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The Crucible cover art

The Crucible

By: Arthur Miller
Narrated by: Stacy Keach,Richard Dreyfuss,Ed Begley Jr.,Hector Elizondo,full cast
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Summary

In the rigid theocracy of Salem, Massachusetts, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town. In a searing portrait of a community engulfed by panic—with ruthless prosecutors, and neighbors eager to testify against neighbor—The Crucible famously mirrors the anti-Communist hysteria that held the United States in its grip in the 1950’s. A Tony Award Winner for Best Play. A BBC and KCRW co-production. 

Recorded at Culver Studios, Culver City in March 1988. 

Directed by Martin Jenkins. 

Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg

An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance starring: 

Irene Aranga as Mercy Lewis 

René Auberjonois as Deputy Governor Danforth 

Ed Begley Jr. as Thomas Putnam 

Georgia Brown as Rebecca Nurse 

Jack Coleman as Marshal Herrick 

Bud Cort as Ezekiel Cheever 

Richard Dreyfuss as Reverend John Hale 

Héctor Elizondo as Giles Corey 

Judyann Elder as Tituba 

Fionnula Flanagan as Elizabeth Proctor 

Ann Hearne as Susanna Walcott 

Carol Kane as Mary Warren 

Stacey Keach as John Proctor 

Anna Sophie Loewenberg as Betty Parris 

Marian Mercer as Mrs. Ann Putnam 

Franklyn Seales as Judge Hathorne 

Madolyn Smith as Abigail Williams 

Joe Spano as Francis Nurse 

Michael York as Reverend Parris

(P)1994 L.A. Theatre Works

What listeners say about The Crucible

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Too fast

The actors gabbled so fast that I had trouble discerning one whispering voice from another, and don't listen to this as you fall asleep because you end up straining to find out what is being said in between screams and barking dogs! A real shame.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

bad sound quality

I found it sometimes hard to understand what was being said because of the bad sound quality and the whispering speech. Some of the sound effects such as a persistent dog barking are very annoying.

Not the best way to listen to a literary classic.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Food for thought

What made the experience of listening to The Crucible the most enjoyable?

A star-studded cast for a play that's become a classic in its own right. As an analysis of human nature and fanatism it remains thoroughly current.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

why are these women putting on such breathy voices

A lot of shouting and breathy acting that is way overdone. But the story is a classic.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good

Very good dramatisation, highly enjoyable and very close to the original script.
The sound effects are sometimes in excess and more often than not it sounds like the characters are whispering.
Nevertheless a very helpful edition.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awful sound quality spoils amazing story

Sound quality spoilt what was otherwise an excellent production. Some sections were extremely difficult to hear clearly and increasing volume only worsened the situation!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth Listening To

I have heard this play often referred to so I wanted to listen to it myself especially in light of the politics and cancel culture of today. It was enlightening and I was really saddened to realise what little progress we have made since this nasty judgemental ignorant time in our history!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Too fast, too cluttered, hard to follow along.

There was no reading of the Overture/Act 1, so difficult to follow. Too fast, even when slowed down.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Back ground noise excessive

This would have been much better if the studio has got rid of all extraneous noise… you could understand it, just about, but it wasn’t clear and not up to an enjoyable standard….

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Easy to follow , good speaking voices- easy on the ear. I was concerned they would have that irritating American drawl, they didn’t.
Production is very true to the book/play. Thank you

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  • Michael G. Stoffel
  • 07-05-12

Abridged Version

What made the experience of listening to The Crucible (Dramatized) the most enjoyable?

As an English teacher I enjoy listening to well performed plays...and so do my students. The actors perform admirably.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crucible (Dramatized)?

Stacy Keach is magnificent as John Proctor. "My Name man, my name."

Any additional comments?

I wish there was a notation that this is an abridged version of the play.

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59 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Jamie Rymer
  • 17-08-15

It is abridged.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I bought the book to read along with the book and it does not follow the book. Extra lines are added and some are out of order. It is a good performance, but I wanted it to be the book.

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43 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Danielle Karre
  • 21-09-15

Why is this labeled "unabridged"?

What disappointed you about The Crucible?

Depending on which audible/amazon screen you are on, this is labeled as "unabridged." However it is NOT! There are bits and pieces missing out of many lines from certain scenes. I was having my students read along to it on some days, but even with warning that it wasn't exact, it was so confusing to them that many would just stare into space while listening--which means that they miss scene directions, etc. Also, since I used my credits to "purchase" it, I apparently don't get a refund or option to "return"! Very disappointed that while it is a GREAT performance, they felt the need to slice up the lines and YET still call it unabridged!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crucible?

Great play overall.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Great performance.

Any additional comments?

Amazon/audible needs to be more explicit and straight-forward when including information about abridged/unabridged versions!

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Thomas S
  • 08-10-06

Dramatic Recording

This is a wonderfully done recording with good actors. However, This recording is not complete and does not follow the script to the T, but that draw back is overshadowed by the actors. They bring the play to life the way it is meant to be. This recording even though incomplete is superbe.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • WitchoftheWoods
  • 08-01-17

Not the Complete Play

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This performance is abridged. The description says it's narrated by Stacy Keach, but I'm 20 minutes into the performance and all the narrative passages are missing, as well as some of the dialogue.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I got this recording so I could listen to actors perform while I read, since I find it difficult to experience a play by reading it. The only redeeming quality is that the performance is quite good and, of course, the story is excellent.

Any additional comments?

I guess I should have read some reviews before making this purchase. Disappointed I wasted a credit on it.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Baige DeWitt
  • 26-11-19

Do not use this as a teaching tool

I need audiobook versions of texts to align with IEPs and for universal access to education. This does not align whatsoever to the Penguin classic version of the text, or any other version I could find.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Elli
  • 22-11-19

Good performance but not completely accurate

This recording was not accurate. May parts were altered or left out. It made it difficult for my students to follow along in the text.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Sparrowhawk
  • 15-10-13

Audio recording hard to listen to

The story is great, and the actors are great, BUT during the dramatization there are times when the actors are whispering or talking softly. Those times are really hard to understand what is being said. I ended up buying the book because I was frustrated with missing lines.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Karen
  • 11-12-09

very fast!!!!

this is a very good dramatization! (you feel as though you are watching the play instead of listening to it) but it is very very fast and hard to follow along with the book at times because they skip portions.
also the story is very upseting to listen to, i felt on edge after i listened to this, but it's well written and gets the point accross.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • kpolk
  • 31-10-19

This is really bad.

This is not true to the play and leaves a bunch of information out. The sound quality is bad and distracting. Very disappointing.

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2 people found this helpful

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