A Crucible: A Puritanical Celebration of Witches and Turkeys
Written by The Humorist Project; Directed by Michael F. Toomey
Under St. Marks | 94 St. Mark's Place, New York, NY 10009
April 5th, 12th, 14th & 19th
Theatre festivals are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.
The FRIGID Festival kicks off tonight in NYC and approximately 65 shows will run in rep at 5 different venues. Shows will run a bit under an hour. There will be one-acts and bits of longer works in progress; dramas, comedies and musicals.
What a glorious day of theatre! Three wildly different shows in three different venues. It’s the closest you get to binge watching live theatre.
I take the Humorist Project’s A Crucible: A Puritanical Celebration of Witches and Turkeys very personally. I feel seen. Actually, I feel watched. In my youth, in 1992 to be exact, I performed reenactments of the Salem Witch Trials at the Witch Dungeon Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. There may have been the odd Abigail Williams performances as well. I had been in performances of The Crucible since I was 14. The Humorist Project’s play takes place in 1992/93 in Danvers which had been Salem Township until 1752. They are supposed to put on the annual Thanksgiving Eve performance of The Crucible with the one poor kid who has to play Tituba over and over again. (Alexandra de Suze, I think they’ve been watching you too.)
Besides the freaky similarities to my life, this show was so much fun, and the early nineties soundtrack was a hoot. The entire audience rolled with laughter, clapped along and marveled at the creativity of this wholly original piece. Your senses are bombarded with bits of history (Poor Giles Corey), musical numbers, ouija boards, and a Mickey Mouse voice. If you want to spend an hour forgetting the outside world exists, this is the best way to do it. You won’t stop smiling.
This piece has 3 more performances in NYC’s Frigid Festival. Get to them or be left out in the cold!
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Nicole Jesson.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on April 6th, 2025. All rights reserved.