Norah Shuey playing the role of Bailey Gallagher performs during a dress rehearsal of “John Proctor is the Villain” in the Loft Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
“John Proctor is the Villain,” presented by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Theatre and Dance, brings heavy, sensitive and infuriating topics to the stage to give insight into the lives of American teenagers.
The play, created by Kimberly Belflower, made its debut on stage in 2022 in Washington D.C. and is making its Broadway debut in March 2025. It critiques the classic 1953 story of “The Crucible,” written by Arthur Miller, by offering a new feminist perspective on the ideals portrayed in the original story. “John Proctor is the Villain” battles seasoned assumptions about literature, history and feminism.
Kate Thurlow playing the role of Beth Powell performs during a dress rehearsal of “John Proctor is the Villain” in the Loft Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
Director Kevin Finkelstein and his team worked tirelessly and passionately to put this modern tale onto the stage. This story takes place in 2018 in a high school located in a rural Georgia town and centers around the students in the dazzling Mr. Carter Smith’s honors English class as they study “The Crucible.” Students Beth, Raelynn, Ivy and Nell start a feminist club, which is sponsored by Mr. Smith, as a way to bring awareness to feminist issues and to have an outlet for their own personal issues and strife.
Throughout the story, the audience learns about each of the characters’ lives. Raelynn’s best friend, Shelby, had an affair with Raelynn’s ex-boyfriend, Lee, which led to their breakup after seven years. Since then, Shelby had been missing, and her explosive return does not go unnoticed. She rejoins Mr. Smith’s English class and immediately offers a new idea about “The Crucible”: John Proctor is the villain, and the women are the victims.
Wyleigh Watson playing the role of Raelynn Nix, left, and Sarah Zimah playing the role of Shelby Holcomb perform during a dress rehearsal of “John Proctor is the Villain” in the Loft Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
During this time, students offer their own theories on Shelby’s absence, which includes the idea of Shelby having an affair with Ivy’s father being her reason for leaving. However, it is revealed that Shelby didn’t leave because of Ivy’s father – she left because she had been groomed and sexually abused by Mr. Smith.
Shelby’s reveal shocks the students, especially since they all seem to worship Mr. Smith. While they initially don’t believe her, the only person to stand by her side and comfort her is Raelynn. However, it does not shock Ms. Bailey Gallagher, one of Mr. Smith’s colleagues, who had heard stories from her friends about Mr. Smith’s inappropriate behavior. Ms. Gallagher is also able to encourage the students to understand why Shelby claimed that John Proctor is the villain by recognizing the horrible treatment of the women in “The Crucible.” By the end of the play, the students rally around Shelby and support her story about Mr. Smith, and her thoughts about “The Crucible.”
Cast members perform during a dress rehearsal of “John Proctor is the Villain” in the Loft Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
The emotional demand of the show is high. Each character is experiencing their own difficulties, and it is up to the actors to convey that to the audience, with Shelby having the most notable storyline.
Sarah Zimah, a junior double majoring in theatre and sociology, portrays Shelby in the show, and describes what it’s like to be Shelby on stage.
“I understand that Shelby has gone through a lot, but within each character, she finds her own peace,” Zimah said. “Raelynn is her soulmate at the end of the day, so I’ve trained myself into ‘once I’m on stage, Raelynn is my safe person as Shelby.'”
Sarah Zimah playing the role of Shelby Holcomb, left, and Wyleigh Watson playing the role of Raelynn Nix perform during a dress rehearsal of “John Proctor is the Villain” in the Loft Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
In order to prepare for her role as Shelby, Zimah had to first understand her character.
“This is kind of my first really heavy show, so I think in terms of that, I really just had to start researching a lot more than I usually do, because at the end of the day, I don’t know these characters,” Zimah said. “I think research is very important when it comes into understanding a character and fully embodying them.”
Wyleigh Watson, a senior theatre student, portrays Raelynn who is trying to find herself after she goes through the messy breakup with her boyfriend. Raelynn doesn’t know who she is away from him, and she aims to learn more about herself and find her purpose in life.
Watson recognizes how she personally is able to relate to Raelynn through her experiences in a small town with a large religious population.
“I think Raelynn is a super awesome and complex character who’s put through a lot of challenges throughout the show,” Watson said. “I really connected with her on a personal level from my own experiences growing up in a Baptist Christian church in a small southern town just like her.”
Cast members perform during a dress rehearsal of “John Proctor is the Villain” in the Loft Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
Throughout the rehearsal process, Finkelstein recognized the importance of the relationships between the characters. As stated by Zimah, Raelynn and Shelby’s friendship is a very important relationship in the story as they both help each other through their personal difficulties. Watson describes how Finkelstein emphasized the true importance of this relationship.
“Raelynn goes through so much, from being cheated on, assaulted and manipulated,” Watson said. “These are heavy things, and something that Kevin really emphasized was how important Shelby and Raelynn’s relationship is to helping them both get through their sets of struggle. Kevin, from the beginning of this process, described their relationship as platonic soulmates, and that is why they are able to recover their friendship even after all of the conflict with Lee.”
Sarah Zimah playing the role of Shelby Holcomb, left, and Wyleigh Watson playing the role of Raelynn Nix perform during a dress rehearsal of “John Proctor is the Villain” in the Loft Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
There is no doubt that Mr. Smith is the villain in this story – he is meant to be a parallel of John Proctor. Connor George, a junior psychology student who plays Mr. Smith, is no stranger to playing villains. He previously played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire presented by the CU Boulder’s Department of Theatre and Dance, and Mr. Yuri Mackus, a sweatshop owner, in Anon(ymous) presented by the CU Boulder Sandbox Student Series.
“You kind of have to separate yourself from the character while you’re offstage,” George said. “When you’re on stage, you can’t do that, though. You’ve got to believe every word you’re saying; you have to believe you’re in the right; you’ve got to believe you’re not despicable. You just got to know that that barrier exists and you can’t take it home with you.”
According to George, the best part of the whole play for him was the group. He gives credit to his fellow castmates for providing such a fun and beautiful atmosphere where each of them can thrive both on and off stage.
“This is such a wonderful cast, and everyone is just having a great time and giving it their all, and you can see that on stage,” George said. “Everyone gives a beautiful, immaculate performance, and we can all be buddies afterwards, which is so nice.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alyssa Bucaro at Alyssa.Bucaro@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent Visuals Editor Clementine Miller at Clementine.Miller@colorado.edu.
