John Proctor IS the Villain

John Proctor is the Villain is the most nominated play at the Tony Awards this year and it deserves every nomination. This play is so fresh and thought provoking. It is a coming-of-age story at its core. There are so many pop culture references and jokes that land perfectly. The casting was amazing. There are only nine characters and one set. The small set and small cast make the experience so immersive. You feel like you are one of their classmates sitting next to them.

This story follows a high school class in rural Georgia studying the Crucible by Arthur Miller. For those that don’t know, the Crucible was written when America was experiencing McCarthyism. It uses a story of the Salem Witch Trials to highlight the concept of the spreading of false information in an attempt to ruin someone else’s life. The title of the play comes from one of the main characters in the Crucible, John Proctor. He is seen as the protagonist of the Crucible but the students in this class challenge that idea. I don’t want to give too much away but I have to agree that John Proctor is the villain. 

The prominent theme of the play is the concept of witch hunts and the spread of false information to ruin someone else. This is reflected in both the play they are studying and the overarching story itself. The Crucible is about how witch hunts were started in Salem, and it is an allegory for the “witch hunts” that took place during McCarthyism. The students even begin to experience a modern-day “witch hunt” as things in their lives take a dramatic turn. You are able to see the fallout of this “witch hunt” and it perfectly drives home to point of the play.

Again, the cast of this play is amazing. They make the show. If you had told me there were all from some small town in Georgia, I would have believed you. Their southern accents were on point. As someone who grew up in a small town, everything relating to the town was so believable and felt so intentional. I know the author of the play is from a town similar to the one the story is set in so I’m sure she wrote from a place of personal experience. This play could have easily been set somewhere else but the choice to put it in a small southern town adds so much nuance to the story.

I do need to take a moment to acknowledge the sound design of this play. I heard about this play months ago because I heard that Sadie Sink was going to be in it. It was on my radar for shows I wanted to see but it climbed the ranks when I found out that a family friend did the sound design for the show (congrats on the Tony nom Palmer!). The sound design is so important to this play that it has to be talked about. It is what signals the transitions between scenes since the story only has one setting. It also gives the audience a moment to pause and sit with what takes place in the scene prior before moving to the next scene. I also feel like sounds used in the transitional moments give insight into what particular characters are feeling or thinking. While nothing is being said outright, what you hear is communicating something to you.

SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU WANT TO AVOID A SPOILER!!!

Let’s talk about the inclusion of the song Green Light by Lorde. When this song is first mentioned midway through the play you don’t realize the importance of the conversation. You just see two girls talking about a song they love and talking about what it means to them. By the end, the song becomes a character in the story. It is integral to the plot and the show wouldn’t be the same without it. The fact that the girls had the conversation about the song’s meaning in front of their teacher means so much more when you see how they use it at the end of the play.

SPOILERS OVER!!!

I have seen a lot of Broadway productions, but this one will be one that I think about for a long time. I bought the script for the play and since seeing the production have reread and annotated it. I felt so many emotions during this production, and I wish I could share the feelings accurately with everyone I know. If you are in New York while this production is running, try to see it. I feel like this is a production that will leave its mark on the world, and I hope more people get the chance to see it one day.