The first preview at the Walter Kerr Theatre was pushed back a day from Feb. 29 to March 1 so Ronan can attend the Feb. 28 Oscars. She is nominated as Best Actress for her performance in "Brooklyn." Opening night of The Crucible has been moved up to March 31 from April 7 and the show is scheduled to continue through July 17. Tickets can be ordered from Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100 or by visiting Ticketmaster.com.
Ronan plays Abigail Williams in the Miller drama, which as been seen as an allegory of anti-communist "witch hunts" of the early 1950s, which cost many their livelihoods.
Ben Whishaw (“The Hour”) will play John Proctor; Tony winner Sophie Okonedo (A Raisin in the Sun) will play Elizabeth Proctor; and Ciaran Hinds (“Game of Thrones, and The Seafarer) will be Deputy Governor Danforth. The cast also features Bill Camp (as Reverend John Hale), Jim Norton (as Giles Corey), Tavi Gevinson (as Mary Warren) and Jason Butler Harner (as Reverend Parris).
The production, which has an original score by composer Philip Glass, also includes Tina Benko (as Ann Putnam/Sarah Goode), Teagle Bougere (as Judge Hawthorne), Michael Braun (as Ezekiel Cheever), Jenny Jules (as Tituba), Thomas Jay Ryan (as Thomas Putnam), Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut (as Susanna Walcott), Elizabeth Teeter (as Betty Parris), Ray Anthony Thomas (as Francis Nurse), Brenda Wehle (as Rebecca Nurse) and Erin Wilhelmi (as Mercy Lewis). Producer Scott Rudin, represented on Broadway with The Audience, Fish in the Dark and the upcoming Shuffle Along and Hello, Dolly!, produced another Arthur Miller Broadway revival this season, the transfer of the London production of A View From the Bridge. Both Miller plays are directed by Belgian Ivo van Hove.
The production will have scenic and lighting design by longtime van Hove collaborator Jan Versweyveld and costume design by Wojciech Dziedzic. The casting directors are Heidi Griffiths and Zoe Rotter.
Miller's award-winning drama, according to the casting notice, is described thus: "In the tight-knit, Puritan town of Salem, a group of girls are discovered dancing in the woods and then immediately fall ill. When no earthly cause can be identified, fear and suspicion begin to percolate in the small, isolated community, that something larger, more fearsome, and other worldly may be to blame. Buried secrets and resentments are brought to light, and attempts to root out evil lead to finger-pointing, treachery, and betrayal. When everyone is a suspect, sometimes the most dangerous threat to the community may be the community itself."
The Crucible debuted on Broadway in January 1953, winning the Tony for Best Play. The most recent revival, directed by Richard Eyre in 2002, co-starred Laura Linney and Liam Neeson.
