A classic and central work in the canon of American drama, “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller will be presented by Southern Arkansas University Theatre at Harton Theatre starting at 7 p.m. nightly from November 19-21, and at 2 p.m. on November 22.
Tickets can be purchased at www.showtix4u.com, or by calling SAU Theatre at (870) 235-4291. Prices for an adult/general admission ticket is $10; children 12 and under are $5; SAU students, faculty, staff are $5.
There is an SAU student special of $1 admission at the door for Thursday’s opening night performance.
The performance on Saturday, Nov. 21, will be followed by an actor talk back. There are two acts, with a 15-minute intermission. There is a cast and crew of more than 40 SAU students and staff. Costumes are being provided by Broadway Costumes, Inc., of Chicago.
Miller, an American playwright, authored “The Crucible” in 1953 after his experience of being tried and convicted of contempt by the U.S. Congress for simply refusing to identify any friends who may or may not have had any connections with the communist party. The play is set in 1692, and is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. This was a time when paranoia, hysteria, and deceit gripped the Puritan towns of New England.
The production won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play. A year later a new production succeeded and the play became a classic. It is a central work in the canon of American drama.
