(EWING, NJ) -- Shakespeare 70 presents The Crucible by Arthur Miller from March 25-29, 2026 at The College of New Jersey's Center for the Arts. This production examines a society—convinced of and beset by its own righteousness—on the brink of collapse, devouring itself from the inside out.
This American classic comes alive for modern audiences as a frenetic, cautionary tale of a nation inching toward the edge where fear transcends law, doubt becomes treason, and justice curdles into zealotry.
The cast includes Jack Bathke (Reverend Samuel Parris), Lydia Hartmann (Betty Parris), Jacqueline Booth (Titube), Hayley Jo Pellis (Abigail Williams), Abby McCool (Susanna Walcott), Hester Young (Ann Putnam), Justin Mancini (Thomas Putnam), Joely Torres (Mercy Lewis), Kayla O'Brien (Mary Warren), Dan Keysey (John Proctor), Judith Ferzt (Rebecca Nurse), Michael Gilbert (Giles Corey), Travis Martin (Reverend John Hale), Rachel Lewis (Elizabeth Proctor), Don Hallcomb (Francis Nurse), Tim Kirk (Ezekiel Cheever), Jim Bloss (John Willard), Daniel Impallomeni (Judget Hawthorne), and Nancy Ellis (Dep. Gov. Danforth). The emsemble includes Samantha Belle, Chloe Richter, and Kelly Weeden.
The production team includes Director Jake Burbage, Assistant Director Hannah Rapaport-Stein, Technical Director Dale Simon, Producers Curt Foxworth and Kate Augustin, Lighting Design by Curt Foxworth, South Design by Jake Burbage, Costume Design by Devan Andre, Stage Manager Kailey Fitzgerald, and Assistant Stage Manager Ava Bevacqua.
Performances take place Wednesday, March 25 at 8:00pm; Thursday, March 26 at 8:00pm; Friday, March 27 at 8:00pm; Saturday, March 28 at 8:00pm; and Sunday, March 29 at 2:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase online. The theater is located at 2000 Pennington Road in Ewing, New Jersey.
The Crucible contains language and images that may upset some theater goers.
Please be advised that this production includes threats of violence and execution, references to hanging and imprisonment, suggestions of physical torture, coercive interrogations, and dehumanizing language, including misogynistic and racially othering language. These elements are presented in service of the play’s historical context and narrative integrity.
Additionally, the production includes the use of flashing strobe lights and loud, sudden noises. Audience members who are sensitive to sudden sensory effects may wish to take this into consideration.
Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was born in New York City and studied at the University of Michigan. 2015 marked the centenary of his birth. His plays include The Man Who Had All the Luck (1944), All My Sons (1947), Death of A Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), A View From the Bridge and A Memory of Two Mondays (1955), After the Fall (1964), Incident at Vichy (1964), The Price (1968), The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972), The Archbishop's Ceiling (1977), The American Clock (1980) and Playing For Time (1980). Later plays include The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (1991), The Last Yankee (1993), Broken Glass (1994), Mr. Peters' Connections (1998), Resurrection Blues (2002) and Finishing the Picture (2004).
His other works include Situation Normal…, a work of nonfiction (1994); Focus, a novel (1945); The Misfits, a screenplay (1961); and the texts for In Russia (1969), In the Country (1977) and Chinese Encounters (1979), three books in collaboration with his wife, the photographer Inge Morath. His memoirs include Salesman in Beijing (1984) and Timebends: A Life (1987). His short fiction includes the collection I Don't Need You Anymore (1967); the novella Homely Girl, A Life (1992) and Presence: Stories (2007). His essay collections include The Theater Essays of Arthur Miller (1978) and Echoes Down The Corridor: Collected Essays 1944-2000, as well as the individually published On Politics and the Art of Acting (2001).
Among other honors, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1949 for Death of a Salesman.
