Theatre Tuscaloosa’s production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” tried to capture the dire paranoia of the Salem witch trials, but ended up failing. I found the production to be like that special dish you spend all day slaving in the kitchen over, just to do the final taste-test and realize it is still missing a touch of something. That “touch of something” in this case is direction. Pretty much everyone knows this traditional Miller story, whether through their days in high school literature or even through a social science lesson concentrating on the communist Red Scare. I was disappointed to not see a more contemporary spin on the traditional allegory. Instead of accusing people of being witches like in the original, Theatre Tuscaloosa could have manipulated the storyline into accusing people of being terrorists or even democrats living in a customarily conservative southern city. Because of the lack of a general underlying direction/theme, the audience’s attention was turned toward the actors for entertainment for the evening.
              Overall, the actors handled the dialogue of archaic Old English very well. Every actor executed their lines as if the language was second nature to them. On the downside, I felt the actors lacked a sense of connection to one another. Everyone was so caught up with being authentic to the script, I felt like they weren’t listening to each other’s responses. However, I must say two actors did not fit that description. Kaylor Otwell and Eric Curtis smoothed over the sharp edges left by the other actors, in addition to demonstrating perfect earnest responses of a couple in turmoil.  Kaylor Otwell’s subtle portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor, stricken with resentment for her cheating husband, allowed the audience to sympathize with the devastated character. With the audience on her side, this provided Otwell with the advantage of taking us on an emotional rollercoaster of faith and reverence. Eric Curtis’ genuine depiction of John Proctor, a man remorseful of his past concessions, proved to be the heart of this body of work. Sincerity overcame his acting abilities to the point where John and Eric seemed to become one. The point of acting is to appear not to be acting, and Eric and Kaylor did just that.
            The lighting was another major hit of the evening. With a minimalist set, the lighting provided slight deviations allowing a home to develop into a jail. The opening scene of a colorful sunset and sunrise on the backdrop was another major triumph for the lighting technicians of the night.
            This production of “The Crucible” was just plainly too blah for a night on the town. When certain actors were not on stage, I was honestly counting down the minutes left in the show. If it was not for Curtis’ and Otwell’s performances, I would say save your ten bucks and gas money and opt for the 1996 movie instead.