John Proctor Is the Villain review

Scott, Kuntz, Strazza, Yoo, Ebert and Griggs in John Proctor Is the Villain. (Julieta Cervantes)

There's nothing subtle about the title of Kimberly Belflower's new play. John Proctor Is the Villain takes a revisionist look at The Crucible as a high-school honors class dissects the revered Arthur Miller play from a feminist perspective. Its themes intelligently and insightfully reflect the lives of the teenage girls studying the classic, and their stories come vibrantly alive in Danya Taymor's excellent production. If only Belflower were as adept at developing her male characters as she is her females. 

Popular teacher Carter Smith (Tony winner Gabriel Ebert) leads an honors English class at a high school "in a one-stoplight town" in Georgia in 2018. Their study of Miller's classic about the Salem Witch Trials becomes the impetus for self-discovery for the female students, who begin to see parallels between the struggles of teenage girls in 17th century Massachusetts and their own plights where men are concerned. 

Ivy (Maggie Kuntz) has a father whose secretary has accused him of inappropriate behavior. Nell (Morgan Scott) forges a connection with dumb jock Mason (Nihar Duvvuri). Beth (Fina Strazza) may not realize her connection with Mr. Smith has crossed a line. Raelynn (Amalia Yoo) has a controlling ex-boyfriend, Lee (Hagan Oliveras), who messed around with one of their classmates, Shelby (Stranger Things' Sadie Sink), who has been absent from school for some time. 

When she returns — in dramatic fashion — the girls find solidarity in their shared experiences, both with each other and what they imagine their peers might have gone through in Colonial days, including loss of parents and sexual exploitation by men. Belflower, who hails from a small town in Georgia, excels at creating fully fleshed-out young Southern women, in both the students and a young guidance counselor played by Molly Griggs. 

Her three male characters end up falling into caricature, two predators and a himbo. Ebert, always a welcome stage presence, ably handles the shift in his character, although Smith lacks the depth of Miller's John Proctor. But how much richer the play could have been if the men were as layered as the women.

Maybe it was Belflower's intent to subject her male characters to the kind of paper-thin treatment female characters have too often received at the hands of male playwrights, but it lessens the show's heft. Fortunately, the work of Taymor and her excellent young cast is enough to compensate, and make John Proctor Is the Villain one of the more pleasant surprises of the Broadway season.