Director's Message

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a gripping drama about the Puritan purge of witchcraft in old Salem and is both a historical play and a timely parable of contemporary society. The story focuses on John Proctor, his wife Elizabeth, and Abigail Williams who maliciously causes Elizabeth's arrest for witchcraft. When Proctor brings Abigail to court to admit her lie, a current of bigotry and deception flows throughout Salem.

In the early days of our rehearsal process, we explored the real lives of the characters portrayed in this script and we sought to understand the motives of their actions. We discussed the helplessness felt by those living in an oppressive society, the blindness that comes from domineering power, the fear of what is unknown and unseen, and the courage required to be truthful and upright. Just as Arthur Miller used the story of Salem as an allegory for McCarthyism, we were able to find parallels to the stories we are living today.

In our fast-paced, technological world, where nearly everyone has access to a camera and microphone, we can easily report on and give witness to the happenings around us. A misstep, error, or fault is quickly projected to the world for public scorn and scrutiny. We frequently pursue the opportunity to bring shame upon someone for their mistakes rather than to seek atonement and to find forgiveness. In the momentum of frantic finger pointing, we often do not get the full truth before arriving at our own conclusions, but if the spotlight is cast on another’s faults, we can hide our own in the shadows. Arthur Miller’s play calls attention to whether we strive for justice for the sake of righteousness or for the sake of our own pride and vanity. It demands we look within before we look outwardly. It urges us to decry evil, to find the human goodness in others, and to uphold truth, no matter the cost.

I am moved by the maturity and grace our actors have given to this story and to one another. They have, as Proctor pleads, "seen some goodness" in each of these characters, in themselves, and one another. As we step into the pain brought on so many people because of the actions of a few, we are reminded of our frailty and our strength; we each have the means to aggravate callousness and cruelty as well as the means to rise up against it — to protect, heal, and restore. John Proctor bears the weight of that choice, and so do we all.

Special Recognition

Samson Leather
LHS Theater Arts Class
The Smith Family
The Hornbecker Family
The Kaylor Family
The Acton Family
Brandy Moss
Radio Mom
The Lebanon Reporter
Amanda Wines
Jacob Kessler
Gwen Schoeff
LHS Administrators

Original music for scene changes was composed and played by Samuel Piper.
Snare drum is played by Josh Zamora.

Student Helpers:
Emma Buckway
Jackson Buckway
Thomas Devlin
Emma Waskom
Conner Bigler
Anna Hale
Corbin DeVol