Stage Door News
Stage Door News
[MISSISSAUGA ON October 2013] Theatre Erindale’s 2013-14 “Uppity Women” season opens with one of the greatest dramas of the twentieth century. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible runs from October 24 to November 3 at the Erindale Studio Theatre.
Salem, Massachusetts, 1692: hysteria born of puritan repression and fear of ‘the other’ leads to the torture and execution of 28 innocent people. Will John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth be among them? Or will they withstand the epidemic that has infected humankind repeatedly and could easily do so again? The fact that the story is true increases the play’s impact. "As a drama about a man and woman whose devotion to each other is haunted by the memory of an infidelity, The Crucible shows a penetrating knowledge of people."—Walter Kerr “Startling use of theatre.”—Penelope Curtis "Magnificent"—Eric Bentley
The Crucible premiered in 1953 and was originally greeted with less enthusiasm than Miller’s previous masterpieces All My Sons and Death of a Salesman. At that time it was seen as a direct attack on McCarthy’s powerful House Committee on Un-American Activities, which was interrogating and blacklisting many prominent artists. But since then, the universal applications of the story have been better understood. In today’s world, it is still far too easy for fear of the unknown to lead to hysteria and premature judgement. As Assistant Director Ben Hayward points out, “The play has gone on to become Miller’s most widely produced and published work, and continues to be performed with startling regularity on stages across the world”.
Theatre Erindale’s production features the graduating actors of the Sheridan-UTM Theatre and Drama Studies Program, with a set by Peter Urbanek, lighting by Jim Smagata, costumes by Joanne Massingham, and stage management by Thomas Schweitzer.
To pilot the first show of the season, the company welcomes special guest director Aaron Willis. In his multi-faceted career, Willis was nominated for one Dora Award for acting in Wrecked and another for directing The Gladstone Variations, and won the 2009 Tyrone Guthrie Jean Gascon Award for his work at the Stratford Festival. His range as director spans the distance from The Russian Play for Factory to Abattoir for Kaeja d’Dance to The Merchant of Venice for Shakespeare in the Rough. Willis is co-founder (with his wife, actress and playwright Julie Tepperman) of Convergence Theatre, responsible for such shows as YICHUD (Seclusion) and Autoshow, and partner in this Spring’s multi-company event production of Passion Play.
For Willis, the play asks “the same question that all people who live in times when society goes collectively insane are faced with: ‘What will I do if I'm called out before the court? Will I confess to signing my name in the Devil's book? Will I name names? Or will I maintain my integrity though it cost me my life?’”
The Crucible runs October 24 to November 3 at the Erindale Studio Theatre, with evening performances Thursday through Saturday and matinées on Saturdays and on Sunday November 4. Single tickets are still only $10-$15 and parking in Lot 1 or the CCT Garage is $6.00. Memberships offering 5 shows for the price of 4 are still on sale. For tickets and information, call the Erindale Studio Theatre Box Office at 905-569-4369 or www.theatreerindale.com .
THE CRUCIBLE
by Arthur Miller
directed by Aaron Willis
One of the greatest dramas of the twentieth century
Preview Oct 24; Opening Oct 25; runs Oct 26 and Oct 31-Nov 3, 2013
Thurs 7:30; Fri 8:00; Sat 2:00 & 8:00; Sun Nov 4 2:00
$10.00-$15.00
Erindale Studio Theatre
(Mississauga Road 3 lights north of Dundas)
www.theatreerindale.com or 905-569-4369
Photo: Memorial to Sarah Good, one of the victims of the Salem witch trials.
2013-10-17
Mississauga: Theatre Erindale opens its season with "The Crucible" October 24-November 3