Going into Penn State Theatre’s production of John Proctor is the Villain the first time, I was concerned that a play born out of the #MeToo movement might become didactic—basically an essay on stage. But I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity and passion with which Kimberly Belflower treats her subject, and I was definitely impressed by the performance, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. This play confronts a classic of American theatre, taking it to task for its problematic gender politics in much the same way that the #MeToo movement sought to confront men who abused their power over women.

The play is set in Carter Smith’s small, rural Georgia English class, where the students are studying Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. It’s also 2018, and so the #MeToo movement is going on. The play largely focuses on a set of girls in the class: Raelynn Nix, Beth Powell, Ivy Watkins, and Nell Shaw, who have formed a feminist club. When accusations begin emerging in the community—first against Ivy’s father—it tests the girls’ feminist views. Their world is further complicated by the return of Shelby Holcomb, Rae’s long-time best friend who had an affair with Lee Turner, Rae’s long-time boyfriend. During a heated discussion of The Crucible, Shelby reveals that the beloved teacher, Carter Smith, had a months-long affair with her. Even more than the accusations against Ivy’s dad, Shelby’s claim divides the class. And, although the play more or less bears out the accusations against Smith, the school board allows him to return to the classroom, while removing Shelby from it. However, she gets one last hurrah when she and Rae deliver their interpretive project, an empowering performance in which they take on the personas of The Crucible’s Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor to imagine a world where women are no longer shamed and made to feel small by men with power.

The performances by the Penn State actors were excellent, taking on challenging and timely subject matter—though unfortunately the #MeToo movement has largely declined by 2024. In particular, Nora Goudie (Raelynn) and Daman Mills (Lee) had a very difficult scene where he confronts her in the empty classroom about breaking up with him. During this confrontation, he grabs her, kisses her without consent, and throws a desk. Even though this is scripted and would have been worked through with Erik Raymond Johnson, the production’s fight/intimacy coordinator, this is difficult subject matter to perform. Sexual assaults and physical violence are tough to play on stage, and Goudie and Mills handled it very well.

Everyone in the show was excellent, in particular the ability to deliver lines with humor in the midst of a play dealing with such heavy subject matter. Jasz Ward (Nell) brought a mix of sassy attitude and genuine compassion for her new friends that made her extremely endearing. Jimmy Hunter (Ivy) got the chance to be both outrageous—early on when talking about seeing Smith’s penis through his sweatpants—and deeply conflicted between feminism dedication to believing women and Ivy’s love of her dad. Lucy Martin (Beth) has excellent comic timing as the nerdy girl paranoid about her permanent record and deeply devoted to being a teacher’s pet, and yet when the accusations against Smith seem borne out, her relationship with him subtly changes in ways that Beth isn’t entirely ready to process. Derrick Sanders III (Mason Adams) was a great supporting character as the not-entirely-bright guy brought into feminism club to get extra credit so he can stay on the basketball team, but who begins to clumsily embrace feminist principles. The other faculty member we meet is Bailey Gallagher, played by Cassidy Brown, who did an excellent job navigating the turn from a young guidance counselor trying to essentially demand respect and authority to a genuine advocate for the students. Even the two characters without names—Teagan Jai Boyd and EmmaKate Angelo, credited as “Student” and “Additional Student” respectively—made the most of their performances, each with only a single line. But throughout the remainder of their time on stage, they did an excellent job engaging in what’s called “stage business,” basically, finding things for your character to do when not speaking. Personally, I find actors’ choice of stage business really interesting, especially when characters are onstage for long periods without dialogue. The fact that even barely speaking roles gave compelling performances speaks to the depth of talent that went into this production.