New era debuts for Barton dramatics

The Adam Twiss era began at Barton College last night with a preview production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." If anyone needed any additional affirmation that Theatre at Barton's future is bright, it was obvious Wednesday night before an audience of invited guests.

Twiss, formerly of Raleigh's Theatre in the Park, put his own mark on Barton's makeshift venue, Howard Chapel, extending the stage into the audience and using every part of the venerable chapel for his production. Outside the chapel, just a few dozen feet away, the Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre was taking shape. The steel superstructure of the black-box theater is in place with the lobby space easily discernible facing the campus green and the chapel. Fund-raising for the theater continues, but it's obvious that the theater will become a reality, allowing Twiss and Theatre at Barton to move out of the chapel into a more suitable space.

"The Crucible" showed what the Barton playmakers can do even with the handicaps of a space not made for dramatic productions. Twiss brought in two "ringers" for this production — Eric Carl and David McClutchey — who gave powerful performances in key roles. But these two pros were nearly matched by a Barton freshman, Wesley Pridgen, who is not even a theatre major (he lists studio art). Pridgen, as central character John Proctor, acquitted himself well in a demanding role that required a range off emotions from anger to guilt. The rest of the cast of students from a wide range of majors (conveniently listed in the program) did very well in putting on Miller's frightening and wrenching drama.

Overall, it's a promising debut for the new director and an affirmation of Barton's tradition of theatrical quality. Bob Wagner, the former theater director who left Barton to promote motorcycle safety, was on hand to see his successor's debut. It was Wagner who had originally scheduled "The Crucible."

Miller's 1953 Tony Award-winning drama was meant to teach a lesson about the intolerance of the Red Scare era, but watching the play Wednesday night, I couldn't help but see the parallels with the Edenton Little Rascals child molestation case of the 1980s. The witchcraft accusations of the 1600s were little different and no more credible than the child molestation accusations of the 1980s. And the courts of our modern era, initially at least, were no less credulous and gullible.

Wednesday night's reception to welcome Twiss and the preview performance give assurance that Barton's (and Wilson's) strong theatrical tradition remains secure.