GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE POWER
Kimberly Belflower’s riveting John Proctor is the Villain, which had its world-premiere at Studio Theatre in D.C. in 2022, opened last night at The Huntington. It is a work of profound inspiration, and — with spot-on direction by Margot Bordelon (…what the end will be for Roundabout) and a knockout nine-member cast — grabs the heart, the soul and the mind.
Brianna Martinez, Jules Talbot, Victoria Omoregie, Haley Wong
It opens in a high school class of honors students in a small town in Georgia. Their popular and empathetic teacher Carter Smith (Japhet Balban) provides a textbook definition of sex to fulfill their sex ed requirement (six minutes a day) before moving on to the really juicy stuff: DRAMA! The class is about to embark on a study of The Crucible — that staple of high school English classes — Arthur Miller’s cunning 1953 portrayal of the McCarthy-era hysteria about imagined communism in the context of the 1692 Salem witch trials.
Isabel Van Natta, Jules Talbot, Victoria Omoregie, Haley Wong
Belflower does Miller one better. She brings Miller’s play and the witch trials into the context of 2018 and the #MeToo movement. Jules Talbot is the nerdy but naive Beth Powell whose last-minute decision brings the drama to its gratifying conclusion. Haley Wong is Raelyn Nix, ready to move out from under the possessive grip of her insecure boyfriend Lee, portrayed by Benjamin Izaak. Victoria Omoregie is Nell Shaw, fresh from Atlanta and longing for connection; Maanav Aryan Goyal is Mason Adams, the good test-taker who struggles with nuance. Brianna Martinez is the wounded and vulnerable Ivy Watkins. All of them drive the drama forward, never missing a potential laugh or insight with Belflower’s crisp and often funny dialogue, but it’s Isabel Van Natta as Shelby Holcomb whose disruptive entrance makes the stage crackle with her wrath.
Olivia Hebert, Japhet Balaban
In the course of the action, long-time friendships are challenged, dissolved, and renewed. Assumptions about motives are overturned as the girls attempt to form a Feminism Club, a club their guidance counselor (Olivia Hebert) warns that authorities will not allow unless it is open to boys. As the girls delve deeper into Miller’s play and examine the events in the play against their own experiences, observations, and emotions, their view of the character John Proctor, generally viewed as the honorable martyr in Miller’s drama, shifts. Punctuated by lyrics from Beyoncé, Taylor Swift (of course!), and Lorde, the energy and rage of the girls grows over 100 intermission-free minutes until the final explosive and purging scene.
Japhet Balaban, Isabel Van Natta, Victoria Omoregie, Brianna Martinez,
Benjamin Izaak, Jules Talbot, Maanav Aryan Goyal, Haley Wong
Zoë Sundra’s costumes delightfully portray the need of teenaged girls to experiment with self-expression. Kristen Robinson’s scenic design, which includes a backdrop of forest that magically becomes visible at different times, thanks to Aja M. Jackson’s likewise effective lighting.
Victoria Omoregie, Jules Talbot, Haley Wong
photos by T. Charles Erickson
John Proctor is the Villain
Huntington Theatre Company
Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston
ends on March 10, 2024
for tickets ($20-$135), call 617.266.0800 or visit Huntington
