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WASHINGTON COUNTY ARTS GUIDE SEPTEMBER — NOVEMBER 2013
Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693 will add dimension to the troupe’s bag of tricks.
“We’ve had some great comedies, but [this is] a thinking audience, and I think
they’re really going to find our interpretation to be both entertaining [and] also
profound,” predicts Aaron Morrow, a member of Beaverton Civic Theatre’s board
of directors who will play Reverend Samuel Parris. Morrow was one of the select
few who read through a series of scripts before The Crucible was chosen.
“I was so overwhelmed by [the ties to] our contemporary society and the
extremism that we see in our contemporary society — whether that be in religious
extremism or patriotic extremism — that you just see playing out over and over
again in the themes,” he says.
Haas, too, finds the subject matter of this play to be pertinent to the present-
day political climate.
“Allegorically and thematically, it’s about any situation where fear and
paranoia and hysteria do more harm to the society than the original threat ever
could have,” Haas observes. “It’s not just about the witch trial [and] it’s not about
communism.
“It’s about our apparent need to find a scapegoat for an unidentifiable threat
and problem.”
Lundberg sees no reason to diverge from Miller’s original script. She believes
quality acting is the key to a timeless and gripping rendering of the classic drama
— and that piece is already in place.
“Because they have so much experience I think it’s going to end up being just
magical,” says Lundberg. “I had the three I cast
as John, Elizabeth and Danforth go up and read a
scene together — and this was just auditions —
and it was like, (gasp) ‘Okay.’ You know, it gave
me shivers, it was so good.
“[These are] people who are really, really
good and really effective and can get to the heart
of it really quickly.”
BLOWN AWAY
Board member Morrow can’t wait to get the
show onstage.
“That’s one of the reasons I’m excited about
putting The Crucible on: as some would say, ‘It’s
been done so many times and everybody’s read it
and everybody knows the story, so how are you
going to be able to do that?’” Morrow says. “I’m
looking around at this cast of people we were
able to bring together, [having] Doreen Lundberg
[and] this all-star cast, and I think that people are
going to be just blown away by what we’re able
accomplish.”
Haas echoed Morrow’s sentiments.
“Finding the heart of the story [and] finding
the heart of the characters” is “the kind of thing that’s going to make any
performance of The Crucible stand out,” Haas believes. “How solid are the people,
and do I believe the turmoil and torment that this society and that individual are
going through? That’s our challenge.”
There will be nine productions of The Crucible
, beginning Friday, Sept. 27 from 8 to 10
p.m. in the Beaverton City Library auditorium, 12375 S.W. Fifth St. Tickets ($15 for adults, $12
for seniors and students, and $5 for youth) can be purchased over the phone, at the door or
online at beavertoncivictheatre.org.
SEE THE SHOW
“I was so overwhelmed
by [the ties to] our
contemporary society
and the extremism
that we see in our
contemporary society
— whether that be in
religious extremism or
patriotic extremism —
that you just see
playing out over and
over again in the
themes.”
AARON MORROW
