thumb|right|Cover of the acting edition
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The Crucible''''' is a play that was written by Arthur Miller in 1952. It is based on the events surrounding the 1692 witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts. Miller wrote about the event as an allegory for McCarthyism and the Red Scare, which occurred in the United States in the 1950s. Miller was himself questioned by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1956.
The play was first performed on Broadway on January 22, 1953. The reviews of the first production were hostile, but a year later a new production succeeded and the play became a classic. Today the play is often studied in high schools and universities.
The play has been adapted for film twice, once by Jean-Paul Sartre in the 1957 film ''Les Sorcières de Salem'' and nearly forty years later by Miller himself, in the 1996 film of the same name; Miller's adaptation earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay based on Previously Produced Material, his first and only nomination. The play was also adapted by composer Robert Ward into an opera, which was first performed in 1961 and received the Pulitzer Prize. ''
The Crucible'' is generally regarded as one of the best plays of the modern era, due to its deep, captivating plot; four act, 3 1/2 hour entirety; and fearless dealings with controversial topics. It has therefore been taken quite seriously, and has even been banned from production at certain schools throughout the United States.
Plot Overview
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The Crucible'' is set in the small Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. The play begins with the discovery by the despised local preacher Reverend Parris that some local girls were performing a sinful dance in the woods with the slave Tituba. One of the girls, Parris's daughter, Betty, upon being discovered, falls into an unconscious state. Panic spreads through the village as people believe that witchcraft is afoot. The town sends for the Reverend John Hale, an authority on witchcraft, to investigate. Reverend Parris questions Abigail Williams, the unofficial leader of the group of girls, regarding what took place in the forest. Abigail denies any witchcraft and claims she and the girls were just dancing.
Abigail manipulates the other girls into not revealing what really happened in the forest that same day. She is secretly infatuated with John Proctor with whom she had an affair while working at his home. Proctor has since rejected Abigail, but she is still in love with him. As the witch trials begin, Abigail and the girls lie and find a new power: accusing others of witchcraft. The madness
