When you set out to write a play inspired by an old classic, you have to decide whether you’re going to indulge in a lot of “insider” references that only theater geeks might love — or whether your play will create a world of its own that requires little more than the average theatergoer’s patience and enthusiasm.
I mention this because although our playwright, Jen Silverman, may be an admirer of Dekker, Ford, and Rowley’s Jacobean drama The Witch of Edmonton, the good news is that she’s not slavish in her admiration. The fruit of her labors here, Witch, currently onstage at the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse, may have its share of glancing references to characters and plot points in the original, but the play stands on its own as a timeless contemplation of temptation, jealousy, and the brutal cost of surrendering to our darkest impulses.
Director Jemma Alix Levy has created a village of malcontents, decked out in Erin M. West’s period-eclectic costumes, giving you that combination of back-then with the more disturbing here-and-now. Each of the characters here shares an impatience, a frustration, and each of them yearns for something better.
Enter Scratch — played here with suave machismo by K.P. Powell — who, as Satan’s local rep, adopts the form of a hipster in striped trousers, all the better to seduce his prey. And sure enough, business is booming — he bags a couple souls right off the bat. But when it comes to Elizabeth Sawyer, who in any typical village would have been a prime target (if not a loyal customer of decades standing), Scratch is completely out of luck.
What makes this play so fascinating is the extended, psychological courtship that we see between Scratch and Sawyer — played here with guarded, grounded wisdom by Sara J. Griffin. Even as the rest of this small town falls to pieces with intrigues galore, Scratch and Sawyer engage in a battle of minds that reveals as much about our own anxieties as theirs. And in a final, somewhat meandering report back to his Infernal Supervisor, we see that Scratch has more than met his match.
(Who knows, maybe Sawyer and Scratch should switch gigs?)
Rounding out the scene is a sort of love triangle — led by Frank Thorney, played by Nick Ericksen with his usual rakish charm. Frank is already married to Winnifred — the quietly powerful Morgan Rose Ford, whose often quiet witness, given her station, is compelling to watch. Frank has ingratiated himself with Sir Arthur Banks (the ebullient Christopher Seiler), whose estate Frank hopes soon to take for himself. Standing only somewhat in Frank’s way is Banks’ actual son, Cuddy Banks, who, truth be known, yearns more for Frank than anything else. Ronan Melomo’s Cuddy is every bit as insecure and frustrated as anyone else, and Cuddy’s status as an utter misfit makes him all the more sympathetic.
Frank and Cuddy fall easily into Scratch’s hands, each blinded by their own desires; and in a finely crafted climactic fight, choreographed by John Paul Scheidler, the toll taken by those desires is dire indeed.
The musical fare, in this case only for the pre-show, is notable for its shifts in mood; K.P. Powell kicks off the festivities with Go West’s break-up song “King of Wishful Thinking,” while Morgan Rose Ford gives a haunting rendition of Laura Marling’s “Devil’s Spoke.” Then it is Ronan Melomo’s turn with the Rolling Stones’ classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” with ace trumpet player Nick Ericksen playing the familiar, plaintive French horn in the background. And Sarah J. Griffin leads an a cappella version of “The Ballad of the Witch’s Road” from the Agatha All Along series, a perfect segue into the play to come.
These days, our frustrations and our desires can run very high indeed. Silverman’s Witch throws the mirror up to nature and reminds us of the dire costs of desiring too much.
Running Time: 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Witch plays through November 14, 2026, in repertory with David Catlin’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (through November 14) and William Shakespeare’s The Tempest (through November 13), presented by American Shakespeare Center at the Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 South Market Street, Staunton, VA. For tickets (starting at $39), call the box office at (540) 851-3400 or purchase them online. ASC also offers a Local Rush deal of 50% off tickets on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Learn more here.
Cast and artistic team credits for Witch are online here.
The fall season program is online here.
SEE ALSO:
The magical world of ‘The Tempest’ on stage at American Shakespeare Center (review by Andrew Walker White, October 4, 2026)
‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’ thrills and chills at American Shakespeare Center (review by Andrew Walker White, October 27, 2026)
