The Emotional Impact of ‘John Proctor Is the Villain’ on Audiences

The first time I watched the play ‘John Proctor Is the Villain,’ set in a small-town Georgia high school amid the height of the MeToo movement, I was moved to tears and found myself reflecting on it for weeks. Observing social media, I noticed many women shared similar emotional reactions, often leaving the theater in tears. Returning last weekend with a friend, I witnessed her and another woman nearby crying openly, even embracing spontaneously—an uncommon sight at a Broadway show. Outside, two more women were visibly sobbing.

Since Aristotle’s era, catharsis has been recognized as a fundamental purpose of theater, yet it has been some time since I have encountered such a raw and powerful emotional release. I kept pondering why this particular play resonates so profoundly with audiences. It’s noteworthy that this production received the most Tony nominations this year.

Part of its impact likely stems from its ability to transport viewers back to a moment when the MeToo movement felt vibrant and full of promise—a time just before the backlash, when it seemed society might be on the verge of greater justice and equality. While the play itself is not uplifting—depicting an innocent girl being punished while a guilty man escapes consequences—it nonetheless carries a thread of hope that now feels rare.

Set in 2018, ‘John Proctor Is the Villain’ centers on an honors English class studying Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible.’ The girls in the class are intelligent and ambitious but also, like many teenagers, filled with conflicting emotions. Enthusiastic about the MeToo movement, they aim to start a feminism club at their school, initially facing resistance from administrators who cite community tensions as a concern.

These tensions soon infiltrate the school environment, challenging the girls’ unity. When the father of one student is accused of sexual harassment by two women, she begins to question the movement. She asserts, “We can punish men if proven guilty, but if the girls are lying, they should be punished just as severely.” Meanwhile, another student, Shelby—portrayed by ‘Stranger Things’ star Sadie Sink—returns after a mysterious absence with an unsettling accusation of her own. The unfolding drama is intertwined with the students’ engagement with ‘The Crucible,’ turning the increasingly common narrative of MeToo as a witch hunt on its head.

Playwright Kimberly Belflower was deeply inspired by the surge of the MeToo movement in 2017. She described it as a moment of awakening: “It felt like, ‘Oh my God, we’re finally naming these injustices.’” This movement offered her a new perspective on her own upbringing in rural Georgia, providing vocabulary for experiences she hadn’t fully understood at the time.