'The John Proctor Is the Villain' Cast Loves Fiona Apple & Sleeping In

If reading The Crucible in high school is a rite of passage, then John Proctor is the Villain is should be a required viewing.

The new Broadway stage play, written by Kimberly Bellflower, reexamines the Arther Miller classic through a feminist lens. Set in rural Georgia circa 2018, Proctor follows a group of sex education-deprived high school students reading The Crucible for the first time. The more they read, however, the more they’re forced to reckon with story — and their own sexual experiences.

Since debuting in April, Proctor has quickly made its mark on the Great White Way. The show is currently up for seven Tony awards, including Best Play, and recently won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play. Among its stars are Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink, who plays Shelby Holcomb, and Gabriel Ebert as the Crucible-obsessed lit teacher Mr. Smith, both of whom received Tony nominations for their roles.

Here, the cast gives us a peek behind the curtain, sharing their pre-rituals, dream roles, and more.

Sadie Sink

Age: 23

Hometown: Brenham, Texas

Pre-show ritual: Blasting music through noise canceling headphones.

Your perfect day off in New York: Not leaving my house.

Favorite book/play you read in high school and why: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It delved into the mind of a teenage girl carrying trauma and complexities that I was very moved by, and very grateful that our English teacher required us to read it for class.

Current Broadway show you would love to star in, and what role/why: Sunset Blvd. because I sometimes see their walk through Shubert Alley and feel a strong desire to join them.

Music you have on repeat right now: Anything Fiona Apple.

Fina Strazza

Age: 19

Hometown: NYC

Pre-show ritual: In what has become one of my favorite moments of every evening, our cast will commune behind the curtain before each performance for a shared moment of gratitude in which we expressly surrender to the whims of whatever may transpire on stage. The show is a rollercoaster of emotions, it’s somewhat magical to have that time to acknowledge that we’re all in it together.

Your perfect day off in New York: A perfect day off begins with a Kerber’s Farm lemon scone and an iced americano before perusing the fashions in my favorite Soho stores (particularly Paloma Wool! I do enjoy a new sweater!). I’d then hurry home to prepare a small feast, which would certainly include sweet potato mash, for gathering of my gal pals.

Nihar Duvvuri

Age: 21

Hometown: Fremont, CA

Your perfect day off in New York: Tennis in the morning. People-watching at Washington Square Park and then a couple hours of reading/writing at a coffee shop. A picnic at Central Park. Dinner with my girlfriend. Board game night. A delicious 10 hours of sleep.

Favorite book/play you read in high school and why: Normal People is one of my favorite books ever. Such a deeply moving and poetic journey of two people in and out of love, always orbiting around the other but always out of reach. Breaks my heart.

Music you have on repeat right now: The Sinners soundtrack!

Molly Griggs

Age: 31

Hometown: Fayetteville, NC

Your perfect day off in New York: Walking my dog, Izzy, to get coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Maybe some yoga. Maybe a run in McCarren Park. Call my mom. Read a good book or watch a good show. Dinner with my husband Sam at Eyval. What more do you need?

Favorite book/play you read in high school: I don’t know if this is a cop out, but I honestly think it was The Crucible. It’s absolutely thrilling. I was totally obsessed with Abigail.

Music you have on repeat right now: Lorde, of course. Also a lot of MJ Lenderman and Indigo De Souza, both hailing from Asheville NC. It feels right to be listening to young musicians from Appalachia while working on this play.

Hagan Oliveras

Age: 27

Hometown: Coral Springs, FL

Pre-show ritual: Freestyle at my dressing roommate, over music that you probably shouldn't be free-styling over.

Your perfect day off in New York: Take forever to get out of bed, morning of good coffee, video games, and a cook up a yummy lunch.

Current Broadway show you would love to star in: Redwood. Rappelling down a tree while helping high notes is the kind of energy we need. I want to be on that tree.

Gabriel Ebert

Age: 38

Hometown: Lakewood, Colorado

Pre-show ritual: Too many to name, but one is touching every seat in the theatre before every performance.

Current Broadway show you would love to star in: Jamie, in The Last 5 Years. I absolutely love that score, those lyrics, and I grew up singing those songs.

Maggie Kuntz

Age: 25

Hometown: Saint Louis, MO

Pre-show ritual: Stretching, a full-body tap down, and taking my vitamin B12 supplements.

Your perfect day off in New York: A day in the park or the Botanical Gardens for sure.

Favorite book/play you read in high school: I never got to read The Crucible in high school, but my first exposure to Miller was All My Sons — so dramatically rich and ethically complicated! Reading it was very formative for me.

Music you have on repeat right now: Mitski through and through this spring. Pretty much any of her albums!

Morgan Scott

Age: 25

Hometown: Greenville, South Carolina

Pre-show ritual: A warm-up, a cup of vanilla almond black tea, a quiet moment of prayer, and a circle-up moment with the cast right before curtain always occur at some point before every show. Something I love is that my dressing-room-mate, Maggie, and I typically keep our dressing room pretty quiet and just let the sounds of our neighboring cast mates’ music envelop us on both sides. Being cocooned by the energy of our cast mates’ before every show is so lovely.

Favorite book/play you read in high school: I somehow stumbled upon Hurt Village by Katori Hall my junior year and it changed my life. I’d just begun to actually consider pursuing acting after high school, but I struggled to connect with a lot of the material that was readily available to me at that time. Reading Hurt Village for the first time, I remember being in awe that someone was able to so authentically capture the modern day sounds and rhythms and heart of people like the ones I loved and grew up with. I remember thinking, “If there are playwrights that write like this, maybe I really can be an actor after all.” I used a monologue from Hurt Village for all my college auditions and actually ended up sharing an alma mater with Katori Hall.

Music you have on repeat right now: Cowboy Carter. All the way through, no skips. (Didn’t get tour tickets. RIP). I also listen to this song “MMA” by Isaac Mansfield on loop for probably like 15 minutes straight at least once a week when I need a little boost.

Amalia Yoo

Age: 22

Hometown: NYC

Pre-show ritual: After I warm up I lay on the edge of the stage where a big scene takes place. Laying there feeling the stage under me and looking up at the beautiful ceiling of the Booth calms my nerves a little bit.

Your perfect day off in New York: Sleeping in, wandering around Brooklyn with my parents, my dog, and my girlfriend, then making an elaborate dinner.

Favorite book/play you read in high school and why: The Picture Of Dorian Gray. I fell in love with Oscar Wilde’s writing and sense of humor. My copy is filled with annotations and earmarks.

Current Broadway show you would love to star in, and what role/why: In middle school my friends and I would skip gym class to listen to the Hamilton soundtrack, so obviously I would have to say Eliza in Hamilton.

Music you have on repeat right now: Adrianne Lenker’s new live album.

John Proctor is the Villain is now playing at the Booth Theatre.