A production making its Broadway debut this spring is also set to hit the UTC Fine Arts Center’s Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre stage.
The UTC Theatre Co. continues its 2024-2025 season with its production of “John Proctor is the Villain,” written by playwright Kimberly Belflower. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. from Tuesday, April 8, through Saturday, April 12—with a 2 p.m. matinee performance on April 12.
“John Proctor is the Villain” centers on a group of modern-day high school students in rural Georgia who—while studying Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”—navigate young love, sex ed and a few school scandals.
Developed with support from the Farm Theater’s College Collaboration Project, the play was designed with undergraduate productions in mind. As a result, it was already being staged on university campuses before making its way to professional theaters.
After premiering at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., in 2022, the contemporary stage play gave its first preview at Broadway’s Booth Theatre on March 20. The show’s opening night is scheduled for April 14.
Productions of the play have received critical acclaim, earning Best Ensemble and Outstanding Production of a Play at the 2023 Helen Hayes Awards as well as Best Ensemble and Outstanding Play at the 2024 Elliot Norton Awards.
“This play followed an unusual path to Broadway,” said Steve Ray, head of the Department of Theatre and artistic director of the UTC Theatre Co. “Typically, productions start in New York and then make their way to regional theaters and universities, but ‘John Proctor is the Villain’ built its reputation in regional theaters.
“It’s rare that we get the chance to stage a play that is still running on Broadway. We secured the rights before it made its move to New York—and now we have the exciting opportunity to bring it to Chattanooga audiences while it’s still making waves in the theater world.”
The UTC Theatre Co. production is directed by Associate Professor Anne Swedberg, coordinator of UTC’s acting concentration.
“I've always thought it was so cool that the play actually started its journey at the university and college level,” Swedberg said. “As a script that was written to be of interest to undergraduate theatre departments, ‘John Proctor is the Villain’ contains great roles for undergraduate theatre students. Seven of the nine characters in the play are high school juniors—which puts them within the age range of the UTC theatre students who are portraying them.
“I’ve relied heavily on the minds and memories of the members of the cast, stage management team and assistant directors for their knowledge of ‘all things high school in 2018,’ including the music that the teenagers in the play are listening to.”
Added Ray, “Playwright Kimberly Belflower has crafted an incredibly thoughtful, nuanced piece that takes on a difficult subject with both artistry and depth. The characters are layered and real and the storytelling is compelling from start to finish.”
The cast is comprised of the following UTC students (academic year/major/hometown):
- Matthew Patrick (junior/accounting/Chattanooga)
- Kaylee Payne (freshman/theatre: acting/Arlington, Tennessee)
- Ellen Rich (junior/theatre: theatre education/Hixson, Tennessee)
- Olis Martinez (junior/theatre: acting/Chattanooga)
- Lilly Reggio (freshman/theatre: acting/Knoxville, Tennessee)
- Caton Taylor (senior/theatre: acting/Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
- Maislynne Payne (junior/theatre: theatre education/Jackson, Tennessee)
- Cameron Branch (junior/theatre: acting/Waynesboro, Tennessee)
- Eli Nelson (sophomore/theatre/Ringgold, Georgia)
Swedberg said the performances of ‘John Proctor is the Villain’ will be dedicated to Professor Gaye Jeffers, who passed away on March 5.
“My wonderful colleague Gaye Jeffers was an early reader of ‘John Proctor is the Villain,’” Swedberg said. “As a playwright and dramaturg, Gaye was a non-stop reader of new material; she mentioned the play several years ago and was the first person to bring the script to the department.
“There’s a moment at the end of our production that is a tribute to Gaye’s direction of a play called ‘Silent Sky.’ Gaye also would have directed this show had she been able to do so.”
Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here and through the UTC Box Office—in person or by phone (423-425-1423). Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students (with proof of student ID) and seniors.
The UTC Fine Arts Center is located at the intersection of Dr. Roland Carter Street (formerly known as Vine Street) and Palmetto Street on the UTC campus.