Lincoln Center Theater offers a feminist response to the Salem witch trials and 'The Crucible'

“Becky Nurse of Salem,” the latest play by Sarah Ruhl, has just opened at Lincoln Center Theater, and the MacArthur-winning playwright wants to make one thing clear: While her play is in many ways a feminist riposte to “The Crucible,” she actually likes Arthur Miller’s 1953 classic about the Salem witch trials.

“I think Arthur Miller is a genius and it’s a masterpiece,” Ruhl said, in an interview conducted while “Becky Nurse” was in previews. “And I think as a metaphor for scapegoating and for naming names and McCarthyism, it is incredible.” But when she saw director Ivo van Hove’s 2016 Broadway revival of the play, some elements didn’t sit right with her.

Ruhl began imagining her own fictional response to the Salem witch trials. Her protagonist is Becky Nurse, a 62-year-old descendant of Rebecca Nurse, who was hanged for witchcraft. Rebecca Nurse was a mother of eight and known for being pious. That’s not true of Becky, who is profane, an occasional opioid user and a hothead.

“Becky Nurse screws up,” says Ruhl. “What I love about her is she’s salty, she’s a truth teller, she plunges in when she’s under duress. But she absolutely keeps messing up.”