Review: ‘The Crucible’ at Actors Co-op

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ may be a familiar stage classic, but its depiction of hysteria and religious persecution surrounding the Salem witch trials still makes it a gutsy choice for Actors Co-op, the Christian theater company based at Hollywood Presbyterian Church.

The production pulls no punches with the play’s cautions about faith corrupted to justify killing based on unproven accusations of heresy, nor its affirmations of the importance of personal integrity no matter how high the cost. Nevertheless, variable performances among the large ensemble get the first act off to a rocky start, as a group of conniving young girls persuade a preacher (Daniel J. Roberts) and other gullible townsfolk that they were victims of witchcraft, making scapegoats of anyone against whom they hold grudges.

Marianne Savell’s staging hits its stride in the more intimate second act encounter between flawed hero John Proctor (Bruce Ladd) and his steadfast wife Elizabeth (Nan McNamara). Quietly embodying the values of honor and humility to which the town’s moral guardians pay only lip service, McNamara effectively reigns in Ladd’s tendency to milk moments with actorly pauses.

The superbly paced third act is dominated by Eddie Hailey’s implacable Deputy Governor bent on exercising authority even at the cost of innocent lives, and by the harrowing sequence in which Abigail (Nicole Gabriella Scipione) and her accomplices feign demonic possession.

Miller intended the play as an allegorical protest against the McCarthy-era political witch-hunts of the 1950s, but there’s nothing dated about the disturbing ease with which normal, rational people can be manipulated into intolerance and suspicion. Abusing power by exploiting fear never goes out of style.

-- Philip Brandes

‘The Crucible,’ Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays (also 2:30 p.m. May 9 and 16). Ends June 7. $30. (323) 462-8460. Running time: 3 hours.