One reason that a play is considered to be a \u201cclassic\u201d is that the issues examined in the drama remain relevant to current audiences.<\/p>\n
Arthur Miller\u2019s The Crucible<\/em>, being presented October 18, and 20-22 by East Stroudsburg University\u2019s Theatre Department, \u201chighlights several issues that are especially pertinent today,\u201d noted Stephanie Daventry French, professor of theatre and director of the production.<\/p>\n The drama examines how bigoted and deceitful accusations of witchcraft in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts created mass hysteria that resulted in the murders of innocent people. \u201cThe discontent, petty squabbles and intolerance of 1692 Salem are rife within our culture,\u201d French said.<\/p>\n To highlight the link between past and present, French chose to make a change in the setting of the drama. \u201cWhile honoring the historical context of the play and its genesis in the era of McCarthyism,\u201d she noted, \u201cwe have set our production in the near future because of concerns that growing hatred and intolerance could incite a similar tragedy if we are not vigilant.<\/p>\n \u201cEvents similar to the witch trials have happened and continue to happen to purge the frustrations of the community,\u201d French added. \u201cPeople who are marginalized in society are the ones that continue to be scapegoated\u2014the genocide of Jews, gays, Gypsies and other outsiders in Nazi Germany; the lynching of African Americans in the southern U.S.; and the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar.\u201d<\/p>\n The Crucible <\/em>shows \u201chow rumors are spread and people panic and jump to conclusions,\u201d added Angelique Ramirez, a junior from Effort, Pa., majoring in musical theatre, who plays Elizabeth Proctor in the production. \u201cThe play makes you ask \u2018what if this happened today?\u2019 and think of the consequences. Peoples\u2019 lives could be at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy character, John Proctor who is central to the drama, would have the same view of himself in any time period,\u201d said Rashiek Lauren, a junior from Philadelphia, Pa., majoring in musical theatre. \u201cHe\u2019s a strong man, an honest man, but also a stubborn man whose strength is embedded in him.\u201d<\/p>\n Cory Oswald, a sophomore theatre major from Bethlehem, Pa., described his character, Marshall John Willard, as someone who \u201cis in the background throughout the play, has known these people for many years. He\u2019s in a position of authority and has to carry out his duties, even though he starts questioning what he\u2019s doing. Whether in the past or the near future, the rules and laws of a totalitarian society reflect the same kind of thinking that allows people to be \u2018hung\u2019 as \u2018witches.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The creative team for The Crucible <\/em>includes scenic and costume designer Yoshi Tanokura, associate professor of theatre; lighting designer and technical director Christopher Domanski, associate professor of theatre; and student sound designer Joshua Weidenbaum, a junior from Saylorsburg, Pa. who is majoring in musical theatre.<\/p>\n Curtain times for the ESU production of The Crucible<\/em> are 7:30 p.m. October 18, 20 and 21; and 2 p.m. October 22. All performances are in the Smith-McFarland Theatre of the university\u2019s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg.<\/p>\n General admission is $12; senior citizens, faculty and staff with ID are $10; students with ID are $7; and youth 13 and under are $5. This play is recommended for ages 12 and above.<\/p>\n Advanced tickets sales are available online<\/a> (credit cards only online). Remaining tickets are available at the box office one hour before curtain on performance dates (cash and checks only at the box office). For other information or reservations, please email esuarts@esu.edu<\/a> or call 570-422-3483.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Arthur Miller\u2019s The Crucible<\/em>, being presented October 18, and 20-22 by East Stroudsburg University\u2019s Theatre Department, \u201chighlights several issues that are especially pertinent today,\u201d noted Stephanie Daventry French, professor of theatre and director of the production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":16334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[143,42,58,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-news-release","category-slider","category-theater"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16331"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16331"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16338,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16331\/revisions\/16338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}