A conversation with Tony Award-winner Gabriel Ebert, who plays a charismatic English teacher in the hit Broadway play ‘John Proctor Is the Villain.’
By Alexander Russo
In the hit Broadway play ‘John Proctor Is the Villain,’ high school students studying Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ begin to question everything around them.
In the following conversation, Tony Award-winner Gabriel Ebert describes what it’s like playing the charismatic English teacher Mr. Smith, who introduces his students to the play (and offers to sponsor the Feminist Club some of the students hope to start).
He also describes his own experiences as a high school student in Denver and what it’s like playing such a complicated character.
Warning: Spoilers galore.
On rethinking The Crucible:
“It’s an incredible play,” says Ebert about ‘The Crucible,’ which is the focal point of ‘John Proctor Is the Villain.’ “But the way that it’s been taught is that John Proctor is this bastion of morality, where the buck stops in terms of integrity. And you know, this play — or at least one of the characters in this play — asks the question: ‘Really?'”
On playing the cool teacher:
“So, so many young people come to the stage door after the show and meet us as a cast,” Ebert says. “And one of the things that’s shocking is how many people say, ‘I had a teacher like this.’ [Or] ‘There was a guy at my school who operated like this.’”
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You can read a transcript of the conversation.
Previously from The Grade
