Chiara Aurelia Joins the Cast of John Proctor Is the Villain for Extension

Producers Sue Wagner, John Johnson, John Mara Jr., Runyonland, and Eric Falkenstein have announced that Chiara Aurelia (Cruel Summer, Luckiest Girl Alive) will join the company of Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain at the Booth Theatre.

Aurelia will play Shelby Holcomb starting Tuesday, July 15, through the end of the play’s extended run on Sunday, August 31. Sadie Sink will play Shelby Holcomb through Sunday, July 13, the show’s original closing date.

John Proctor Is the Villain also stars Nihar Duvvuri as Mason Adams, Tony Award winner Gabriel Ebert as Carter Smith, Molly Griggs as Bailey Gallagher, Maggie Kuntz as Ivy Watkins, Hagan Oliveras as Lee Turner, Morgan Scott as Nell Shaw, Tony Award nominee Fina Strazza as Beth Powell, and Drama Desk nominee Amalia Yoo as Raelynn Nix. Understudies are Noah Pacht, Fiona Robberson, Shian Tomlinson, Garrett Young, and Victoria Vourkoutiotis.

In John Proctor Is the Villain, directed by Danya Taymor, five young women clash with their school, their Georgia town, and the stories they’ve been instructed to believe, as their class dissects The Crucible.

The creative team also includes scenography by AMP featuring Teresa L. Williams, costume design by Sarah Laux, lighting design by Tony Award winner Natasha Katz, sound design and original composition by Tony Award nominee Palmer Hefferan, projection design by Tony Award nominee Hannah Wasileski, hair and makeup design by J. Jared Janas, movement direction by Tilly Evans-Krueger, intimacy coordination by Ann James, voice, text and dialect coaching by Gigi Buffington, and dramaturgy by Lauren Halvorsen.

John Proctor Is the Villain was nominated for seven 2025 Tony Awards, including Best Play.