Roxbury Rep’s ‘Crucible’ a new take on an old tale

Talia Whyte

Have you ever seen a play and wondered what it would look like if it was staged differently, or if the characters were of a different race, ethnicity or religion? The Roxbury Repertory Theatre explores these possibilities in its first official performance, a production of Arthur Miller’s classic play “The Crucible,” opening Oct. 25 at Mainstage Theater at Roxbury Community College.

Robbie McCauley, legendary performance artist and artistic director of the Roxbury Repertory Theatre, calls her work “experimental” in taking the play beyond its boundaries.

“We are not reinterpreting the play,” McCauley said. “We are looking for larger possibilities by extending our imaginations.”

Considered one of the most revolutionary plays in modern American theater, “The Crucible” is a fictionalized account of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Miller wrote it during the 1950s as a response to U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s investigation into the alleged communist practices of American citizens. Miller himself was interviewed by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Un-American Activities.

Most of Miller’s original script remains intact in the Roxbury company’s production, but more emphasis is put on the life of Tituba, the slave from Barbados accused of bewitching two Puritan girls, who claimed she bit and pinched them while they slept one night.
In real life, Tituba was the first person to be accused of witchcraft during the trials. At first, she denied the allegations. But when over a dozen others accused her of casting spells on them, Tituba not only confessed to avoid further punishment, she also accused others in the village of witchcraft. By the time the witch trials had ended, over 300 people — and two dogs — were accused of witchcraft. Twenty people were eventually hung for their alleged crimes.

While Tituba historically was the instigator of the witch trials, in most theatrical and film versions of “The Crucible” over the last 50 years her character has been significantly reduced in visibility. McCauley wanted to take the opportunity to not only look deeper into Tituba’s life, but also the lives of other slaves and free blacks in Salem during that time.

As McCauley sees it, while many plays have only one black character, the places and times in which those plays are set had many more than that, and the inclusion of their presence can really transform the story.

“It is interesting that the one black in a play is usually just a slave, a bad person or a maid,” said Marshall Hughes, co-founder of the theater and director of visual, performing and media arts at Roxbury Community College. “Tituba was a major part of the story, and we want to see what her story was.”

According to his research, Hughes said that Tituba was a multidimensional person. Unlike the provincial Puritans, Tituba was an open-minded individual who brought her own traditions and rituals with her from Barbados. According to Hughes, she had a funny, interesting insight into religion.

“She would say something like, ‘The Devil is in Barbados and he wouldn’t come to Massachusetts because it’s so cold,’” Hughes said.

McCauley added that Arthur Miller took artistic license in his revision of Tituba’s character. According to many historians, there is strong evidence to support that Tituba may have been Native American. There is debate today over her ethnicity because there were no proper birth records for black slaves and Native Americans, as the Puritans didn’t recognized the necessity for the distinction between the two groups.

This is not the first time McCauley and Hughes have staged an American classic with a twist — while “The Crucible” is the first official play for the Roxbury Repertory Theatre, McCauley and Hughes have staged similar plays together for the last seven years.

They remade Reginald Rose’s play “Twelve Angry Men,” in which all the main characters in most adaptations have been white males, into McCauley’s “Twelve Angry Jurors,” where the characters come from many racial backgrounds. McCauley has also used Tennesse Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” as a vehicle for delving into race and class issues by making the main character, Stanley Kowalski, black.

McCauley and Hughes say the Roxbury Repertory Theatre’s success is due not only to support from Emerson College Professor Mirta Tocci, who is also the company’s set designer, but also the talent of its actors, most of whom are theater enthusiasts from the community and local college students.

“We like working with actors from the community rather than professional actors because of their passion and spirit,” McCauley said. “We have a company of all kinds and cultures. I like to work with actors who want to be challenged and have imagination.”

In the near future, the company is looking at possibly staging two more plays before the end of the school year. One would be a compilation of plays written by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, and the second could be Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” In the meantime, McCauley hopes that “The Crucible” will be both enriching and accessible for all audience members.

“Make no mistake — the shows we put on are fun for both audience and the company,” McCauley said.

“The Crucible” premieres next Thursday at Mainstage Theater at Roxbury Community College, 1234 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury, with a 10 a.m. matinee performance and an 8 p.m. show that night. For show times, tickets and additional information, call 617-541-5380.