The Masquers of West Essex wowed the audience on Nov. 1-2 with their take on Matt Cox’s comedy, “Witches!? In Salem?!.” The show, based on the Salem Witch Trials that occurred in 1692, was very well presented and gave the audience a good laugh.
“Witches!? In Salem?!” is told through a middle schooler’s presentation about the Salem Witch Trials. Jenny Anne Bishop (senior Lexi Ciardella), talks directly to the audience telling her take on the events, making jokes along the way and pointing out how history is not always written in complete truth.
The first act follows the villagers of Salem through their daily lives where the possibility of Satanic magic is discovered within their town. Reverend Parris (junior Sophie Bonaguide) and Thomas Putnam (senior Har-El Shrem)are responsible for the beliefs the villagers have, persuading them to believe in the existence of witches in their town for their personal benefits.
In the second act, people are arrested and tried for being witches. Mary Warren (senior Charlene Pace), Abigail Williams (senior Stuti Patel) and Ann Putnam Jr. (junior Lana Da Rocha) are the witch accusers. Bella Loch (senior Lexi Ciardella) and Xanatar (sophomore Nicole Mandell), who are the real witch and wizard, are a part of the jury for the trials and end up convicting everyone accused of being guilty so they are not accused themselves. Many are falsely accused and killed, even though there is no real evidence of them doing witchcraft. These trials eventually come to an end when the governor orders them to stop after his wife is accused of being a witch.
In the end, everything in Salem goes back to normal, apart from hundreds of people being dead. In memory of those who died during the trials, the actors all come out in silence. Bella Loch and Xanatar realize they should have used their powers to help the people instead of stirring up madness, so they cast a time spell to travel back to when the trials first started and reveal that they are the real witches. Thomas Putnam, Reverend Parris and The Magistrate (senior Luciana Musano) are killed to prevent the trials from happening further. Bella Loch and Xanatar bring the rest of the villagers to the woods and the play closes with Bella Loch and Xanatar dancing in the woods.
The Masquers of West Essex take the time to fully plan out their shows in order to leave the audience completely satisfied and promote continuous support. Their hard work in all aspects of the performance were very evident to all viewers, which led to the successful production of “Witches!? In Salem?!”
