At the beginning of our relationship, when my wife and I went to the theater, we were almost always the youngest people in attendance. Now, 40+ years later, we’re among the gray hairs at the other end of the age spectrum.
Never was that more evident than when we finished our most recent Broadway Blitz by seeing “John Proctor Is The Villain.” It stars Sadie Sink, who has made a name for herself on the Netflix series, “Stranger Things,” which has a predominantly under-35 fan base — many of whom have gone to the Booth Theatre to see her in this show.
The rest of the cast of “John Proctor” is also young, since it’s about seven high school juniors taking an AP literature class in a one-stoplight town in Georgia in 2018. Their teacher, Carter Smith (Gabriel Ebert), is hip, relatable, and — to the female students — kinda hot. I was reminded of an English teacher in my own high school, also named Carter, who had a similar appeal, wearing jeans and long hair in an era when that was just barely allowed.
The Carter of “John Proctor” has an easy rapport with his class as they dive into Arthur Miller’s classic play, “The Crucible.” Smith tries to explain how the play was an allegory about McCarthyism in the 1950s, but once the students read it, they see it as a lesson straight out of the #MeToo movement.
It hits home especially hard when one of the young women, Ivy, finds out that her father has been accused by his secretary of sexual harassment. But that’s far from the only secret revealed during the intermission-less hour and forty-five minutes in which the story plays out.
Keeping all the action in a single classroom, playwright Kimberly Belflower and director Danya Taymor have created a slightly claustrophobic feel as the walls figuratively close in. While no one’s charged with witchcraft, there are allegations tossed around, friendships pushed to the brink, and a cathartic final scene in which Smith allows the students to present an interpretive project about “The Crucible” which does not go as expected.
Sink is terrific as Shelby Holcomb, one of those magnetic performers it’s hard to take your eyes off. But this is truly an ensemble piece, and her co-stars are just as good.
I noticed a lot of female audience members nodding their heads in sympathy with the smart, sensitive characters and events unfolding onstage. They’re going to create a lot of well-deserved word-of-mouth for “John Proctor Is The Villain,” and perhaps launch a new generation of theatergoers.
I can also foresee a slew of young breakout performers pressing their agents to get them into this show as replacements on Broadway or in the touring production that’s sure to come.