THE CRUCIBLE to be Presented at Ocala Civic Theatre This Fall

"We are only what we always were..." Arthur Miller's The Crucible is live on stage October 30 - November 16 at Ocala Civic Theatre.

In 1692 in Salem, in the Puritan colony of Massachusetts, Reverend Samuel Parris (Tom Ferreira) is horrified to find a dozen girls dancing in the forest at midnight - including his young daughter, Betty (Lilly Gonzalez), and his niece, Abigail Williams (Katarina Shaner). Mercy Lewis (Gianna Hess), Mary Warren (Iyanna Lynell), and Susanna Walcott (Kaitlyn Nast) are among the village girls with them. Tituba (Alexis Medina), an enslaved woman of the Parris household, sings her songs from Barbados by the fire as the girls dance and run through the woods.

When discovered by her father, Betty faints and remains mysteriously asleep ever since - some say bewitched. The villagers gather at the Parris home to pray and speculate. Rumors of witchcraft spread through Salem... and where there's smoke, there's wildfire.

Made bitter by loss and looking for someone to blame, Ann Putnam (Nicole Thomas) and her husband, Thomas (Daniel Roscoe), say their own young daughter is bewitched as well. Scholarly Reverend John Hale (Jack O'Leary), an expert on demonology, arrives with all his books to study the devil and his alleged works in Salem.

Desperate to avoid being hanged, the girls begin hurling false charges of witchcraft at the townspeople. Accusations abound as the flames of persecution leap ever higher. Conjured or not, curses begin to befall saints and sinners alike as they are ensnared in this web of deceit.

John Proctor (James R. Taylor III) and his wife, Elizabeth (Lizzie McDonald), live just outside town on their farm, where Abigail once had been a servant. Now she has a past with John and a grudge against Elizabeth. Her plan for revenge comes to pass when Ezekiel Cheever (Joshua Michel) arrives at the Proctor farm with a warrant for Elizabeth, also accused of witchcraft.

Kind Rebecca Nurse (Danuta Jacob), a respected elder in the village, tries to talk reason into her neighbors - but soon she too is among the accused, to the dismay of her husband, Francis (Garry Michel). Peppery old Giles Corey (Timmy Spence) has a feud with seemingly everyone. As he stirs up his own brand of discord, he soon falls under suspicion of darker motives. And Sarah Good (Megan Hilt), disdained as a crazy beggar woman, is one of Salem's many scapegoats.

Soon the jail is full of the accused, under the jurisdiction of town marshal John Willard (Andrew Zampa) and jail guard Hopkins (Logan Smith). By the time Judge Hathorne (Trafton Crandall) and Judge Danforth (Scott Fitzgerald) preside over the witch trials, the community is in a frenzy of hysteria. An ever-present ensemble (Cadence Czarny, Suriana Im, Zumi Lewis, Sydney Sara Stanley, Grace Lynne Taylor, Isabella Valiente) bears witness as the watchful eyes everywhere. Who is "guilty" and who is "innocent"? An all-too-true tale of the Salem witch trials, this spellbinding drama is an American classic - and more relevant than ever.

The Crucible is directed by Greg Thompson. Scenic and projections designer is Mihai Ciupe. Costume Designer is Amanda Jones. Assistant Costume Designer is Lydia Oestreich. Lighting designer is David Castaneda. Sound designer is Jazmine Whipple. Props designer is Laura Bradford. Stage manager is Ginny Riley.