Liar, Liar
Posted by Kelly O'Sullivan on 9/25/2007The first night we young girls in The Crucible were booed at curtain call, it came as a bit of a shock. Yes, we understood it was for the characters not directed toward us as actors, but it was definitely a new experience. When I walked into the opening night party and was immediately greeted by a total stranger passionately chanting “Liar, Liar, pants on fire!” all I could do was laugh. After about the tenth person told me, “God, you were EVIL,” or “Damn, you were a cold bitch,” (and these are friends, by the way), I began to take pride in such reactions.
It’s not that I want people to think that Abigail is evil- I don’t think she is at all. Since I’m playing her, I’m invested in her point of view and feel a great deal of sympathy for every terrible happening she’s weathered in her seventeen lonely years. But such extreme responses do show us that the story is being told in a very provocative way and inciting strong emotional reactions. Score.
Even though we’ve just opened, the audiences have already been the most vocal of any show I’ve been in. There are gasps of surprise, grunts of frustration, and laughter that can only be attributed to recognition of current day senselessness. Most people know the outcome of The Crucible, but it’s watching the lightning-quick progression from teenage pranks and petty property arguments to government-sponsored killings that really shocks. Just listening to the last scene of the play backstage, it becomes impossible not to become frustrated and downright furious with the stubbornness and hypocrisy.
But as cliché as it sounds, getting angry is good and necessary. It was Miller’s whole point. And that kind of emotional involvement can be profoundly helpful if not forgotten the moment the house lights come up. And if such anger means my cohorts and I get booed every night…we take it as a truly wonderful compliment. Just no tomatoes, please.