Youngstown State University Theater ‘Crucible’ play to be learning opportunity

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The cast of Youngstown State University Theater’s production of “The Crucible,” which opens Thursday.

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State University Theater’s production of “The Crucible” opens Thursday and runs for two weekends. W. Rick Schilling is artistic director. The cast includes Jessica Schmidt, Courtney Auman, Kaleigh Locketti and Anthony Genovese.

Winner of the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play, “The Crucible,” penned by Arthur Miller, is a drama about the Puritan purge of witchcraft in old Salem. It is both a gripping historical play and a timely parable of contemporary society.

The story focuses on farmer John Proctor, his wife and a young servant-girl who maliciously causes the wife’s arrest for witchcraft. The farmer brings the girl to court to admit the lie — but it’s too late to stop the course of deceit. Instead of saving his wife, he finds himself also accused of witchcraft and ultimately condemned with a host of others.

Each performance will include a brief pre-show educational dialogue a half-hour before curtain, coordinated by Dennis Henneman, assistant director, dramaturg and stage combat consultant. The dialogues will be presented by community and YSU leaders who will assist the audience in understanding some of the play’s important issues.

The discussions will take place in the Ford Theater lobby (inside Bliss Hall) in front of a floor-to-ceiling art piece constructed by art instructor Dragana Crnjak and visual-art students. The piece uses fragmentation, high contrasts and implied shadows to reflect the ideas of power, distortion, fear and secrecy.