While Abigail was a servant in the Proctor household, she and Proctor had an affair. Parris runs off to calm the crowd, and a local farmer named John Proctor winds up alone with Abigail. Abigail says they were just dancing, though it soon comes out that Tituba was trying to conjure dead spirits. Rumors of witchcraft spread through the town and a crowd gathers at Parris's house while Parris, nervous about his reputation, questions Abigail about what the girls were doing in the forest. Betty faints in fright at being discovered, and will not wake. (Another thing i remember is how the married women were addressed as "Goody" the sound of Melvyn Douglas's voice and Fritz Weaver's voice saying "Goody" to Coleen Dewhurst is a vivid memory.In the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, the town minister, Reverend Parris, discovers his daughter Betty, niece Abigail, and other girls dancing in the forest with his slave Tituba. (I know that Jacqueline Andre played the part in the 1953 Broadway production, and Vinette Carroll went to France in 1957 to play the part in the film starring Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, but who played the part in 1967?) Of all the Abigails, Tuesday Weld is the only one to really bring out the sexual assertiveness, and how the thwarting of sexual expression can become "demonic".
One thing: who played Tituba? I can't remember, and i can find no listing (anywhere) as to who played that part in this TV production. She was able to bring so much depth to the part, and such ferocity! I've seen several stage versions of the play, as well as the 1957 French film and the 1996 film version: no one has ever been better than Tuesday Weld.
Most of all, Tuesday Weld gave the finest performance of Abigail i've ever seen. I remember details of Coleen Dewhurst's performance, her rich, deep voice quivering with disbelief as the accusations mount. But haven't seen it since (so far as of 2013 not available on DVD), but the acting was astounding. Saw this version of THE CRUCIBLE when it was first broadcast: it made a big impression on me.
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