* LAND OF CLEVE REVIEW:* * 'The Crucible'* at Cleveland Play House is a Magical Melting Pot of Theatre Talent Director Laura Kepley modulates the anxious action in such in way that viewers are mesmerized from the opening flashes of screaming girls spinning in shadows above the stage, to the final tableau of persecuted prisoners stepping up to the hangman's noose. Kepley keeps the conversations fast-paced and the confrontations high-pitched as she expertly unfolds the tale of this unfortunate town's downfall. Kepley's company of actors is uniformly impressive. Leading the charge is Esau Pritchett as John Proctor, the conflicted farmer caught in the middle of the mass hysteria maelstrom. Rachel Leslie is equally unwavering as his wife Elizabeth, who stands by her husband even to the detriment of her own well-being. Their scenes together are both hypnotic and heart-wrenching. Each performer is indelible in their role -- Socorro Santiago as Tituba, Donald Carrier as Reverend Parris, Katie O. Solomon as Abigail, Lauryn Hobbs (alternating with Mia Knight) as Susanna, Tracee Patterson and Fabio Polanco as the Putnams, Megan King as Mercy, Mahira Kakkar as Mary Warren, Yumi Ndhlovu (alternating with Elise Pakiela) as Betty, Ray Shell as Giles, Ben Mehl as Reverend Hall, Chuck Richie as Francis Nurse, Jay Ben Markson as Ezekiel Cheever, Rickie McDowell as Marshall Herrick, Alec Hynes as the Judge, John Herrera as the Deputy, Kathryn Metzger as Sarah Good, Nick Barbato as Hopkins, Jeremiah Clapp as the Guard, and Lauren Cole (alternating with Kayleigh Hahn) as the Young Girl. Local legend Dorothy Silver makes a particularly powerful impression as Rebecca Nurse, the elder of the community whose wisdom is doled out in terse but telling observations, and the only detainee who never flinches in the face of execution... *READ THE FULL INTERVIEW AT:* *http://inthelandofcleve.blogspot.com/2015/10/cleve-review-crucible-at-clevel... <http://inthelandofcleve.blogspot.com/2015/10/cleve-review-crucible-at-cleveland-play.html>*