When sophomores, juniors, and seniors hear of “The Crucible,” they immediately picture the old American Lit anthologies and perhaps Mr. Castagna pretending to pull a yellow bird out of his cabinet. For the first time ever, students will be able to see their English lessons come to life with the theater department’s production of the fall play, “The Crucible,” presented from November 3-5.

“The play is very dark,” theater teacher and director Mr. Matthew Wehr said. “I think one of the things that is appealing in the play is it presents a very dark side of its themes. It’s almost a worst case scenario. There is no humor in this play. From the moment the curtain opens you have this ominous dread over the characters. It’s probably the darkest show I’ve picked so far.”

Written by Arthur Miller in the 1950’s, “The Crucible” is set in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Witch Trials in the early 1690’s. It tells the story of the villainous Abigail Williams who leads a string of lies convicting community members of witchcraft in order to cover up her own dark secrets. The story also centers around John Proctor, a dark and troubled man who has previously engaged in an affair with Abigail and is later accused of witchcraft himself.

“I sense the [themes] of lying, of greed, and probably the overarching theme is fear. I think all of these characters are afraid and that’s why they are motivated to do the things that they do.” Mr. Wehr said. “Let’s face it, teenagers deal with similar situations to these characters. If you look at the core of ‘The Crucible,’ it’s a girl who doesn’t get her way and chooses a very insane form of revenge by lying, and the entire town believes her. There are moments in the play where you feel like the things just couldn’t happen today, and yet, the themes could. It’s very much a parable.”

The play features seniors Giuliana Augello and Garrison Piel as Abigail Williams and John Proctor. The cast also includes senior Sloane Sexton as John’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, and sophomore Mary Felix as their servant, Mary Warren. Seniors Benjamin Becker and Daniel Zelenkofske will play Reverend Parris and  Reverend Hale, respectively, while senior Amir Gold will portray Deputy Governor Danforth.

“In the past I’ve played supporting characters, but I’ve never been in a lead, so it’s a little nerve-racking, but exciting,” Piel said. “I really enjoy the character. He’s a stern ‘manly man,’ which is the opposite of who I really am. I like to play those sorts of characters, so to be able to have a lead and play a character I connect with is really a blessing.”

While the Southern Lehigh theater department has performed period pieces such as “Carousel” and “42nd Street,” “The Crucible” is one of Southern Lehigh’s first plays that is actually based in history.

“[‘The Crucible’] requires a lot of research. The whole play is based on the Salem Witch Trials, which is a big part of our country’s history,” Augello said. “The fact that this scenario was real allows for an actor to find a depth in the character that isn’t particularly portrayed through something like a  musical.”

Not only is “The Crucible” based on real events, but it also takes place over 300 years ago, presenting new challenges for the cast.

“‘The Crucible’ is written in 1600’s English, so it’s pretty different than the way we use the words today,” Gold said. “They just scramble the sentences around. It’s like you take the words and put it through the blender but you don’t blend it blend it, you just pulse it a few times. It’s not completely scrambled, but it’s still weird.”

Despite the difficulties the show presents, the cast and crew look forward to presenting this dark and twisted tale.

“I’m most excited to really see if the audiences are willing to take such deep matter and get it,” Mr. Wehr said. “This demands a lot more [thinking]. There’s an element of the supernatural and horror.”