The Crucible (Bedlam) NYC Reviews and Tickets

83%

(95 Reviews)

Positive

89%

Mixed

10%

Negative

Members say

Great acting, Absorbing, Great staging, Ambitious, Relevant

About the Show

Bedlam presents their take on Arthur Miller's classic drama about the Salem witch trials.

From the show:

The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government persecuted people accused of being communists. Miller was questioned by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Un-American Activities in 1956 and convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to identify others present at meetings he had attended.

Member Reviews (95)

Uneven directing, Uneven acting, Intense, Thought-provoking, Relevant

See it if you're a Miller fan. Script is superb (altho needs cuts). Acting is mostly strg. Many gd directorial choices, but not all. Women very strong

Don't see it if you want even tone. Overture is stylized/absurdist. Bright lights in eyes. Some bad sightlines. Pathos of end diminished.Immersive staging.

Great acting, Great writing, Quirky, Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if You want to experience a somewhat new somewhat immersive take on this classic play. Mostly excellent performances. Very timely.

Don't see it if You can’t take sitting in really uncomfortable seats for 3+ hours or if you’re a purist. Some of the directorial choices just don’t work. Read more

Critic Reviews (10)

CRITIC’S PICK "A ‘Crucible’ for the Modern Mob: Eric Tucker updates the allegorical play about the Salem witch trials, directly implicating the audience in its examination of mass hysteria."
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4/5 Stars "Bedlam's characteristically smart, stripped-down production pulses with an electric current and lays bare the play's bitter truths. It is as gripping and revelatory a Miller production as New York has seen in years, and a bracing reminder of what a real witch hunt looks like."
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"The Understated Charms of 'The Underlying Chris,' and a 'High-Decibel Crucible'"
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"Fit for Our Times: Eric Tucker’s staging, suited for the #MeToo moment, has opened off Broadway."
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"'The Crucible' Conjures the Moral Panic That Fuses American Generations Together: Bedlam revives Arthur Miller's 1953 play about the Salem witch trials."
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"Eighty percent of Bedlam's new production of 'The Crucible' (staged in association with The Nora Theatre Company) is so thunderously good that you're likely to forgive the haywire twenty percent."
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4/5 Stars "In Bedlam's exciting and extremely fluid staging, the 14-member ensemble delivers a blazing performance in dark, relatively intimate, 99-seat circumstances."
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"In the past, the play was seen as a cautionary tale about the McCarthy Era witch hunt...Now in 2019 it becomes a story of truth and lies, fiction and fact. One of the judges refers to the situation in Salem as "this swamp." In the age of Trump, Miller's play has new meaning for our time."
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"Bedlam is back, creating all the bedlam needed to lift "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller to a new level, making it one of the most exciting and poignant productions of this classic play to hit New York stages. The cast is fearless, and the ensemble is impeccable."
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"The maelstrom of passions, fears, imaginings, panic, and superstition is…viscerally present in this unusual, stripped-down…production…However, Tucker’s penchant for gimmickry can seem intrusively unnecessary."
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