CAST AND CREW ANNOUNCED FOR INVICTUS THEATRE COMPANY'S THE CRUCIBLE BY ARTHUR MILLER

Cast and creative team announced for THE CRUCIBLE, opening May 15

2023 Jeff Award-winning director Charles Askenaizer to helm a cast of 19 in Arthur Miller’s landmark drama

Cast and creative team announced for THE CRUCIBLE, opening May 15

2023 Jeff Award-winning director Charles Askenaizer to helm a cast of 19 in Arthur Miller’s landmark drama

CHICAGO –  Invictus Theatre Company, coming off its recent five Joseph Jefferson Award wins for its 2022 productions of Edward Albee’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? and RUINED, has announced a powerhouse cast of 19 actors for its upcoming revival of Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE. Invictus founding Artistic Director, and winner of the Jeff Award for directing VIRGINIA WOOLF, will stage Miller’s expansive drama set around the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-93 in the intimate storefront space of the company’s Reginald Vaughn Theater at 1106 W. Thorndale. Performance dates are May 11 – June 11, 2023. Press opening is Monday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m., following previews May 11 – 14.

PRINCIPAL CAST
Top row (l-r): Joseph Beal, Lea Grace Biwer, Zach Bloomfield, Brandon Boler, Devon Carson
Second row (l-r): Mike Cherry, Laura Coleman, Charlie Diaz, Jay Donley, Ellie Duffey
Third row (l-r): LaTorious Givens, Barbara Roeder Harris, Frank Nall, Mark Pracht, Orion Silvertree
Bottom row (l-r): Erin Stewart, Freya Trefonides, James Turano, Michaela Voit

Leading the cast as John Proctor, the farmer who maintains his integrity in the face of community pressure, will be Mark Pracht, a Jeff Award winner in 2019 as Performer in a Principal Role – Play for REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT with The Artistic Home, where he is an ensemble member. Pracht is a playwright as well as an actor and his play about the origins of the Batman comic books – THE MARK OF KANE – received its world premiere at City Lit Theater last fall. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, will be played by fellow Artistic Home ensemble member Devon Carson, who was a member of the Jeff Award-winning cast of REFUGE at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. Michaela Voit, who played the leading role of Pegeen Mike in City Lit’s 2022 THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, will be the conniving Abigail Williams, who accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft.

James Turano, a Jeff Award nominee for his George in Invictus’s Edward Albee’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, will be Deputy Governor Danforth, who comes to Salem to preside over the witch trials. Joseph Beal, whose many roles with Invictus include Shylock in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, will play the power-hungry Reverend Parris. Charlie Diaz, of Invictus’s JULIUS CAESAR is Reverend Hale, the witchcraft expert who denounces the trials. Frank Nall, an Artistic Home ensemble member who earned a 2023 Jeff Award nomination for that company’s MALAPERT LOVE, will play Proctor’s loyal friend Giles Corey.

The cast also includes Lea Grace Biwer (Betty Parris), Zach Bloomfield (Judge Hathorne), Brandon Boler (Ezekiel Cheever, u/s John Proctor), Mike Cherry (Thomas Putnam), Laura Coleman (Ann Putnam/Sarah Good/Voice of Martha Corey), Jay Donley (George Herrick), Ellie Duffey (Mary Warren), LaTorious Givens (Tituba), Barbara Roeder Harris (Rebecca Nurse), Orion Silvertree (Francis Nurse), Erin Stewart (Mercy Lewis), and Freya Trefonides (Susanna Walcott). Understudies are George Dougherty (Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris), Kelly M. Faherty (Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Susanna Walcott), Zach Kunde (Ezekiel Cheever, George Herrick), Tony Leininger (Thomas Putnam, Judge Danforth), Jean Waller (Ann Putnam, Sarah Good, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse), and Lexy Weixel (Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren).

Kevin Rolfs, a Jeff Award winner for his scenic design of Edward Albee’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? is Set Designer. The production team also includes Jeff Award nominee Jessie Gowens (Costume Designer, Wardrobe Supervisor), Jeff award winner (and 2023 nominee) Petter Wahlbäck (Sound Designer), Chad Lussier (Lighting Designer), Sam Paulson (Props Designer), Amber Wuttke (Fight/Intimacy Designer), Todd Henry Faulstich (Production Manager), Donica Lynn (Assistant Director), and Gabrielle Rooney (Stage Manager). Steve Nordmark is Box Office/Front of House Manager.

THE CRUCIBLE is the final production of Invictus’s 2022-23 season of plays exploring the theme “Rhetoric and Groups.” Askenaizer says of it, “while written as a response to Senator McCarthy’s persecution of suspected communists in 1950’s America, THE CRUCIBLE has parallels to today’s modern political climate. The need for critical thinking in response to rhetoric communicated through public oratory, media (mass or social), or one-to-one conversations; remains essential. We hope our production of this play will spark vigorous discussions of this challenge.”

Invictus Theatre Company has, over its six-year history, built a reputation for intimate and honest interpretations of classics with fidelity to the original texts and close attention to character development. The company’s extraordinarily successful 2021-22 season for which it was honored with five Jeff Awards, included Askenaizer’s direction of HAMLET, which Albert Williams of the CHICAGO READER called “storefront Shakespeare at its best.” The Jeff Award winning RUINED (Performance in a Leading Role – Play), was described by NEW CITY’s Ted Fishman as “a treasure to hold on to.” Kathy Hey of THIRD COAST REVIEW said Askenaizer’s direction of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (Jeff Award winner for Production of a Play, Direction of a Play, Performer in a Supporting Role – Play, and Scenic Design) was “raw, tragic, and unforgettable.” The company continued this momentum into 2022-23 with a JULIUS CAESAR that CHICAGO STAGE AND SCREEN called “shattering, and absolutely current.” In reviewing Invictus’s recent THE MOUNTAINTOP, BUZZ CENTER STAGE said, “They constantly exceed their reach. I have to remind myself this is a storefront theatre.”

Performances of THE CRUCIBLE are Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 3 p.m.; from May 11 – June 11, 2023, in the Reginald Vaughn Theater at 1106 W. Thorndale, Chicago. Tickets are on sale now at www.invictustheatreco.com. Ticket prices for previews (May 11- 14) are $25. Ticket prices for the regular run (May 15 – June 11) are $35 for general admission, and $30 for seniors and students (with valid student ID).

LISTING INFORMATION

THE CRUCIBLE
Directed by Charles Askenaizer

May 11 – June 11, 2023
Previews May 11 – 14, 2023
Press Opening May 15, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.
Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 7:00 p.m.; Sundays 3:00 p.m.
1106 W. Thorndale Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60660
Ticket prices: Previews $25. Regular run: General admission $35, students (with valid student ID) and seniors $30.
www.invictustheatreco.com

In Arthur Miller's drama set among the Salem witch trials of 1692, a young servant-girl maliciously accuses a farmer's wife of witchcraft. The farmer brings the girl to court to admit the lie but the community's mass hysteria overtakes reason. First produced in 1953 as a comment on McCarthyism’s communist hunting, the play continues to resonate for contemporary audiences.

BIOS 

Charles Askenaizer (Artistic Director, Director) graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a degree in Theatre and communications. He has worked professionally in Chicago as an actor, director, and teacher for over 12 years. Recent directing credits include JULIUS CAESAR (Invictus Theatre), HAMLET (Invictus Theatre), Edward Albee’s WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?* (Invictus Theatre-*Jeff Award winner – Production of a Play, Direction of a Play), readings with Chicago Dramatists, 'NIGHT, MOTHER (Associate Director-Invictus Theatre), THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Invictus Theatre), OTHELLO: THE MOOR OF VENICE (Invictus Theatre), TITUS ANDRONICUS (Bare Knuckles Theater), JULIUS CAESAR (Associate Director- Brown Paper Box), TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (Reutan Collective), and THE DIFFERENCE (Reading-Piccolo Theatre). Charles has worked with Citadel Theatre, Teatro Vista, the Artistic Home, City Lit, Raven, Brown Paper Box, Chicago Dramatists, the Side Project and many more.

Arthur Miller (Playwright) was one of the most lauded and influential playwrights of the 20th-century . His plays ALL MY SONS (1947), the Pulitzer Prize-winning DEATH OF A SALESMAN (1949), THE CRUCIBLE (1953), and A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (1955) are all considered classics of American theater. He also wrote several screenplays and was most noted for his work on THE MISFITS (1961), the last film of both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe.

ABOUT INVICTUS THEATRE COMPANY

At Invictus Theatre Company, our mission is to create theater that promotes a better understanding of language: its poetry, its rhythm, its resonance; through diverse works by diverse artists. We respect the power of heightened language: spoken, written, sung; to express the breadth of the human condition. We work to harness the power of language: to promote diversity, to engender respect, to foster collaboration; and to empower our communities to share their voices.

Invictus Theatre Company incorporated in January 2017 and received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in February 2017. A diverse group of Chicago actors and directors founded Invictus with the vision to empower their communities through theatrical productions of heightened language. We are committed to the idea that our productions should reflect the communities we represent, and, to that end, we are committed to non-discriminatory hiring practices. In working with local artists, designers, and production teams, Invictus Theatre Company does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, nationality, citizenship, religion, or any other status protected by law.

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