January 28-30, 2005
directed by Chris Mackowski

Written by Arthur Miller, The Crucible is based on the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s. When a group of young girls are caught dancing in the woods, they say the Devil is to blame. The ensuing hysteria turns the quiet Massachusetts town inside out as people suddenly see the work of witchcraft everywhere. Self-serving interests twist justice for their own ends, and self-righteousness turns to tyranny. Miller's gripping drama is a powerful exploration of the victimization of innocents.

Recognized by the Theatre Association of New York State with a Merit Awards for Excellence Excellence in Ensemble Work, Dedication and Period Authenticity to the Cast, Director, Designer, Stage Manager, Costumer and Crew.

The Setting  |  The Cast  |  The Crew  |  From the Director  |  Special Thanks  |  Return to BLT's Main Page

Setting
Salem Village, The Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1692

Act One, Scene One
A bedroom in the home of Rev. Samuel Parris

Scene Two
The common room of Proctor’s House, eight days later

Scene Two
The Salem meeting house, the next day.

Scene Three
A cell in Salem jail, that fall.

(In the Photo: Actor Paul Nelson, who played John Proctor, at the Witch Trials Memorial in Salem, Mass.)

The Cast

David Baltusavich (Thomas Putnam) of Mt. Jewett is making his BLT debut, although he’s fresh off a powerful performance as Claudius in Pitt-Bradford’s spectacular production of Hamlet.

Rebekah D. Blair (Rebecca Nurse) of Bradford is a BLT board member who has worked backstage and onstage. Her most recent effort was an award-winning performance in Fin & Euba.

Dani Brien (Tituba) of Gifford appeared most recently as the uproariously hilarious mother superior in Nunsense. She also appeared as a disciple in Godspell.

Eric Brown (Rev. Johnathan Hale) of Eldred won an award for his portrayal of Caliban in BLT’s production of The Tempest in Oct. 2003. He’s a stalwart of Pitt-Bradford’s theatre program, including his most recent performance as the title character in Hamlet.

Charles E. Church (Rev. Samuel Parris) of Bradford makes his first return to the stage since playing the lead role in God’s Favorite for BLT last season.

Barbara Gee (Susanna Walcott) of Port Allegany served as producer for BLT’s award-winning production of Godspell last spring. She recently performed as a member of the chorus in Olean Community Theatre’s The Wizard of Oz.

Sonja Gee (accuser) of Port Allegany appeared as a chorus member in OCT’s The Wizard of Oz. The Crucible is her first full-production with BLT.

Heidi Giberson (Mary Warren) of Portville made her BLT debut as Marcy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Her extensive credits elsewhere include a recent award-winning spell as Dorothy in Olean Community Theatre’s The Wizard of Oz.

Laura Giberson (Mercy Lewis) of Portville makes her BLT debut with The Crucible. Laura has performed on Broadway (yes, that Broadway) in Annie Get Your Gun.

Bill “Gus” Gocella (Francis Nurse) of Bradford has been a staple of BLT’s readers theatre programs for the past two seasons. The Crucible is his first full production with BLT.

Brie Lara-Brien (accuser) of Gifford makes her BLT debut with The Crucible.

Lori Lee (Martha Corey) of Olean returns to BLT for the first time since her award-winning turn as the Ship's Captain in The Tempest.

Stephanie Mackowski (Betty Parris) of Limestone appeared most recently on stage for OCT as Nikko the flying monkey in The Wizard of Oz. Her work in BLT’s Under the Shade of the Trees won her recognition from the PA state theatre association.

Dick Marcott (Giles Correy) of Bradford is a BLT board member and a staple of the Bradford stage. Last season, he directed God’s Favorite and won an award for his performance in The Tempest.

Paul A. Nelson (John Proctor) of Olean commanded the seas as Prospero in The Tempest. His award-winning work with Olean Community Theatre has won him accolades at the local, state and regional levels as one of New York’s most outstanding performers.

Sheila Peace-Rambacher (Sarah Good) of Olean makes her debut with BLT in The Crucible, but she’s performed in a number of shows in Olean and Salamanca.

Gabriel T. Potter (Ezekial Cheever) of Olean performed most recently for BLT as one of the disciples in Godspell. He is highly active in the theatre program at St. Bonaventure University.

Michael Rambacher (Willard) of Olean, like his wife, Sheila, is making his BLT debut. Mike is a former president of the Cattaraugus County Living Arts Association.

Ken Roberts (Deputy-Governor Danforth) of Hinsdale has served in a number of capacities with BLT, although this is his first time performing with the group. Ken also serves as treasurer for Olean Community Theatre, a company he’s worked with for a quarter of a century.

Mary R. Rolick (Elizabeth Proctor) of Little Valley, although making her stage debut with BLT, is a veteran performer and director. Her most recent work was as director of last spring’s production of Sylvia for Olean Community Theatre. (In the Photo, left: Mary Rolick as Elizabeth Proctor with Paul Nelson as her husband, John.)

Jessica Stoddard (accuser) of Limestone returns to BLT after performances in God’s Favorite, The Tempest, and The Lady from the Sea.

Brandon Tully (Hopkins) of Limestone makes his first appearance in a BLT show since The Tempest, which makes this his second-ever show.

Eric L. Van Druff (Hawthorn) of Olean has been with BLT since the first show, when he played the title role in The Foreigner. He has served in nearly every capacity since, most recently as the director of the award-winning Godspell and music director for Nunsense.

Bria Wilcox (accuser) of Limestone makes her stage debut with The Crucible.

Cristin Winegard (Abigail Williams) of Cuba is a BLT veteran whose most recent appearances were award-winning performances in Godspell as a disciple and as the Wicked Witch of the West in OCT’s The Wizard of Oz.

Jude Ann Yehl (Ann Putnam) of Allegany makes her stage debut with The Crucible.

It is BLT’s great privilege to work with so many talented veterans, whose immense talent has helped bring this production to life. However, we are especially gratified to welcome the many first-time performers and crew members.

Crew

Assistant Director/Co-Producer/Designer—Anne Davenport-Leete serves on BLT’s board of directors. An award-winning designer for her work with Godspell and The Lady from the Sea, her most recent theatrical project was as the director of Fin & Euba.

Stage Manager—Nathan H. Bell (Stage Manager/Technical Director) is a former board member with York Little Theatre in York, Pa., before returning last year to his native Eldred. He was recently seen onstage as Jesus in BLT’s Godspell and as John Adams in Olean Theatre Workshop’s 1776. Nate has also worked tech for Original Works and Nunsense.

Lighting Designer and Light Board Operator—Richard Blair

Electrics Crew:
Ken Alter
Rebekah D. Blair
Sonja Gee
Eric Van Druff

Sound Board Operator—Ron Johnson

Costumes—Charlotte Roberts

Master Carpenter—James Van Scoy

Set Construction Crew:
Ken Alter
Diane Kerner Arnett
Nathan H. Bell
Bryan Blackwell
Baylee Brien
Dani Brien
Charles Church
Anne Davenport-Leete
David Garris
Nanci K. Garris
Barbara Gee
Sonja Gee
Brianna Lara-Brien
Chris Mackowski
Heidi Mackowski
Jackson Mackowski
Dick Marcott
Paul A. Nelson
Mary R. Rolick
Eric L. Van Druff
Jim Van Scoy

Pulpit design and construction by Jim Van Scoy and Dave Anderson of Anderson Pattern Works.

Make-Up—Barbara Gee

Publicity—Sharie Radzavich, Chris Mackowski, Julie Dykstra

Box Office—Betsy Matz

Lobby Photography—Alternative Expressions Studio

Hospitality Hosts—Brian and Jill Moore, Linda Conklin, Tina Martin, Rick and Jan Frederick

Refreshment donors—John and Rebecca Ryan, Bob and Liz Sefton, Ruby Backer, Sharie Radzavich, Cindy Pascarella, Mary Blaine Prince, Tillie Brady, Nanci K. Garris, Taffy Meyer, Parkview Supermarket

From the Director

Welcome to The Crucible.

On one level, this is a play about the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s, as told by Arthur Miller. In that context, we’re tried to recreate for you the sights and sounds of the period. In early December, members of the cast and crew traveled with me to Massachusetts to conduct our own first-hand research for the play. The music is authentic to the period. The costumes are accurate. The architecture of the set replicates not only that of the time period but of the actual homes of some of the victims and the meeting house of Salem village.

Despite our re-creation, though, I cannot transport you back to Salem village of the 1690s. Nor would I want to. The Crucible is a story about today. It endures as a modern American classic because it is a story that continues to happen. After all, Miller wrote The Crucible in the era of McCarthyism, when the Committee for UnAmerican Activities conducted its own witchhunt for Communists.

But it has happened in other times, too: during John Adams’ administration, with the Alien and Sedition Acts; during the Civil War, when Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus; during World War II, when Japanese-Americans were held in detention camps; during the political correctness movement of the 1990s; even now in the post-9/11 world of The Patriot Act. If Adams and Lincoln and FDR, giants of American history, found ways to repeat the mistakes of history, is anybody safe from repeating those mistakes?

In their respective times, there always seemed to be good reasons for investigation. Only through the lens of history itself have people looked back and dubbed these things “witchhunts.” Without that benefit of hindsight, the only way we can keep ourselves from engaging in such witchhunts now is through continual critical self-examination, looking for truth without assuming what the truth will be or should be.

-- Chris Mackowski
January 2005

Chris Mackowski (Director/Co-Producer) is president of Bradford Little Theatre. The Theatre Association of New York State has recognized him with awards for his directing playwriting, designing, and performing. By day, Chris works as an assistant professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University, and he’s the author of two theatre-related books. He and his wife, Heidi, have two children, Stephanie and Jackson, whom he considers to be his best productions of all. (In the Photo: Chris gives a little "healing" to his assistant director, ADL.)

Special Thanks

Ken and Paula Alter
The Bradford Era
Campus Police & Safety
Patty Colosimo
Judy Hopkins
Tom and Shirlee Leete
Pitt-Bradford’s Theatre Department
The Rebecca Nurse Homestead
The Right Stuff
The Times Herald
WESB
The people of Danvers, Mass.

Thanks, as ever, to our ticket outlets: Brauser’s, Graham Florist, Ott & McHenry Pharmacy, and Tina’s Hallmark!

Thanks to those who made BLT’s Government and Religion panel discussion a success on January 19: Rick & Jan Frederick, Hon. John Cleland, John Hanchette, Rev. Dominic Monti, O.F.M., and BLT’s Hospitality Committee.

The director would like to offer his thanks to the ever-dependable Nate Bell and the indespensable ADL. He offers a special thanks to his children, Stephanie and Jackson, for their patience and to his wife, Heidi—“You are the everything.”

Click here for more information on:

BLT's Playwright-in-Residence Program

The Lester Brauser Theatre Appreciation Award

Links to other theatre resources

Bradford Little Theatre promotes, encourages, and produces community-based theater in the greater Bradford area. By making theatre available and accessible to the public, BLT provides opportunities for community participation, appreciation, and education, thus enriching the community and increasing interest in the arts.

BLT is a charter member of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Theatres.
BLT is also a member of the Theatre Association of New York State and the American Association of Community Theatre.

Contact BLT!BLT@bradfordlittletheatre.org
PO Box 255 Bradford, PA 16701

BLT main page