SAMANTHA BLONS
Assistant A&E Editor
The Pepperdine Music department brings a chilling tale about the price of paranoia to campus tonight, when the curtains open on the annual student opera, “The Crucible.”
The cast will perform at 7:30 tonight and Saturday night in Smothers Theatre, accompanied by the Pepperdine University Orchestra.
The opera was adapted from Arthur Miller’s classic play by the same name and is set in Salem, Mass., during the infamous 17th century Salem witch trials.
The story begins when several of the town’s young women become ill, inciting rumors of witchcraft in the community. Trials ensue against those who are accused of conspiring with the devil, a crime for which the defendants are sent to the gallows unless they confess.
Senior Holland Kerker plays the manipulative Abigail Williams, who attempts to use the witch scare to win back her former adulterous lover, John Proctor, played by senior Tim Campbell. Senior Alison Campagna plays Proctor’s wife, the faithful and honest Elizabeth.
In 1961, Robert Ward and Bernard Stambler adapted the classic play into a Pulitzer Prize-winning opera. Written in a modern style, the music from “The Crucible” was more difficult to learn than the traditional operas Pepperdine has produced in the past, according to several cast members.
“It was very special to be able to choose this opera,” said Henry Price, professor of music and director of Pepperdine’s Flora L. Thornton Opera Program. “We have some wonderful, rich voices, and our program is gaining prominence around the country.”
This is the first year Price did not stage direct the production, because he was on sabbatical last semester. Instead, he chose to return to his performing roots, playing the role of Judge Danforth, who presides over the witchcraft hearings.
“We didn’t have a student capable of singing this role,” he said. According to Price, the role requires an older quality voice. “Also, to be able to perform with my students is a special, one-time opportunity for me.”
The annual opera differs from the fall and spring musicals in that the opera singers do not wear microphones. Also, because the entire show is set to music, there are no verbal breaks, making for a more complicated and fast-paced show, according to junior Amanda Roccuzzo, stage manager.
Also unlike recent musicals and operas at Pepperdine, “The Crucible” set is minimalist. A simple, large wooden platform is built onto the stage, with wooden poles shooting up toward the ceiling and multicolored lights decorating the background of the scenes.
“The whole [set] concept is kind of surrealistic, with no walls,” said Cathy Thomas-Grant, stage director and Fine Arts Division chair. “We sculpt the scenes with lighting and furniture.”
The different locations in the production, such as the courtroom and Proctor’s farmhouse, are established using a “flying” beam of wood. Attached to ropes, the beam is raised and lowered to distinguish between scenes.
The opera is also a unique opportunity for the music and theater departments to work together, Roccuzzo said.
“It is an interesting blend of the two departments,” Roccuzzo said. “All the crew is theater majors and the cast is music majors. It’s the only show where we get to do that.”
Though the plot is set in 17th century New England, Miller’s original play is an allegory representing the witch hunt of 1950s McCarthyism, a period of great anti-Communist fear. Miller was among those targeted and investigated by U.S. government officials who accused many Americans of being communists, often ruining their careers without proof of wrongdoing.
“It is a real political piece, more than just about the Salem witch trials,” Thomas-Grant said. “It speaks to any kind of mass hysteria to a catastrophic event.”
Campbell said one of his favorite parts of “The Crucible” is its warning against widespread public paranoia and hysteria, which he said remains a pertinent issue in today’s society.
“The powerful message the opera has— it can be controversial, but the message is incredibly important,” Campbell said. “History repeats itself, and religion has been used to justify so much hatred.”
After months of rehearsals, Campagna said she is looking forward to performing for the Smothers audience as Elizabeth Proctor. However, she and other cast members said it has been a challenge to get students to purchase tickets for the opera, because for the past several years the performances have fallen on the weekend before spring break.
It is especially difficult for those who leave early for the break to attend.
As of Wednesday, more than 25 percent of the tickets for both nights remained unsold.
“It’s always hard to sell tickets to Pepperdine audiences,” Campagna said. “Sometimes we get a buzz from the L.A. area, but we won’t sell every seat.”
According to Marnie Mitze, managing director for the Center for the Arts, many considerations go into the planning of the Smothers Theatre schedule. Each spring, the theater’s weekends must be divided between “Dance in Flight,” the opera, Songfest and the spring musical, allowing for rehearsal and set building time for each show.
She also said last year’s opera, “The Marriage of Figaro,” nearly sold out each performance.
“[The Crucible] is not a well-known opera, and that is probably affecting its sales,” she said.
Campbell said he wishes the opera had two weekends of performances instead of one so that more students would be able to attend Pepperdine’s spring production.
“The dates are the hardest thing because you want Pepperdine students to see your work but your friends are all gone,” he said.
The Flora L. Thornton Opera Program, named for its benefactor, finances the annual student opera as well as the program’s summer European workshops.
A former singer herself and a well-known patron of the arts, Ms. Thornton is the widow of Charles B. Thornton, the namesake of the Thornton Administrative Center. In 1999 and 2000, she endowed the young Pepperdine opera program with a total of $1 million with which to build up its program.
After directing the program for the past 14 years, Price said his plan for the program is always to attract greater quality singers and equip them with superior training.
Tickets to “The Crucible” cost $10 for Pepperdine students and $12 for faculty and staff. General admission costs $15.
For more information, call the box office at ext. 4522.
03-01-2007