those who became wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft. The drama, sponsored by Jerry and Annette Johns, and Luke Butler Improvements, opens on September 22 and will run two weekends.
The Crucible is directed by Brad Shortridge, who last directed The Mousetrap for SCP in 2019. At the heart of the story in The Crucible is the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century, a horrifying chapter in America’s history, where more than 200 villagers in the Massachusetts village were accused of practicing witchcraft. Twenty of them were executed as witches.
Miller’s play dramatizes a part of this using real people of the time but embellishing some of the action. Well into the trials, the play opens in the house of Reverend Parris, the morning after a small number of the village girls were discovered in the neighboring forest dancing. Parris’ daughter, one of the girls, remains motionless in her bed. The truth of the previous evening is more devious. The instigator, Abigail Williams and Parris’ niece, convinced the girls to conjure up a curse against Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of John, the man with whom she had an affair with while she was the Proctor’s servant.
When John rejects Abigail’s advances, she and the other girls begin making accusations of witchcraft against some of the women in the village, including Elizabeth. The court, led by Judge Danforth, believe the girls and Elizabeth is taken to prison. To avoid the noose, Elizabeth only needs to confess to practicing witchcraft. She will not. John’s last resort is to expose Abigail’s plan but things go awry when he goes to the court.
The Crucible won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play while Beatrice Straight won the Tony Award for her performance as Elizabeth Proctor for Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actress. The drama opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on January 22, 1953. Miller was not particularly fond of this production, calling it cold and over-stylized. A new production of the play the following year and the play became a classic. SCP has produced several other Miller dramas in the past, including Death of a Salesman and All My Sons.
Performances for The Crucible are September 22 – September 24, 2022, and September 30 – October 1, 2022, with a curtain time of 7:30 p.m. along with Sunday matinees on September 25 and October 2, 2022, with a curtain time of 2:00. Tickets are $15 each or $13 for seniors and children aged 13 and under. Tickets are currently on sale through the box office phone at 815-758-1940. To purchase tickets, visit our online website at
www.stagecoachplayers.com. The box office will open Sunday, September 23, 2022.
Thank you for being understanding as SCP navigates COVID-19 guidelines. For this production, masks are suggested but not required. If the state of Illinois guidelines change, our guidelines will change also. Thank you for helping us keep our patrons, cast and crew safe.
