Front and Center: Scottish Ballet - The Crucible

On May 24, 2023, I spent an enchanting evening at the Kennedy Center (Eisenhower Theater), enjoying Scottish Ballet's The Crucible.

It is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller, a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the 1692-1693 Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. Choreography is signed by Helen Pickett and music by Peter Salem (no pun intended!).

Due to the great generosity of Patricia Kelly, who provided me with a ticket, I was able to watch this fantastic show, about which the Financial Times wrote that "belongs in the international repertoire."

In mid-May 2002 I visited Salem and, among others, its famous Witch Museum. I have to confess that the intense vibe I felt while I was visiting the city was present during this show, too.

Patricia Kelly is the wife of the iconic actor and choreographer Gene Kelly (An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain, Brigadoon). In 2021, Patricia worked with Scottish Ballet to re-mount Gene’s work, and she hopes that one day she will be able to bring it to the Kennedy Center as well. She also hopes to bring her big symphonic cinema tribute to Gene to the National Symphony in Washington, DC.

Patricia is the official biographer of Gene Kelly in which capacity she preserves and catalogues The Gene Kelly Archives.

I am much indebted to Patricia for her kindness and generosity in securing me a wonderful experience and one of the best tickets. Front and center.

For more about Patricia and her work, see here: https://patriciawardkelly.wordpress.com/

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