The Crucible

The Crucible

Walter Kerr Theatre

March 12, 2016

Photo courtesy of The Crucible

Director Ivo Van Hove exceeds all expectations with the Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s classic The Crucible.  His concept transcends all time periods and illuminates Mr. Miller’s intention by transferring its relevance to our present day struggles.  The structure of the script and majesty of the words are magnified under his direction.  The cast is superb.  They are viscerally connected to the material and one another.  They draw the audience in for the totality of the experience.

Saoirse Ronan & Ben Whishaw
Photo courtesy of The Crucible

Ben Whishaw’s portrayal of John Proctor is honest, bold, and stark.  His chemistry with Saoirse Ronan’s Abigail Williams is electric.  Ms. Ronan’s character manipulates the events of the play with a captivating confidence and composure.  This makes tangible what Elizabeth Proctor declares to her husband, that there exists an unspoken “promise” made during intimate acts between a man and a woman.  Sophie Okonedo brings a new dimension to Elizabeth Proctor that rings true.  Her performance reverberates with a deeper level of Arthur Miller’s subtext.  Bill Camp is remarkable as Reverend Hale.  There is a gradual peeling away of his understanding of the events, which causes a clearly motivated transition in his conviction.  The devastating effect this has on his ego and belief system is blatantly expressed.  Jason Butler Harner authentically reveals a vulnerable, petty, and insecure side of Reverend Paris that clearly illustrates the kind of unrest that exists within a community in order to justify the extreme reaction the events generate.  Tavi Gevinson is wildly constrained as Mary Warren.  Ciaran Hinds commands the stage as Deputy Governor Danford.  

Photo Courtesy of The Crucible
at the Walter Kerr Theatre

The design of the production is powerful.  The play preaches black and white issues, good vs. evil, God and the devil.  There are no grey areas in these debates, yet the design is all shades of grey.  The scenic design, by Jan Versweyveld, is a unit set that evokes a classroom from the 1950s with hints and accents from earlier decades as well as the present.  The costume design, by Wojciech Dziedzic, also transcends time period with disheveled catholic school girl uniforms, conventional overcoats, and unrestricted trousers.  The lighting, also designed by Mr. Versweyveld, allows the space to change as the sun rises through the windows, birds swarm and disperse, and the devil blows in from the outside.  The original score by Philip Glass enhances every moment, whether it be intimate or jarring.

Ivo Van Hove’s work needs to be experienced first-hand.  You need to sit in the theatre and hear how words suddenly have a different meaning when heard within his context.  He has an uncanny ability to strip down distraction so that every word of the playwright has a strong and clear purpose.  In this production there are a few jaw-dropping images that encapsulate bold thematic messages: a homogenous classroom, a young girl floating in midair, a wolf crossing the stage and staring out at the audience.  You must see it yourself to feel the powerful impact of his work. 

Domenick Danza

A View from the Bridge

A View from the Bridge

The Young Vic Production

The Lyceum Theatre

October 24, 2015

Photo courtesy of
A View from the Bridge

This past spring my colleague and fellow blogger, Deirdre DeLoatch, wrote about her theatre trip to England.  “Experiencing the Heart and Culture of London” was posted on this blog on March 20, 2015.  She raved to me about the Young Vic’s production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge and how it was destined for a Broadway run.  That production is presently in previews at the Lyceum Theatre with and opening date scheduled for November 12.  It far exceeds the high expectation that Deirdre setup for me.  Director Ivo Van Hove’s bare bones production revels in the richness of Arthur Miller’s text and makes relevant this impassioned story of family, love, and hubris.

The play takes place in the 1950s in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman and son of an Italian immigrant, opens his home to two of his wife’s cousins, Marco and Rodolpho, who are illegally entering the country to work and send money home to their impoverished family.  At the same time, Eddie’s niece Catherine, who he and his wife Bea raised since childhood after the death of her parents, is coming of age and ready to move forward with her adult life.  When Rodolpho begins romancing Catherine, Eddie is forced to face his true feelings for his niece and Bea faces her biggest fear.

Photo courtesy of A View from the Bridge

The starkness of the production makes clear the skillful structure of Arthur Miller’s play.  Just when he brings the conflict to a high point and you think resolution is ahead, he delves deeper into what is driving each character so we questions what is right and what is truth.  No playwright writes the tragic fall of the American hero like Arthur Miller.  When Eddie Carbone screams, “He took my name… I want my name back,” he echoes John Proctor in The Crucible and Peter Stockman from his adaptation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People.  Once the truth is told, there is no going back.  When Eddie lunges at Marco in the final scene after his wife Bea finally confronts the truth of his desire, it is similar to the tragic ending of All My Sons.

Phoebe Fox, Mark Strong, & Nicola Walker
Photo courtesy of A View from the Bridge

Although physically not cast to type, the actors make Miller’s dialogue ring with vitality and inspired dramatic action.  Mark Strong is audaciously authentic as Eddie Carbone. His is equally matched by Nicola Walker as his wife Bea.  She has honest moments that reveal her true feelings and realistic fears that propel the action of the play forward.  Michael Gould is a grounding force as Alfieri, who carefully and deliberately steps into the action of the play and accepts his role in the outcome.  Phoebe Fox and Russel Tovey, as Catherine and Rodolpho, change and grow as they face their obstacles in order to achieve their dreams.

Russel Tovey, Phoebe Fox, and Mark Strong
Photo courtesy of A View from the Bridge

The set, by Jan Versweyveld, is a designated square box with a single entrance up stage center.  There are no props and no interior or exterior settings.   The playing area is like a boxing ring with audience seating stage right and left, creating a three quarter stage setting.  Other powerful director/designer choices are the fact that all the characters, except for Alfieri before he steps into the playing area, are barefoot.  Also, the shower in the opening and closing make a strong, effective, awe-inspiring statement.  I will not go into detail about these images so you can feel the full impact when you see it… and you MUST.

This production sheds a new light on this American classic by stripping it down and engaging the audience in the beauty, rhythm, and directness of Arthur Miller’s words.  The play runs under two hours without an intermission, and is scheduled for a limited run of seventeen weeks.  It is an impactful work.  Be sure to see it. 

Domenick Danza