symposium on The Crucible

Abstract

The CrucibleWalter Kerr Theatre13 March-17 July 2016Directed by Ivo van Hove[Editor's Note: While The Crucible might be considered one of Miller's closer brushes with realism, despite its realistic veneer, it was also deceptively inventive for its time. His earlier, equally realistic All My Sons has withstood several forays against its apparent realism with varying success, largely dependent on the cohesive vision of the director. Belgian experimentalist Ivo van Hove's highly anticipated Broadway revival of The Crucible featured innovative staging and costuming, as well as a superb ensemble cast, that pleased plenty, but left others feeling somewhat cheated. Some, in this case Thomas Greenfield and Molly Marino, felt that van Hove's interpretation was too limited and failed to render an articulate visual or aural statement; while David Palmer was more willing to view van Hove's attempted vision in a more positive light, as an insightful but dark commentary on the disturbing vagaries of our current society. The following reviews offer a variety of responses to this landmark production. It should be noted that whether one loved or hated it, the excitement that has surrounded The Crucible on the heels of van Hove's A View from the Bridge (a production on which the majority of critics were more agreed regarding its excellence) has done much to make Miller one of the most feted playwrights on Broadway at the start of the twenty-first century, and past his centennial celebrations. This should offer encouragement for other renowned directors and theater companies to try their hand. Thus, we can look forward to even more exciting productions of Miller's work in the years to come.-Susan C. W. AbbotsonPerformance Review Editor]The CrucibleWalter Kerr TheatreNew York, NY31 March-17 July 2016Directed by Ivo van HoveREVIEWED BY THOMAS GREENFIELD, SUNY GENESEOSince his death in 2005 Arthur Miller has had five Broadway opening nights: All My Sons (2008), A View from the Bridge (2010), Death of a Salesman (2012), A View from the Bridge again (2015), and The Crucible, which opened in March 2016. The two most recent productions were directed by Ivo van Hove, the heralded Belgian avant-garde experimentalist and "Broadway's Man of the Moment" (Marks). If one views past as prologue, van Hove and his "moment" are something of a mismatch considering how infrequently Miller's plays are staged as avant-garde pieces. Van Hove certainly understands this disconnect between Miller and himself, admitting as recently as 2014, "I'm not such a fan of Arthur Miller . . . often his plays are ethical, you know? Good against evil . . . I am not so interested in good and evil" (Dickson). For better and worse, that disconnect is evident in van Hove's Broadway revival of The Crucible.Van Hove made his reputation in Europe and the United States by radically reimagining traditional dramatic pieces. (The word "reimagining" frequently appears in discussions of van Hove's productions.) True to his word and his buzz, van Hove served notice as he embarked on his Broadway stagings of A View from the Bridge and The Crucible: "When I do a play I want to do it in the most extreme way possible" (Dickson). Van Hove's forceful staging of A View from the Bridge left its intended impression on New York audiences and critics. In fruitful collaboration with scenic designer Jan Versweyveld, van Hove relocated the Carbones' Brooklyn-by-the-docks living room to an undefined minimalist space that might have well served an updated production of Sartre's No Exit. Yet given that Miller himself wanted the play and the set "stripped of everything but its essential elements" (Huftel 146), van Hove's Bridge was not a bridge too far.Van Hove's staging of The Crucible is another matter. Any reimagining of The Crucible contends with the inescapable fact that, unlike A View from the Bridge, The Crucible is itself a reimagining of something else-twice. …