Sophie Okonedo, Ciaran Hinds, Ben Whishaw & Saoirse Ronan Set for The Crucible Revival
Tony winner Sophie Okonedo, Game of Thrones' Ciaran Hinds, James Bond star Ben Whishaw and Saoirse Ronan have all been tapped for a revival of The Crucible on Broadway. Ivo van Hove (whose A View From The Bridge—also by Arthur Miller—will bow this fall) will direct. The production will begin previews on February 29, 2016, with opening night set for April 7 at a theater to be announced.
Okonedo will play Elizabeth Proctor, with Whishaw as John Proctor, Hinds as Deputy Governor Danforth and Ronan as Abigail Williams. The cast will also include Rookie Magazine founder Tavi Gevinson, who made her Broadway debut last season in This Is Our Youth, as Mary Warren, Tony winner Jim Norton as Giles Corey, Bill Camp, who last appeared on Broadway in Miller's Death of a Salesman, as Reverend John Hale and stage and screen alum Jason Butler Harner as Reverend Parris.
In addition to her 2014 Tony Award, Okonedo received an Oscar nod in 2005 for Hotel Rwanda. She will also star opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in the upcoming series The Hollow Crown. Her additional credits include The Secret Life of Bees, The Slap and Skin.
Whishaw’s notable on-screen credits include Skyfall and
Ronan was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for her performance in Atonement. Her additional screen credits include The Grand Budapest Hotel, Hanna and The Lovely Bones. She will star as Nina in the upcoming film adaptation of The Seagull.
Hinds can currently be seen as Claudius opposite Cumberbatch’s Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre. In addition to countless credits with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre Company, he has appeared on Broadway previously in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Seafarer and Closer. His screen credits include Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Frozen.
Miller’s drama uses the Salem witch trials of the 1690s as a parable for the McCarthy hearing of the period in which the play was written. The play follows members of the town and the spreading of fear-based rumors after a group of young girls are discovered dancing in the woods. One of the girls, Abigail, out of an obsessive love for John Proctor (with whom she once had an affair,) sets out to have his wife hanged.
The production will feature scenic and lighting design by Jan Versweyveld, costume design by Wojciech Dziedzic and an original score by Philip Glass. Additional casting and design team will be announced at a later date. The Crucible premiered on Broadway in 1953 and won two Tony Awards including Best Play. It was last revived in 2002 in a production that featured Laura Linney, Liam Neeson and Kristen Bell.
