John Proctor Is the Villain Announces Cast for West Coast Premiere

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has announced the cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor Is the Villain, directed by Jess McLeod.

John Proctor Is the Villain will run November 12-December 6, with opening night set for November 18, at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater.

The play takes place in a one-stoplight town in Georgia, in a high school AP English class, as five young women begin questioning the stories and the heroes they’ve been taught to believe in.

John Proctor Is the Villain made its Broadway debut at the Booth Theatre in 2025, where it received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. This new production will travel to Seattle Repertory Theater and Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles after the San Francisco engagement.

The cast of this production includes Ameer Ali as Mason Adams, Stevie Allen as Ivy Watkins, Lilla Crawford as Shelby Holcomb, Varinique “V” Davis as Nell Shaw, Olivia Finkelstein as Beth Powell, Kyle Harris as Carter Smith, Mario Houle as Lee Turner, Kaylee Kaneshiro as Raelynn Nix, and Erika Vetter as Bailey Gallagher. Understudies include Emma Gardner, Adam Magill, Allie Pratt, Nicholas René Rodriguez, and Sharon Shao.

The creative team also includes Leigh Rondon-Davis (associate director), Kate Noll (scenic designer), Eunice Jera Lee (costume designer), Robert J. Aguilar (lighting designer), Jeff Gardner (sound designer), Melissa Y. Hamasaki (stage manager), Megan McClintock (assistant stage manager), and Joy Meads (dramaturg).