This lighthearted photo isn’t actually what I had planned to post today, but I think it suits the mood for April Fools’. Here I am on the left, in the lobby of George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium this past Sunday, with Mather Pfeiffenberger on the right, during intermission at the final performance of Robert Ward’s 1963 Pulitzer Prize winning opera “The Crucible,” presented by Washington National Opera.
Between us is a gentleman who identified himself in his contact info (presented so that I could send him a copy of the photo) only as “Crucible Puritan Guy.” It turns out he’s Gary O’Connor, a DC resident who also frequently attends performances at the Met. An opera cosplayer of sorts, Gary has also worn theme costumes to performances of “Die Frau ohne Schatten” (complete with faux falcon), “Lohengrin,” “Der Rosenkavalier” (in silver face paint), “Tosca,” and “Tristan und Isolde” (with the “Tristan chord” on the sail of a headdress resembling a dragon boat).
Of course, there’s nothing foolish about “The Crucible” itself. Adapted from the Arthur Miller play, it’s perennially, chillingly relevant (people are people, after all, no matter what era they live in), but especially so now. Ward’s opera is inexorable, riveting, and powerful, with a dramatic sweep that makes it seem almost like American verismo.
It was certainly well-cast, with J’Nai Bridges and Ryan McKinny as the ill-fated Proctors, who manage to wrest grace and redemption from the Salem Witch Trials. There were good voices throughout, with the men (including McKinny as John Proctor, Chauncey Packer as Judge Danforth, and Nicholas Huff as Giles Corey) carrying especially well. I had my concerns at the start, as some of the voices were muddied as the singers moved upstage, but everyone soon rose to the occasion. I am sorry to have to leave out some of their names, but I didn’t really intend this as a review.
I will add, however, they were also good actors, with Lauren Carroll exuding menace and unpredictability as Abigail Adams. Bridges has some great moments, especially touching in the final scene, which concludes “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him.”
Robert Spano conducted in the cramped pit, and the musicians played well. Had I not been made aware of it in another write-up, I would never have known that the brass and percussion had to be piped in from another room.
Bravo to Washington National Opera, now free of the Kennedy Center. Hopefully they’ll be back, if there’s anything left of the performing arts complex, a memorial to fallen president John F. Kennedy, under a different administration.
It’s shameful that the Washington Post, now under the ownership of Jeff Bezos, did not review “The Crucible.” Then, all the qualified music people have been driven out.
“West Side Story” will conclude the WNO season, at Lyric Baltimore and the Music Center at Strathmore, May 8-15. If I remember correctly the organization’s 2026-27 season will be announced on May 5. For more information, visit https://washnatopera.org/.
Robert Ward’s “The Crucible” is no laughing matter, but Gary the Crucible Puritan Guy brought some welcome levity to a gorgeous DC afternoon. If only it didn’t take me 4 ½ hours to drive home!
“The Crucible,” Unfortunately, Never Goes Out of Style
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14 responses to ““The Crucible,” Unfortunately, Never Goes Out of Style”
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It’s good to have lighthearted moments amid so much cultural upheaval
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Claire Pula Sister, you said it. BTW – I’ve got my ticket for the Fathom showing of “Ben-Hur” tonight at 6:00. So far, three seats reserved, and I’m the only one up in the back row. Good. Now I can smuggle in my dinner with impunity.
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There will be five of us in our theater and four of us are related lol
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Claire Pula Maybe I’m the other guy! 😉 I probably could have gotten somebody to go with me, but I would have had to travel a great distance instead of watching it close to home. Now I can just get out and be in bed by 11:00(ish).
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Turns out there were about fifteen in our theater— and of course all in tears at the end— my husband was especially struck this time around by the music, along with the earthquake sound effects. Fabulous ❤️
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Claire Pula It was amazing. And yes, I could not believe what they were able to achieve with the sound, ESPECIALLY with the earthquake. Being too young to have seen it in the theater in 1959, for me this was the best the film has ever looked and especially sounded. Bafflingly, I was the ONLY person in the theater! Even those who had booked the two other reserved seats didn’t show up. On the one hand, it was special to have the theater entirely to myself. On the other, how discouraging that one of the greatest commercial movies ever made attracts so little interest. I’m writing another post about it now. I’m glad you got to see it, and hopefully it’s playing better in other areas of the country. I’m trying really hard not to despair for the future of everything I hold dear, but if it’s not Ryan Gosling in a spaceship, it doesn’t seem you can pry people away from home streaming while texting on their cell phones anymore.
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I first met Gary as Frau Falcon Guy at the Met in December 2024. A treasure!
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Mather Pfeiffenberger I found this photo on his Facebook page. Hilarious! The guy giving the thumbs-up in the background makes it. 😄Media: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1813199959599059&set=p.1813199959599059&type=3
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Classic Ross Amico Yes, that’s him! Thanks for posting.
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Mather Pfeiffenberger He really went all out as “Rosenkavalier Rose Guy!”Media: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1813217616263960&set=p.1813217616263960&type=3
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Classic Ross Amico I may have to catch that next season just to see him!
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I would hate to be the guy who sat behind the hat…. Even though I’m sure it could fit at least one cat in that hat.
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Kenneth Hutchins I thought about that myself, but his “Tristan Chord Guy” costume included a disclaimer that the hat would be removed during the performance.Media: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1813212392931149&set=p.1813212392931149&type=3
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Classic Ross AmicoMedia: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10243986671152095&set=p.10243986671152095&type=3
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