Reflections

“Who’s the Witch in the Witchhunt?”

by Jenyth Jo

In “John Proctor Is the Villain,” Carter Smith, a high school English teacher in Georgia, explains, “Art tries to make sense of certain moments in time.” Since Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” is an allegory for McCarthyism, phrases like the “current witch-hunt” and “speak truth in times of untruth” reveal that playwright Kimberly Belflower is dramatizing #MeToo and Trumpism.

Men who lie and grope women still hold the reins of power in the U.S.  In the new play, currently running in New York and nominated for seven Tony awards, a group of intense teenagers expose a sexual predator and a so-called literary “hero.” But who will believe them?

New girl Nell (Olivia Burke) from Atlanta joins the Feminism Club, run by teacher’s pet Beth (Erin Brady), her best friend Ivy (Melody Ng), and the mousey preacher’s daughter Rae (Erin Colville). Their school counselor doesn’t think the club is a good idea. They do.

At the counselor’s suggestion, a male basketball player in need of credits and a two-timing ex-boyfriend infiltrate the coven. The well-intentioned educator misses the point of female agency. Women should not be used to cover up the misdeeds of men.

Rae, dressed as Elizabeth Proctor in a later scene, advocates for a “new world that women deserve.” Ostracized Shelby returns to play Abigail, who tells us to beware of the “men in charge”—who “just make stuff up.”

A bombshell explodes right at the end of Act One.  As in Miller’s “The Crucible,” a student accuses a beloved teacher (Ashton Medick), whose wife is pregnant, of sexual abuse. This slut-shamed teen (Roya Amirsheybani) creates a rift in the community between believers and skeptics. Does she speak truth to power, or is she crazy? Who will be locked up?

Saint Mary’s College’s production was notable in its professionalism. Director Kimberly Ridgeway creates intense moments and movement. She pays particular attention to the girls’ transformations as the play progresses.

Chloë Parmelee-Laporte’s choreography presents Shelby’s and Rae’s interpretive dancing for a class project, as well as the dancing of witches in the forest. Playwright Belflower’s subtle and surprising connections to our current political landscape are rendered with tender rage.

These girls will not stand down.

 

“John Proctor is the Villain” by Kimberly Belflower, directed by Kimberly Ridgeway, faculty advisor Deanna Zibello, costumes by Ashley Renee, lighting by Stephanie Anne Johnson, sound by Lana Palmer, & choreography by Chloë Parmelee-Laporte, at Saint Mary’s College, Moraga, California—to April 27, 2025.

Cast: Roya Amirsheybani, Erin Brady, Olivia Burke, Erin Colville, Connor McGilvray, Aidan Kiernan, Carolyn Gersten, Ashton Medick, and Melody Ng.