The Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Players opened a run of the well-known play, The Crucible on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Sam and Sue Mars Performing Arts Center on LMU’s main campus.
The Crucible, an American theatre classic by play writer Arthur Miller, is a 60-year-old play from a Pulitzer Prize winner. The play demonstrates the 17th century colony of faith and fear and is based on the Salem witch trials of 1692 which occurred at the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The LMU Players will perform under the direction of Assistant Professor Joe Gill and Joel Powell, of the Morristown Theatre Guild.
“For me, the message of this play is fear, how a tight community loses their faith and replaces it with fear, allowing fear to tear apart their community,” Gill said. “This play is timeless because Miller historicizes a specific dark time in our past to show how similar situations can and do still happen.”
While the play remains as relevant today as when it first debuted, it represents an ambitious challenge for the University’s student theatre great. Senior Petchula Ford, who will take on the role of Abigail, said, “The Crucible is much more demanding than anything the LMU Players have ever done. This play is about being able to convey a million different messages every line. You have to go from zero to 100 in a split second.”
Joining Ford on the cast are LMU students Samantha Atkins as Betty; Laurana Duncan as Mercy Lewis; Alyson Hensley as Teagan; Buford Herron as Rev. Parris; Chelsea Robertson as Mary Warren; Leah Colwell as Ann Putnam; Adam Crawford as Thomas Putnam; Timmy Knisley as John Proctor; Sandra Weems as Rebecca Nurse; Caleb Knisley as Rev. Hale; Emma Henderson as Elizabeth Proctor; Ethan Jarstfer as Francis Nurse; Harrison Williams as Judge Danforth; Alex Kitts as Judge Hathorne and Anastasia Johnson, Alexa Livesay, Jessie Lear and Alicia Jessie as the girls ensemble and chorus. Two community members complete the cast with Clayton Baker filling the roles of Herrick and Shadowman and Mark Smith portraying Giles Coery.
The production will take place on the following dates; Oct. 27, 28, 29 and Nov. 3, 4, and 5 at 7 p.m. There will be two matinees starting at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29 and Nov. 5. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door for the general public (12 and up) and will be free to LMU students, faculty, staff (with i.d.) and children under the age of 12. For tickets and more information, please call 423-869-6203.
Lincoln Memorial University is a values-based learning community dedicated to providing educational experiences in the liberal arts and professional studies. The main campus is located in Harrogate. For more information about the undergraduate and graduate programs available at LMU, contact the Office of Admissions at 423-869-6280 or email at admissions@lmunet.edu.