Written by Arthur Miller and first performed in 1953, The Crucible dramatizes the Salem witch trials of the Province Massachusetts Bay Colony of the late 1600s. The play is a finely wrought allegory of the McCarthy Trials in the United States, and one of the twentieth century’s most exigent social commentaries. As a result of publishing the play, Miller was questioned by the House of Representatives Committee of Un-American activities and convicted of "contempt of Congress," making The Crucible quite infamous. The play won the 1953 Tony Award for “Best Play,” and is a canonical work of American literature.
