October 27, 2013 10:25:40 AM
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The Crucible by Arthur Miller
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Salem, MA
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This is not a play about witches. It is not a play about McCarthyism. It is a play about the foundation and formation of America, with commerce and opportunism wearing the mask of Puritanism and spiritual self-righteousness. The history of Salem (the town I now live in myself) has been collapsed under this 'mask'. Walk the streets of Salem today and you see a kind of 'Witch Disneyland'. But Salem was a major shipping town, and centre of commerce. Until NYC decided to change that, and 're-brand' the city as 'Witch Tiwn'. The play is populated by deeply flawed people, and yet deeply ambitious people. It is the Greek tragedy of America, and NOT a play about witches...
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Matthew
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mattigray
Comments [1]
As one of the descendants, albeit indirectly, of "Goode Booth" I feel I have to second this nomination. (Actually, I am descended from her husband, who was banished from Salem and fined fifty pounds for fathering a child out of wedlock, with someone other than his wife. Ms. Booth was one of those found guilty of witchcraft, and hanged. David Booth resurfaced in Rhode Island, and later relocated to Connecticut.)
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