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| Little Theatre stages a classic | ||||||||
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| The drama about the Puritan purge of witchcraft in old Salem
is a favorite of Director James Tavares.An honors English teacher at
B.M.C. Durfee High School for the past 33 years, Tavares has
directed the play twice before. Written in response to the McCarthy trials, the play by Arthur Miller "was very unpopular when it first opened on Broadway in the 50s," he said. "The Crucible" won a Tony Award for best play in 1953. The accusatory atmosphere in Salem in 1692 during the time of the witch trials can be related to present day scandals like Watergate and presidential politics, said Tavares. The cast numbers more than 70, including some 50 high school students from Durfee who play Puritans in the town of Salem where 19 "witches" were hanged in 1692. "It has always been one of my favorites," said Tavares. The cast has been rehearsing since the first of the year, said stage manager Debbie Pelletier, who has been with The Little Theatre of Fall River Inc. for nearly 25 years. Pelletier said the theatre company hasn’t staged a drama in a while, and having Tavares as the director adds to the experience for all involved. "He teaches it as he directs," said Pelletier. Tavares told the young women who were assembled at rehearsal the other night that Puritans did not wear makeup and they need to do without it for the show. They also kept their hair tucked inside their white bonnets, he told them. "It’s a period piece. You have to dress and look the way the people did at that time," he said. "The Crucible" shows, as described by the New York Daily News, how small lies -- children’s lies -- build and build until a whole town is aroused and 19 men and women go to the gallows for being possessed of the devil. They are good men and women, upright, hardworking, compassionate and God-fearing. The hysterical investigation into witchcraft in Salem began after a West Indian slaved named Tituba told voodoo tales to young girls who then claimed they were possessed by the devil. The young girls accused women in the town of witchcraft. The list of the accused increased. Public opinion finally stopped the trials and they were later condemned. The shows tonight and Saturday are at 8 p.m. and Sunday’s show is at 2 p.m. Single tickets are $12. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups of 20 or more. Call 508-675-1852. |
| ©The Herald News 2002 |
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