Abigail 1702

I am absolutely fascinated by anything that has to do with the Salem witch trials, so when an original play titled Abigail 1702 came to Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park, I couldn't wait to see it.

Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Broadway playwright and writer for Glee, Abigail 1702 explores the life of witch accuser Abigail Williams ten years after the infamous witch trials.

I wish I could say that all sorts of storylines rushed through my mind, but in fact, none did. I was curious to see what Aguirre-Sacasa would come up with. I actually don't know what happened to anyone involved in the aftermath of the witch trials, so whether this was fact or fiction didn't matter to me. I was just ready to get back to the witchcraft.

The play started with the awesome set that I snapped in the picture above. In fact, I was so distracted by the set that I almost couldn't pay attention to what was happening. It was deliciously witchy. I wondered whether I could re-decorate my family room to look like this?

Then I realized that I was easily distracted by the set because I didn't really like the course the play was taking. There was a sailor and talk of pirates. I remembered that when we visited Salem, Massachusetts, there were a lot of pirate displays alongside the witch attractions because Salem had a pirate history, too. I started to think the play was going down this angle and I was disppointed. There was almost no mention of witchcraft in the first 20 minutes or so.

Then a mysterious stranger from Abigail's past appeared and I was hooked. I'm not going to give anything away. Let's just say that I was satisfied with the rest of the story. And I'm even more excited about trying to recreate this set in my house.