DHS’s drama students once again captivated their classmates, teachers, parents and fellow members of the community during their opening night performance of the fall play The Crucible.  

In her opening remarks, DHS’s new Drama teacher Kat DeLapp told the audience that she and the cast had decided to “reconstruct the play a little bit to focus on character relationships.” This portrayal was clear throughout the performance, where the simple costumes and backdrops allowed the actors to have full command of the stage.

“I thought it was scary at times. The play was just super intense,” exclaimed senior Karyn Utsumi after the show.  “If Dylan Seely [who played Deputy Governor Danforth] yelled at me like that in real life, I’d be terrified.”

Many of the other audience members shared her fear as they screamed and gasped during different climactic scenes.  

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, set in the midst of the 1692 Salem Witch trials, was written in 1952 an allegory for the Red Scare. It is not only a propos to today’s political climate, but also read by DHS Honors and AP Lang students during junior year to learn about the power of rhetoric. This adds an extra layer of meaning for some students.

“I’d read the book [last year], and I thought it was super interesting to see the play in real life,” said senior Kera Hunsaker. “Even though the cast decided not to focus too much on the ‘Red Scare/McCarthyism element, I was definitely able to better understand the hysteria of that time because of the intensity of the characters’ relationships to one another.”

For the actors, although this play was an intense experience, they were nevertheless excited to be a part of this production.

“It was a really fun experience to work with all these amazing people,” proclaimed junior Vade Shah after his performance as Francis Nurse.

“It was the best experience,” said sophomore Madison Wade, who plays the role of Abigail Williams in the Friday and Sunday shows. .  

“It was amazing!” agreed senior Tori Wong, who will be playing Tituba in the Friday and Sunday night performances. ”I loved all the hard work that everyone put into it to make The Crucible.”

Overall, the Crucible was worth the wait and both the actors and the audience enjoyed the amazing character development throughout the climatic play.