by Leslie Rosenberg
‘Saltonstall’s Trial’ – Written by Michael Cormier & Myriam Cyr, Directed by Myriam Cyr; Scenic Design by Cat Stramer; Lighting Design by John Malinowski; Costume Design by Cat Stramer; Produced by Punctuate4 Productions at The Larcom Theatre, 13 Wallis St., Beverly, MA
Do the right thing.
A very important life lesson, but not always an easy thing to do, especially when you find yourself outnumbered, especially when you’re dealing with fear, superstition and suspicion, but mostly when it’s the 1700’s, and you’ve been brought in to assist on the Salem witch trials.
Such is the story of Nathanial Saltonstall, a judge in moral dilemma, played brilliantly by Benjamin Evett. Along Saltonstall’s travels to Salem, he hears tales of the witchcraft brewing and becomes further educated in magic and witchcraft, by both John Hawthorne (Bobby Kerrigan), the man who’s house he is staying in, and the Reverend Rowland Cotton (Hal Scardino), who also happens to be involved in a romance with Saltonstall’s widowed daughter. As Saltonstall presides over his first witchcraft trial, he finds himself learning what passes for witchcraft and also what passes for creative, yet dishonest, trial rulings and conclusions – the actual truth be damned. He finds the actual witchcraft trial to be a confounding experience – common sense and logic seem to disappear – much like the ghostly specters found in the testimonies.
As he listens in disbelief, unable to conceive of the fact that these falsehoods are being accepted as true, he tries to protest and fight for the truth, the logical truth, but soon finds his efforts disregarded and even stricken from the records, leading to the conclusion that logic, reason and sanity have no part in the Salem witch trials. One night he decides to pay a visit to the women being held in the gaol, to perhaps to make some sense of the whole situation. He’s brought down into a veritable hell of the dark, filthy, dripping, foul-smelling dungeon, where the women are chained. He questions several until he finds the one he is looking for, Bridget Bishop (Carol Goans). Bridget was a past visitor to his courtroom who ended up receiving very poor treatment due to his following the ‘flawed’ rules of his verdict. She was supposed to hang the next morning, but Saltonstall managed to get her a reprieve – which in turn, ended up getting her reinstated.
He also meets, again, Sarah Good (Verjana Abazaj), a woman with a five-year-old daughter chained a distance away from her. The child, Dorothy, howls and screams in terror, unable to see or touch anything remotely familiar. Sarah is also a past court room visitor, whose only crime had been to try to demand fair and just treatment. In trying to help these women, Saltonstall attempts to bring clarity to a very foggy situation, one that resists and fights against the truth, one not too dissimilar to our political situation of today.
This is a well written and powerfully performed show. You really identify with Nathanial Saltonstall and join in his fight – while you share the frustrations he must feel as he attempts to “Do the Right Thing”. The story, and this play, will stay (dare I say haunt?) you for a long time – could it be witchcraft? For tickets and information, go to: www.punctuate4.org
