Sitting in a dark theater, audience members watch as young bonnet-clad girls file in, surrounding the theatergoers, as the speakers are blasting “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga, and lights flash around the room.
The audience is brought to 1692 Salem by a blood-curdling scream.
This opening perfectly portrays the mix of modernity and archaicism that has always been fundamental in any production of “The Crucible.” Olympia High School debuted its interpretation of this renowned play by Arthur Miller on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote the play “The Crucible” based on the Salem witch trials of the 1690s, but also as an allegory of the political climate of the time. The characters are based on actual people who were a part of the Salem witch trials, but Miller shaped them to fit the narrative and themes he wanted to convey to the audience.
The story centers around John Proctor, a farmer who has an affair with Abigail Williams, the niece of the town’s minister. To win John back, Abigail and her friends create a spell, which is strictly against the town’s rules. The play explores the aftermath when the strict rules of this community pushed these girls to accuse innocent women of witchcraft, to save themselves.
Arthur Miller connected the feelings of mass hysteria, difference of religion or belief, and groupthink all the way from Salem to 262 years later during the reign of Joseph McCarthy and the Senate Committee on Un-American Activities. Some believe that these themes are becoming relevant once again.
“[‘The Crucible’ is] as important today as Arthur Miller thought it was in the 1950s. From Salem to 1950s America to 2025 America, we are seeing a continuing tendency to find and blame scapegoats,” said Timothy Snodgrass, an English teacher at OHS, who teaches “The Crucible” to his 11th-grade AP English class.
The Drama Club and Austin Bennett, the director of “The Crucible,” chose the play in part because students at OHS read it during the year, and because of the relevance that the play continues to hold.
“[‘The Crucible’] does feel super relevant, in terms of how much misinformation is spreading, especially through the media, and how mob mentality is so prevalent nowadays. A lot of people with power misuse the word witch hunt, but I also think there is a mass hysteria about things that are happening right now,” said Bennett.
The play, around two and a half hours long, uses lengthy dialogue to showcase this theme, which is one of OHS junior Arthur Miller’s favorite things about the play, other than that he shares a name with the playwright.
“I think it’s funny. Every day there’s a new person coming up to me like, ‘Did you write the play?’” said Miller, “I just happen to have the same name as a playwright from the 20th century.”
Miller takes the leading role of John Proctor. “At the start of the play, I get to have a lot of swagger because John Proctor is really overconfident and pisses everyone off, which is one of my favorite things to get to play, [but at] the end… It’s such a moment of high tension, and also a conflictingly cathartic moment as well.”
John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, portrayed by Cosette Yanasak, represents a much more stoic part of society, who is still dreadfully condemned by the culture that persecutes the scapegoat willingly. The young girls, specifically Abigail Williams, played by Evelyn Harvey, are encouraged to condemn others for the sake of self-preservation.
The chilling way these characters were brought to life leaves the audience with a sense of unease–not only about the events depicted in the play, but how that could apply to society and human nature itself.
Olympia High School Drama’s production of “The Crucible” uses the prominent writing of 1950s playwright Arthur Miller and contributes students’ compelling interpretations of these distinguished characters, leaving the audience unsettled and bewitched.
The closing weekend of “The Crucible” is October 23rd-25th. The performance starts at 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased on Ohstheaterarts Instagram or on their Linktree.