John Proctor is the Villain Review

I went into this one with mid-tier expectations. The advertising made it seem as if it was targeted at a young, hip, female audience, similar to the target demographic for the Romeo and Juliet revival with Rachel Zeigler and Kit Connor. The hype surrounding it was palpable, but I asked myself if a Gen Z play could really be that good, or if people were just excited to see Sadie Sink of Stranger Things fame in a timely and relevant play. If it was good, would it appeal to an adult audience, especially if parents and teachers would be attending with their children?

The good reviews were not a surprise, but then adults started raving along with the teenagers, and it was nominated for a whopping seven Tony Awards. It tied with “The Hills of California” as the most Tony-nominated play of the season, although I don't think Sink should have been nominated in the lead actress category, since she wasn't in the show as much as 90% of the cast. A supporting actress nomination would have been a better choice, and it's possible that she, or her co-star who had almost double the amount of stage time as Sink, would have won. 

I bought the tickets just needing to fill a matinee slot, and wanting to see what all the hype was about, but I am happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed this show. My friend Alana and I both agreed that it was our favorite of the three shows we saw over the weekend. Sadly, Sink has departed the show, presumably to take a breather before her publicity tour for Stranger Things 5 started in mid-July. Although I regret missing her, I am glad I saw this show, and I think every high schooler should see or read this play. It started some thought-provoking and deep discussions with Alana afterwards.  

“John Proctor is the Villain” tells the story of an 11th-grade English Literature class at a rural Georgia high school reading and discussing The Crucible. Outside of English class, the “Me Too” movement is the hottest news; a group of girls are trying to start a feminism club, which is getting a lot of pushback; a prominent member of the community has been accused of sexual assault; a seven year relationship between two teens is in turmoil; and the student who caused the end of the said romance, with a history of problematic behavior is returning to school after a prolonged absence. It’s reminiscent of Degrassi, Glee, and early seasons of Gilmore Girls.

Kimberly Belflower wrote a wonderful and thrilling book told from the adolescent perspective for an adolescent audience. Belflower taps into the way that teens talk amongst one another, and the way that they think, and for that, I am grateful. I wish this show had come out when I was this age, because teenage Emily would have eaten this up. It's also so exciting to see young people getting excited about theater and about The Crucible because of this show. 

While it had its lighthearted moments, the play is grounded and serious, especially in the second half. Women have been walking out of the theater sobbing. I didn’t cry my eyes out, but I did feel a lot of deep emotions. This is not a happy show: innocent people get punished and vilified while bad people don’t get much more than a slap on the wrist. The girls and their male allies have so much hope that things will change in the wake of the Me Too movement, so it was sad knowing their hopes and dreams weren’t going to be fully realized. We have a president who was elected twice despite allegations of sexual assault and degrading comments about women, we have Andrew Cuomo running for mayor of New York City despite his own allegations of miscounduct, Bill Cosby walks free, Harvey Weinstein’s conviction was thrown out, Brian Peck sexually assaulted Drake Bell and now lives comfortably despite the allegations, Nickelodeon producer and director Dan Schnider was accused of henious behavior but remains unpunished, and politicans everywhere want to take away women’s rights. People now compare the Me Too movement to a modern-day witch hunt because of false allegations, which can still end careers, marriages, and destroy reputations. This is discussed several times in the show, and it broke my heart hearing how people were talking about the character of Shelby after she came out with her own accusations. 

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The show is not a musical, but music plays a big role in the show, with the girls constantly quoting and referencing Taylor Swift and Lorde. I am not a Swiftie, so the Taylor Swift references didn’t all make sense to me or make me laugh, but I understand and respect the power Swift has as an artist who champions women's rights and girls’ empowerment both in her music and through her actions. I prefer Lorde, despite being more of a casual fan of hers than most others in the audience. Her song “Green Light” is discussed at length and later used in an interpretive dance sequence at the end. 

Sadie Sink is the one who got butts into seats, so she is advertised as the star of this show, though this show isn’t oriented around a single protagonist. It is an ensemble piece, giving all nine characters roughly the same amount of stage time, with the exceptions of Ivy and Sink’s Shelby. Ivy’s story takes place primarily outside of school, and Shelby doesn’t appear until the second half of the play. I wish I could talk about all the performances, but then this would turn into a novel, so I'll just talk about my top five.

Gabriel Ebert plays Mr. Smith, the English teacher caught in the middle of all of the craziness. He reminded me a lot of Mr. Schue from the TV show Glee, both in his appearance and his charisma with the students. The female students all have a huge crush on him and discuss his anatomy, body, and their fantasies in private. His performance is charming and witty, at first reminding me of some of my favorite teachers, which is why Shelby’s accusations against him yanked the rug out from under the audience’s feet. The amount of gasps I heard in that theater was unreal. Once the accusations come out, his interactions start to have creepy undertones. I found myself questioning everything he said and trying to find innuendos. In the end, he became a slimy bastard who I grew to hate. His final scene, in which he badmouths Shelby and flirts with a student whom he is eager to impress, particularly made my skin crawl. I was concerned for the student that he was clearly preparing to groom and make his next victim, and sadly, I think the student would fall into his trap.

Fina Straza plays Beth. A stereotypical teacher's pet, she is nerdy, an overachiever, and desperate to impress Mr. Smith. Straza is a spitfire in this role: witty, sharp, a rule follower, but also an anxious wallflower who clearly doesn’t have many friends at school, instead seeking dominance over her fellow students. She even considers her teachers her friends, which reminded me a lot of my own high school experience. I was a teacher's pet who followed the rules to a T. My only friends at school were those like me, nerdy teachers' pets. Her relationship with Mr. Smith feels innocent at first, and he is clearly protective of Beth. But once Mr. Smith’s true colors were revealed, I got worried for Beth. She isn’t an idiot, but she is a naive young girl that Mr. Smith can easily woo and groom with promises of higher grades, extra credit, glowing letters of recommendation, and college connections. It’s unclear where her allegiances lie at the end of the play, and I’d love to have asked Straza.

Amalia Yoo plays the headstrong Raylynn, whose seven-year relationship with her boyfriend, Lee, has just ended after he cheated on her with Shelby. Yoo plays Raylynn with a sweetness, but as she grows over the course of the play, she becomes stronger and realizes what she wants in life doesn’t include marrying Lee, much to his chagrin. Her friendship with the other girls in her class and the other male character is heartwarming; however, I did get the feeling that most of the girls in class walked on eggshells during the early post-breakup days, especially once Shelby returned to school. The scene where she told her ex-boyfriend, “In the words of Taylor Swift, we are never ever getting back together ever!” was the big applause-bait line, and boy, was it earned.

Chiara Aureila plays the mysterious Shelby Holcomb, who is mostly absent in the play’s first half. I was bummed that I missed Sadie Sink, since I’ve only heard good things about her performance. My one grievance was that Aurelia looked older than a high schooler, since she and the rest of the cast are all in their 20s. She is witty, a little catty, and eager to learn, but towards the end of the play, she explodes and becomes even more interesting. Even though she’s pretty rattled when shit hits the fan, she doesn’t let it get her down. Instead, she uses it to her advantage, eventually gaining back the friendships and trust she lost after her affairs became public knowledge. I absolutely loved her energy during the Green Light dance, where she was not afraid to get in the faces of the men who had wronged her in so many ways and bash them. There have been times when I wished I had dared to get in the faces of people who have bashed and bullied me like that. It was incredibly powerful to watch. 

Noah Pacht, the understudy for Hagan Oliveras, plays Raylynn’s absolute douchebag of an ex-boyfriend, who is desperate, a tad obsessive, misogynistic, and a bully. I clocked this guy as trouble at first glance. Despite saying things that seemed genuine and sweet, he became more and more toxic mere seconds after trying to woo Raylynn again. He assaulted Raylynn, said truly awful things about Shelby, and became so violent that I became worried for Raylynn. Thankfully, she dumped his ass for good, and made it clear that she would never look at him again, much less marry him.

Overall, a wonderful and electric afternoon at the theater, I am so sad that it’s closing this weekend! I hope to see a revival soon.