'She's a Witch!' Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' Comes to Bay Street

Bay Street Theater’s Literature Live! production will be Arthur Miller’s Tony Award-winning play “The Crucible.” Classic, yet timely “The Crucible” opens Thursday, November 9, and public performances run through Sunday, November 26. School performances begin November 6. Bay Street’s own associate artistic director Will Pomerantz has been tapped to direct the drama.

“The Crucible” is a gripping play set in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. It explores mass hysteria, deception and the consequences of false accusations in a Puritan community. The story follows the unraveling of a tight-knit society as paranoia and fear lead to a witch hunt that destroys lives.

Now in its 15th year, Literature Live! was started by Tracy Mitchell, Bay Street’s executive director.

“This program came about when seeing how little of the performing arts were being incorporated into my own daughter’s curriculum,” said Mitchell. “I was shocked because my own exposure to theater had been so life-changing, and I can’t imagine if I hadn’t had that, what experiences I would have missed out on in my own life.”

As part of the Literature Live! programming, free performances are available to school groups. Teachers and administrators may register their school groups by contacting Allen O’Reilly, the theater’s director of education, at allen@baystreet.org or 631-725-0818. Free admission is available to all school students, teachers, and administrators who can reserve weekday performances at times that work for them on a first-come, first-serve basis. To date, Bay Street has served over 35,000 students from the New York metro area, and many more through digital access during COVID-19.

Literature Live! is an annual BOCES-approved program where teachers are provided curriculum guides in advance to help with content and additional aspects of learning. Each student performance will be followed by a talkback and Q&A session with various members of the team and the audience.

Tickets for the public performances start at $37 at baystreet.org or 631-725-9500. Bay Street Theater is on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor.