The student news site of Greater Latrobe High School

The High Post

The student news site of Greater Latrobe High School

The High Post

The student news site of Greater Latrobe High School

The High Post

Greater Latrobe Presents “The Crucible”

Greater Latrobe Presents The Crucible

As the audience enters the auditorium this Halloween weekend to see Greater Latrobe’s fall play “The Crucible” they will see a silent, abandoned stage; but it won’t stay that way for long.  Once the cast appears on the stage, ready to perform and become their roles, the story comes to life.  The play, a drama about the Salem Witch Trials, loosely based off historic events, is filled with constant drama and excitement. 

Originally written by Arthur Miller, the play takes place in Massachusetts in the year 1692 when, if a person was accused of being a witch, severe consequences would result.  Director Mr. Krack commented, “You didn’t need hard proof to convict you of being something that you weren’t, and if you were convicted of being a witch, your life was ruined just by the mere accusation.”  During the show, Abigail Williams accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch to get her out of the picture.  Because of the repercussions that occur, that is the ideal way to get rid of a person.  However, this accusation gets more people than Elizabeth tangled into the mess of lies. 

The play reaches exciting levels of drama as more and more people are being accused of witchcraft and communicating with the devil.  Cast member Courtney Joseph enjoys the fact that the play hits many ups and downs in the content.  “It’s a lot of fun whenever the dramatic levels get so high.  I really like the tension that builds.  I think that’s really neat,” said Courtney. 

The Crucible is a complete contrast to the school play last year; The Odd Couple.  Junior Morgan Stout said, “It is different than last year, obviously because last year we did a comedy and it was all over the place.  But this year it’s a lot more serious and it’s nice to be able to play different roles and have a variety.” 

Joining the cast are several other students including, Mickey Orange; Junior, Brittany Basenback; Senior, Kayla Bleckley; Junior, Rachel DuChateau; Junior, Nina Wickham; Junior, Kylie Tallarico; Sophomore, Brendan Moss; Junior, Jimmy Zimmerman; Junior, Cassie Milyak; Senior, Jessica Kissel; Junior, Bryce Sulecki; Senior, Tyler Hudock; Senior, Matt Johnson; Sophomore, Sam Prichard; Senior, Adam Stynchula; Junior, Brian Gravelle; Senior, Matt Fasce; Sophomore, Emily Puleo; Junior, Ivy Prengaman; Sophomore, and Courtney Wyant; Sophomore. 

Director Mr. Krack is confident in his casting choices saying, “It’s a really intricate play, very wordy and a lot of the language is old fashioned and a little hard to get.  But I have every confidence in them.”

Also, many people are involved in preparing the play for opening night, doing tasks such as building the sets, taking photos, creating programs, selling tickets, and making T-shirts.  Those people include the stage crew, Mr. Hamill, Mr. Baughman, Mrs. Duda, and the theater boosters. 

Mr. Krack, as a director, researched the characters, setting, and other background information that supplies details and helps the play fit the time period.  “The characters, although fictionalized are based on real life characters.  So I asked my cast, to research them (the characters) to make sure that we are portraying the characters properly and getting the costuming, and background information right” said Mr. Krack.

“I think that if we put our all into tech week and show how dramatic it can become and how great it can be, then I think it will show the students how powerful the drama really is and they will like it,” said Courtney Joseph.  Overall, the show is progressing well and will be ready for the Saturday night premiere.  In their final week of rehearsals, the cast is working twice as hard to pull everything together to reach perfection for the audiences to enjoy.

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