Casting Results for The Crucible

Abigail Williams - Kiera Knightly
Reverend Parris - Jim Carrey
Thomas Putnam - Danny Devito
Ann Putnam - Anjelica Houston
Mercy Lewis - Hayden Panettiere
Mary Warren - Emma Roberts
John Proctor - Brad Pitt
Elizabeth Proctor – Gwyneth Paltrow
Betty Parris – Dakota Fanning
Rebecca Nurse – Charlize Theron
Giles Corey - Nicolas Cage
Reverend Hale - Robin Williams
Tituba - Whoopi Goldberg

The reasons these actors and actresses were selected for these roles:
Kiera Knightly as Abigail Williams – She can play the role as a serious person and she looks like I thought Abigail would.

Jim Carrey as Reverend Parris – He has the looks, gestures, and inflections that would be needed for this role.
Danny Devito as Thomas Putnam – He has an interesting personality and is able to act any comedic or serious role given to him.
Anjelica Houston as Ann Putnam – She is really tall and Danny is small so I thought it would be funny, and she can act it well.
Hayden Panettiere as Mercy Lewis – She can do the needed acting for the role, such as the crying and fainting.
Emma Roberts as Mary Warren – She is quite similar to the character of Mary Warren.
Brad Pitt as John Proctor – He is usually a protagonist and I imagined him as John.
Gwyneth Paltrow as Elizabeth Proctor – She has previously portrayed the same type of glum and pessimistic personality.
Dakota Fanning as Betty Parris – She can act very well and would definitely be able to take control of this part.
Charlize Theron as Rebecca Nurse – She has some of the same attitudes and acts the same way.

Nicolas Cage as Giles Corey – He can give the facial expressions and acting that would be needed for this role.
Robin Williams as Reverend Hale – I thought that he could make this movie more interesting with the way he acts.
Whoopi Goldberg as Tituba – She can make the gestures and the expressions that Tituba does and fits the part well.
Congratulations for making the cast of The Crucible!

Character Analysis from The Crucible

John Proctor - A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor's husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.

Abigail Williams - Reverend Parris's niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed.

Reverend John Hale - A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine Parris's daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.

Elizabeth Proctor - John Proctor's wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold.

Reverend Parris - The minister of Salem's church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community.

Rebecca Nurse - Francis Nurse's wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess.

Giles Corey - An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles's wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in con-tempt of court and pressed to death with large stones.

Thomas Putnam - A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam's brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.

Ann Putnam - Thomas Putnam's wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is con-vinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.

Tituba - Reverend Parris's black slave from Barbados. Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail's request.

Mary Warren - The servant in John Proctor's household and a member of Abigail's group of girls. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her.

Betty Parris - Reverend Parris's ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft.

Mercy Lewis - The servant in Thomas Putnam's household. Mercy belongs to Abigail's group of girls.

A big thank you to http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/characters.html for providing the above information.

Plot Summary of The Crucible

ACT I--Reverend Parris found Abigail and her friends dancing in the woods and the girls ran away. Some girls were bewildered and remained still. -Reverend Parris calls a meeting and started reading a psalm. Betty seems like she can't stand the psalm. -Rebecca Nurse calms Betty down. -Reverend Hale enters and starts questioning everyone. -The girls and Tituba start confessing and saying they saw others with the Devil.

ACT II--Mary Warren returns to the Proctor home and gives Elizabeth a poppet. They start talking about the witchcraft trials. -Mary Warren gives Elizabeth information about her name being mentioned in court. -Hale comes to the Proctor home to question John and Elizabeth. They haven't had all their children baptized. -Elizabeth gets arrested for attempted murder on Abigail.-Proctor swears that he will get Elizabeth out and Elizabeth is taken away.

ACT III--Martha Corey is on trial when Act 3 opens. -Proctor, Giles Corey, and Francis Nurse claim they have evidence and Danforth hears their charges. -John Proctor brings Mary Warren to the court to prove that Elizabeth is innocent of witchcraft and that it is a fraud. -Abigail and the other girls started to turn on Mary Warren. They were acting as if Mary's spirit came at them, they started repeating everything that Mary said. -John Proctor confessed to lechery with Abigail.-Danforth calls Elizabeth Proctor in to back up John's story, but she lies to protect him. John's story is not believed by the court. -Proctor is arrested and taken to jail.

ACT IV--Parris is worried that there is going to be a revolt against the court, and tries to get Danforth to postpone the hangings. -Hale wants to get Proctor to confess because he realizes that he is innocent. -They bring out Elizabeth Proctor to try to get her husband to confess. -John decides to confess, but then cannot sign his name to lies. -John decides to not confess, and dies to protect his name.

Summary Credits go to http://www.teachnet-lab.org/MBHS/Scragg/Crucible/group5.html. Thank you to all who contributed.