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Carrie Haney’s Guest Review:
Last Friday, I viewed Avonworth’s fall production of The Crucible. This play was written by playwright Arthur Miller and is about the infamous Salem witch trials during the late 1600s. A cohort of girls led by Abigail Williams (played by senior Angelica Tozzi) are accused of witchcraft after her cousin, Betty Parris (played by freshman Julia Ciarimboli) fell ill after the girls are caught dancing in the woods by Reverend Samuel Parris (played by junior Adam Boaks). In a dramatic attempt to hide the truth, the girls accuse several other townspeople of dealing with the devil, causing their town of Salem, Massachusetts to erupt in cases of witchcraft and a panel of accredited judges to settle them.
Farmer John Proctor (played by junior Anders Ove) and his wife, Elizabeth Proctor (played by junior Cassidy Southern) are caught in the middle of this entire mess and try to work with Reverend John Hale (played by senior Alexey Stern) and other farmers to prove that the girls are to blame.
I entered the auditorium with high expectations knowing Avonworth’s reputation of high quality, dark, and intense productions. After about three hours of scandal, shouting, and incessant lies, I was not disappointed.
In fact, I was very impressed with the quality of the acting and the fluidity of the experience as a whole. The actors portrayed their characters exceptionally well and, despite having only a portion of the stage to perform on and the audience members being in such close proximity, executed the The Crucible like professionals.
I must commend actors Quinn Theobald and Anders Ove for my favorite performances that night. Quinn, a junior, played Deputy-Governor Danforth, the sensible head judge during the trial scenes. Quinn’s clear, resonating voice fit Danforth perfectly and he has a very strong, commanding presence on the stage, making him one of the most memorable performers to me. Anders is a brilliant John Proctor and should be very proud of himself for his performance. He expressed emotion appropriately and so well that he moved many audience members (admittedly myself included) to tears. Additionally, Anders had a substantial amount of lines in every scene and mastering them is a feat I cannot ignore. Of course, the stage crew moved efficiently and also deserve to be commended for being an absolutely essential part of this outstanding production.
Director and producer Deborah Frauenholz should be extremely proud of the group of students she instructs and of herself for allowing this production to be a great success.
The Crucible was very entertaining to watch and makes me excited for the upcoming spring musical. I cannot wait for the cast and crew to put on another exceptional and memorable production.
Abigail Busse’s Guest Review
Avonworth High School did an incredible job with their performance of the Crucible. I am friends with many of the students involved in the show and for months have watched them dedicate themselves to perfecting the play and I believe they did. It was not easy; many struggled with it a great deal but that did not change the wonderful outcome.
Each actor was really involved in their role and portrayed their character flawlessly. The show felt very real and the emotions seemed so natural. Anders Ove, a junior, especially did an amazing job playing John Proctor, really becoming his role.
The only downfall of the entire production in my opinion was the length of the play, which was out of their control. At just over three hours long many people began to grow tired and restless if they were not extremely interested in the show. The show, being about the Salem Witch Trials, is not something everyone could be interested in, but they certainly made it as enjoyable as they possibly could for any audience.
Mrs. Frauenholz and her cast always bring together great shows that can be enjoyed and respected by all. They dedicated their lives to put on a fantastic play and they certainly did yet again.
Riley Galvis’s Guest Review:
I was very enthralled by the performance of The Crucible by the very-talented Avonworth students. They were able to express the characters and still communicate the 17th century writing feeling with it. Alexey Stern was the one I was most impressed by, he was perfect for the role and he voiced the characters feelings very well. Angie Tozzi was a great choice for Abigail because she could mimic the way the character acted perfectly. The way she told lies made me believe everything she said. In addition, Anders Ove was also impressive with his role as John Proctor. He really told me about his character and how he felt about his current conflict. Senior Zach McDowell was a good cast for Giles Corey. Zach really showed the behavior of a man that acted calm but still wanted to make sure he got his way. Quinn Theobald using his booming, direct voice was perfect for Danforth and his place as a leader of the other townspeople. Director Deborah Frauenholz was spectacular with putting certain people in their corresponding roles. Overall, the way the characters were expressed and the casting of them, made the play and executed it perfectly.
