High school theater has come a long way since my days. I was what one would call a “theater kid,” and I remember in high school, there were very simplistic sets and theatrical reruns of “You Can’t Take it With You,” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “A Christmas Carol,” or “The Diary of Anne Frank.” The last time I saw a high school production was “Phantom of the Opera” (a friend’s daughter had the female lead). This was a very elaborately staged production with complicated sets, including a chandelier that came crashing down after strafing the heads of the audience at the appropriate moment.
However, sometimes high school drama teachers and their charges abandon the “oldies but goodies” for slightly different ground, I’m not talking about anything as esoteric and edgy as “Equus,” as wild as “Hair,” or as ambiguous as “Waiting for Godot.” In this case, we are talking about Fannin County High School in Georgia. The drama troupe opted for a production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.” And to be honest, “The Crucible” has made more than its fair share of appearances on high school stages over the years, but it is a far cry from Danny Zuko and “Grease.” The play is about the Salem Witch Trials and was written as an allegory to the McCarthy trials in the ’50s during the Red Scare — or Red Menace, if you prefer. “The Crucible” was meant as a rebuke to McCarthy and his efforts to expose and root out elements of communism in the nation at the time.
The school shut down the play after one performance. There were some rumors that the play went dark following complaints of the “demonic nature” of the material. That hardly makes any sense, since, while the demonic elements of the Salem Witch Trials have nothing to do with the play, during the trials themselves, many of the accused cited being under the influence of dark magic, Satan, and demons. So claims of demonic activity play a role in the historical events, but by no means are they the focus of Miller’s work.*
Then, according to Atlanta News First, the school announced that the production had been cancelled because the students had taken liberties with the script and added a “contextual scene.” This was a violation of the copyright agreement with the play’s publisher, and so the show did not go on. Here is another report, and a copy of the letter, via Instagram, is below:
What I have not been able to find is what the students added. The school has been tight-lipped about the nature of the infraction, except to say that the students took some liberties with the script.
Who knows what caused the ruckus? Perhaps someone on the Left took umbrage with the addition. In talking with PJ editor and Georgia native Chris Queen, I learned that Fannin County is “deep, deep red,” and that it went Republican in presidential races even when the rest of the state trended blue. So it is also plausible that the changes to the script may have reflected attitudes that conservatives found offensive. The truth is, until someone actually comes forward and says what changes were made to the script, we just don’t know who was offended by what.
Here is what one student actor said. Make of it what you will:
The company that owns the copyright to the play probably does not give a rat’s wazoo about some high school theater troupe in Georgia making changes to the script. Then again, it might. We live in petty times. Miller, on the other hand, was a target of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) but also had his works banned in the Soviet Union and penned “On the Waterfront,” in which an everyday dockworker testifies against a corrupt union head. Perhaps Miller would have wanted those who read and watch “The Crucible” to question everything, including the people and institutions they may hold dear.
One is within one’s rights to take to the streets to kvetch and rail about Palestine, USAID, immigration, trans people, Medicaid, and, of course, Trump. Granted, much of it is cathartic kabuki, but one may still do so. But it is also necessary (and I say this as someone who had his yearly physical on Friday, complete with a PSA panel) to demand to know why Joe Biden’s mental and physical condition was hidden from the public so long, albeit poorly.
It is necessary to ask why the DOJ kicked in the doors of pro-lifers in the wee hours of the morning, and why the Hunter laptop story was suppressed. It is necessary to demand explanations for targeting school board parents, and why those opposed to permanently altering children’s bodies in the name of trans rights, and why Riley Gaines was hounded on campuses. It is necessary to ask why so many college students have become violent, rabid pitbulls for Palestine while at best ignoring, and at worst lauding, the atrocities of Hamas.
Hopefully, if these high schoolers took anything away from “The Crucible” and this experience, it is that they must question everything, not just that which offends one’s case of “the feels.”
*As an aside, for a great history of the Salem Witch Trials, I recommend reading “Killing the Witches” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.
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