We round up the reviews for the show starring Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) booking until the 6th July.
New York Times: “too urgently necessary about its one thing to make it worth wishing it were even a little different. That the urgency comes in an often hilarious, often ecstatic, highly accessible package is all the better. I hope a lot of high school girls — and boys — see it. Both need to understand that the case against John Proctor is just beginning.”
Time Out: **** “As its cards-on-the-table title suggests, John Proctor Is the Villain isn’t about its explosive reveals; it’s about reclaiming and reshaping the narratives we’ve been taught. But although themes and incidents from The Crucible reverberate throughout this work, you don’t need to be an expert on Miller’s drama to appreciate this one. Belflower’s first Broadway play is a galvanizing accomplishment all on its own. Remember her name.”
Variety.com: “Sink gives a spellbinding performance as a girl who is deeply pained but shielded with thick armor: She’s smart but underestimated, and ready to harness her rage against the patriarchy.”
Deadline: “Sink, who made her Broadway debut at age 10 in Annie but is by far better known for her portrayal of Max Mayfield in the Netflix series Stranger Things, is a revelation. Her Shelby is weighted with a past that is only gradually revealed, her determination to bring truth and life to her classmates as ground-shaking as anything the abused Abigail ever let loose on Salem.”
The Guardian: **** “Yet as much as the play feels informed by pop music, teen movies and TV soaps (and a millennial’s attempt to see through gen Z eyes), it also carries an impressive theatrical charge.”
The Wrap: “Danya Taymor’s direction looks to punch up all these scene changes with flashy interludes that offer blinding shots of lightning (by Natasha Katz), ominous “Carmina Burana”-esque music (by Palmer Hefferan) and a black-lit classroom set (by Amp and Teresa L. Williams) that jiggles. It’s all about as subtle as Taymor’s direction of her cast, Ebert excluded.”
The Hollywood Reporter: “t’s a testament to the subtle brilliance of Kimberly Belflower’s writing and Danya Tamor’s direction that you can hardly feel the 105-minute, no-intermission runtime of John Proctor Is the Villain.”
New York Post: “The energy and camaraderie of her young cast helps lift slower portions in the long and intermission-less show, even if the acting sometimes leans more “Boy Meets World” than reality.”
ExeuntNYC.com: “That combination of pain and joy, that acknowledgment of the complexity of even people who do terrible things: that’s where all the play’s currents come together. “
New York Theatre Guide: “More important here than any particular interpretation of The Crucible and its real-world parallels is the takeaway that no matter what you’re told to believe, there’s power — that can be wielded for good or harm or a mix of both — in deciding for yourself.”
amny.com: “The play doesn’t discard “The Crucible.” It wrestles with it—closely, critically, personally. The students point out how John Proctor remains emotionally distant and never fully acknowledges the harm he has caused to others. These aren’t acts of revisionism; they’re acts of engagement. And in that sense, “John Proctor is the Villain” becomes not just a critique of a text, but an embodiment of how literature should be read: actively, critically, and with full awareness of who gets to tell the story.”
Theatrely.com: ” John Proctor Is the Villain is much like that: a heady rush of glee, shock and understanding that takes you by surprise, and leaves you happy you came.”
Vulture.com: “Along with a dexterity for shaping character out of the casual contours of contemporary speech, Belflower also has a keen sense of balance: She hangs just enough of her play on The Crucible but not too much. “
Observer.com: “From Stranger Things, we know that Sink has the “ginger badass” shtick down pat, but she proves herself a passionate stage presence alongside equally gifted cast members. Strazza, as mousy, try-hard Beth—on whom Mr. Smith lavishes much attention—registers levels of panic by forever tugging sleeves over her hands, a nervous tic that signals a desire to be smaller, dismembered.”
Entertainment Weekly: “Without giving too much away, John Proctor manages to weave together its serious subject matter into a thoroughly satisfying, endlessly charming, and adrenaline rush-inducing finale that will leave attendees dancing out of the theatre.”
New York Stage Review: *** “The Playbill cover for John Proctor Is the Villain conveys it perfectly. It features several of the young characters in a circle while appearing to be screaming their heads off. That’s exactly how you’ll feel after enduring this well-meaning but exhausting play.”
New York Theater.me: “an entertainment that doubles as an appropriate lesson for teenagers in history and literature, and for their parents in popular culture.”
To find out more about the production visit: https://johnproctoristhevillain.com/