A tight, strong sequel to
The Crucible with supernatural elements
The Crucible with supernatural elements
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa jumps off from the end of Arthur Miller’s best play The Crucible to imagine what happened to the sexy villainess Abigail Williams ten years later. I know that Death of a Salesman gets the accolades, but it’s a kvetch fest and while Willy Loman is self-deluded, John Procter never is. Instead, he sees exactly what’s going on in Salem, but is powerless to
stop it. Aguirre-Sacasa’s sequel echoes the cadence of The Crucible that sounds as if it’s from another century. However, Abigail/1702 is more tightly focused on an individual, rather than a community, and runs a fast 95 minutes.
stop it. Aguirre-Sacasa’s sequel echoes the cadence of The Crucible that sounds as if it’s from another century. However, Abigail/1702 is more tightly focused on an individual, rather than a community, and runs a fast 95 minutes.
Set Design for Abigail/1702 |
The five actors are strong with Nicholas Carriere playing a potential romantic interest for Abigail with secrets of his own, Ross Bickell in a variety of roles from Abigail’s past, and Deanne Lorette, also in a number of roles that she individualizes physically and emotionally. Stephanie Fieger is excellent in the lead and it’s demanding both technically and emotionally. We were impressed.
One big difference between Miller’s era and our own is that he could make a living as a playwright and write movies on the side while tending to Marilyn Monroe. Aguirre-Sacasa has written many plays, but this is the first we’ve seen, though I’ve heard of a couple of the other titles. However, his day job is writing for Glee; playwriting is his secondary occupation and that’s tragic.
*original photo by Sandy Underwood
Abigail/1702 continues through Sunday, February 17, 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment