September 22, 2006
Theater department to present 'The Crucible'
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale's theater department, part of the College of Liberal Arts, next month will present Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning play, "The Crucible."
The show runs Wednesday, Oct. 4, through Sunday, Oct. 8, in McLeod Theater, located in the Communications Building. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. for the Wednesday through Saturday shows and 2 p.m. for the Sunday show, with a special school matinee on Thursday, Oct. 5, at 10 a.m.
The 1692 witch trials in Salem, Mass., form the basis of the play, directed by assistant professor Segun Ojewuyi. In the play, a 17th-century Salem woman, supported by local adolescent girls, accuses an ex-lover's wife of witchery. Miller wrote the play in 1952 as an allegory for McCarthyism and the "Red Scare" of the 1950s.
"We chose this play not only because it is an outstanding piece of American theatrical literature but because it also touches on themes that ring true in today's society," said Mark K. Varns, chair of the theater department.
Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for children and students. Box office hours are noon-5: 30 p.m. weekdays and an hour before each performance. Tickets are also available by phone at 618/453-3001. For more information, contact marketing coordinator Vincent Rhomberg at mcldpub@siu.edu or 618/453-7589.
Coordinating and expanding major cultural outreach programs are among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.