Who is the hero in the Huntington Theatre's 'John Proctor is the Villain'?

The feminist ideals of a group of young students in a rural one-stoplight mountain town in Georgia get turned on their head when accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior swirl close to home in Kimberly Belflower's “John Proctor is the Villain.” Suddenly, who gets listened to or silenced and who is guilty or blameless blurs in the acerbic and magnificently rendered production by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion through March 10.

A high school class taught by a beloved instructor sits atop tiered steps before a large green chalkboard on a smartly designed set by Kristen Robinson.  The chatty pupils are made up of an excellent cast. There’s Raelynn (Haley Wong), whose tool of a boyfriend (Benjamin Izaak), has cheated with her bestie Shelby (a dynamic Isabel Van Natta), an eager-to-succeed Beth (Jules Talbot), Nell, (a spright Victoria Omoregie), and Ivy (Brianna Martinez).

At first, all seems well in this tiny town where everyone knows everything about everyone. The friendships between the students bloom, and they start a feminist group as they study Arthur Miller’s 1953 play “The Crucible,” a partially fictionalized dramatization of the Salem witch trials where women were villainized by other female accusers amid hysteria. At the center of “The Crucible” though, is perceived protagonist John Proctor whose lustful ways spark a domino effect that leads to the fatal fiasco. The classic tale becomes a lens through which the students view life differently when a friend’s dad becomes part of what he deems a modern-day witch hunt.

The potency of Belflower’s play surprises and its intrigue amps up when Van Natta’s Shelby (an engaging hurricane of a character) — returns to school after being away for a while. Ample time is spent speculating about where she’s been and why. Meanwhile, Omoregie’s Nell, who recently moved to this town from Atlanta, navigates her social circle with its very defined social roles (augmented by complementary costume design by Zoë Sundra) and its evolving circumstances.

With keen direction from Margot Bordelon and the insightful writing of the playwright, the creative team crafts a tale that probes deeply into the politics of power and gender dynamics in a fresh way that hints at societal hypocrisy and shines a bright light on the ways we free one from guilt or frame another’s actions too quickly and how what a hero or victim looks like is shaded and shaped by the viewers’ lens of personal experiences.

Belflower’s reading of “The Witches” by Stacy Schiff, allegations of sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein and revisiting “The Crucible” inspired her to write “John Proctor is the Villain,” according to an interview in the show’s program. The playwright, who grew up in Georgia, also shares in a video interview that she likes to “wrestle with tough questions.” And in “John Proctor is the Villain” the commitment to doing so is evident.

Belflower’s story is discerning, in ways both large and small. The charismatic teacher insists that John Proctor is the hero of “The Crucible,” but the play’s title would lead us to think there’s going to be more to it than that — and there certainly is. But there are also heartwarming, memorable moments such as Omoregie’s Nell’s excitement about a date, or forgiveness and a laughing fit between friends. But a delightful theatrical display delivered with ferocity by Van Natta’s Shelby and Wong’s Raelynn, and wonderfully choreographed by Victoria L. Awkward for a class project, reminds audiences of the power of one’s voice and how important it is to use it.

The Huntington Theatre Company’s production of “John Proctor is the Villain” runs through March 10 at the Wimberly Theatre at the Calderwood Pavilion.