Putting my toe back in
OK, for anyone who is interested, "The Crucible" at New London rocked the freakin' house, if I do say so myself. But I don't need to say it myself - everybody in the cast felt it, and many many people in the audience said it was the best thing New London has done.
Playing Parris was quite an experience - I've never played a character with so little (zero!) audience appeal. Mr. Bumble is quite a piece of work, of course - come on, he sells a kid! - but he sings nice and has his comic bumbliness going for him. And Mayor Shinn (that's me as Shinn in the photo on the front of the blog) is basically harmless. No, Parris is the villain's villain, a man who used his power and his (minimal) smarts to get people killed. No matter that he tried to save a life in the final act - that was pure self-interest on his part. I have more to say about Parris than I have time to type right now, but for now just keep an eye on the New London website for pics from the show.