By Sarah Ruhl
“Becky Nurse of Salem” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
“It conjures a dark comedy about power, inheritance, and the opioid epidemic.” —The New York Times
“Witchcraft of the finest sort.”—Talkin’ Broadway
Salem, 2016. Or is it still the Salem of 1692? Reality is a slippery slope for Becky Nurse, who’s just stolen the wax figure of her ancestor Rebecca Nurse, one of the most famous “witches” executed in the Salem Witch Trials. Becky, whose worked for the local museum touring folks around Salem to the very spot where her ancestor was executed —or was it the spot where they built the Dunkin’ Donuts?—is plagued with bad luck (of a curse from the past).
Despite being jailed for the theft, Becky is still looking for love and redemption through magic, pills, and a local bartender. Sorcery, history, withdrawal, and her granddaughters high school production of “The Crucible” converge as Becky Nurse goes on trial where she summons a strength from deep within her bloodline to protect those she loves. This scathing dark comedy shreds the myth of the Salem witches as villains and victims, celebrating the defiant survivor in us all. A must see play about the legacy of misogyny and the saga witchcraft, Becky Nurse is a truth-teller for our times.
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