By Sheila Barth
BOX INFO: The original play,
“Saltonstall’s Trial,” continues with its full production debut October 25-27:
Oct. 24-26 at 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 26, 27, at 2:30 p.m. at the 560-seat Larcom
Theatre, 13 Wallis St., downtown Beverly. Tickets start at $19.50. punctuate4.org,
978-390-2425, thelarcom.org.
There are many reasons to see Punctuate4’s production of playwright-director Miriam Cyr and Michael Cormier’s timely, two-act, two-and-a-half-hour production of “Saltonstall: One Man’s Stand Against the Salem Witch Trials” this week.
Throughout October, the entire North Shore resonates with eerie, bizarre reminders of our forefathers’ shame – the two-year scourge of witchcraft hysteria – when pious-but-bad neighbors accused innocents of bearing the “mark of the devil” and committing supernatural, evil acts, usually during the night. Accusers further claimed the “witch” conjured up demonic helpers, throwing young church-going girls and everyone else into uncontrollable fits, hysterical fear, and illness.
Another reason for seeing Punctuate4’s stirring historic drama is multi-award winning Boston actor Benjamin Evett, who delivers a fiery portrayal of the titular lead role, Judge Nathaniel Saltonstall. The rest of the large cast satellite the versatile performer, some more vibrantly than others. Sadly, some actors speak too softly. Their voices don’t carry well to theatergoers seated further back.
That said, Carol Goans is outstanding as Bridget Bishop, the first accused to
go on trial and be hanged. Goans enacts Bishop’s feistiness with a zesty edge.
“I’m a woman. I bore children,” she cries, when she’s accused of being a witch.
Later, when she strongly declares, “I am no witch! I am innocent. I know
nothing of it,” you may not like the outspoken, rough-edged woman, but
Goans’ powerful portrayal makes you a believer.
Special kudos also to Cat Stramer, whose historic costumes, graphic designs,
minimalist set, and battery of exciting special effects work handsomely with
John Malinowski’s somber lighting, Noah Greenstein’s pragmatic props, and
Verjana Abazaj and Siobhan Landry’s videography, enhancing the theatric
experience.
While the script could use some tweaking, it’s refreshing that Cyr and Cormier
avoid re-telling the overworked stories of a group of girls and the Rev. Samuel
Parris’s imaginative, exotic house servant, Tituba, who allegedly sparked the
girls’ imagination. Legend says Tituba told tales of the occult and supernatural
magic. The impressionable girls then claimed to see the devil’s work carried
out by disliked friends and neighbors. The girls’ visions then paved a pathway
for jealous, nefarious neighbors accusing wealthy bulwarks of the community and
other individuals of witchcraft.
Instead, the play focuses on little-known Haverhill town clerk-magistrate Nathaniel Saltonstall, the sole voice of reason and fastidious carrier of the law, who fought against the tide of unleashed violence and accusations against hundreds of innocent people. Cormier and Cyr did their homework, discovering many accusations sprung from the Maine territory, and spread like wildfire through Massachusetts area communities, indicating Salem witchcraft hysteria extended far beyond Salem and Salem Village. Also, Cormier and Cyr hammer out a big warning to us. Mob mentality, witch hunts, false accusations (fake news, anyone?), hatred and racism continue to be rampant. Is anyone listening? Does anyone care? Where’s Nathaniel Saltonstall when we need him?
