The Crucible is Arthur Miller’s testament to mankind’s moral courage and the individual’s ability to stand against the tides of civilized conformity. This play has been put on countless times throughout the United States and stands as one of America’s literary milestones. Knowing the daunting history of this play the production team for Theatre Tuscaloosa did an excellent job in their preparation for this play. Erin Hisey’s lighting was wonderful; I continually found myself looking at the background, wondering when the swirls and delicate shades of color would shift, and how they did while I remained unaware. Hisey’s ability to bring emotion and character to an otherwise sparse set was creatively countered by Cynthia Miller’s music. I haven’t been to many plays where the music and lighting actually upstaged the play itself.
            In a play where inner conflict and morality are center stage. Theater Tuscaloosa opted to put more action in their Crucible rendition. On the one hand I commend them for the bold maneuver; this play has been done countless ways and any chance to add originality to it is hard. But it seemed that Eric Curtis (John Procter) was able to convey his emotions adequately through the written-in pushes and shoves. He did just as well conveying the same emotions through simple hand gestures and his voice. Curtis was a commanding lead that let the production keep its appeal, despite him barreling through numerous individuals. This extra action somehow detracted from the conflict at hand and kept me from being able to fully immerse myself in the production. But the play never seemed boring; a feat hard to do for a play over two hours long. One of the main reasons for this was Lindsay Allen's performance of Abigail Williams. Her ability to convey her sly smiles and deceitful wiles while, at the same time, keeping Abigail’s poor façade of innocence had me almost shaking my head in disbelief that she is in high school. Another reason the play didn't drag at times was Kaylor Otwell (Elizabeth Proctor), she was able to portray the soft-spoken strong-willed Elizabeth superbly, especially in the final scene.
          This play is one that I would recommend seeing, especially if you’ve never seen The Crucible before.