Written as an allegory for McCarthyism, the Red Scare during which left-leaning views were repressed 
and politicians and private individuals were systematically repressed over fear of Soviet infiltration and Communist influence with most accusations ultimately found to be exaggerated if not outright false, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible had its premier performance on this day in 1953 at the Broadway Martin Beck Theatre. Speculating with the opening narrative (following on with each act) that the theocratic society of the Puritans, isolation and unstable conditions contributed to the paranoia and hostility, the play is set in colonial Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Though some liberties were taken to fully limn out the litigants and the sentenced, most of the names and events are dramatised from court records.
synchronoptica
one year ago: US Supreme Court rules on Roe v Wade (1973) plus artist Sophie Hollington, AI on fantasy glam rock plus the door gods of the Lunar New Year
two years ago: the new normal (2003), Our Town (1938), AI suggests breakfast cereal plus a 1972 interview with David Bowie
three years ago: the death of Queen Victoria, another MST3K classic plus unnamed implements
four years ago: assorted links to revisit, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb corrected, Trump and the tabloids plus an upcoming auspicious date
five years ago: artist Max Guther, a celebration of blank video cassettes plus Apple’s 1984 commercial
