Paul Shelley: Role of Reverend John Hale

Actor Paul Shelley, who plays the Reverend John Hale, says that Hale is an intellectual who is well-respected because he discovered that suspicions of witchcraft in another town were false. He has been brought to Salem to save the situation, and is a comfort to the audience because he seems to be the only sane person around. Although almost everyone in Salem is hysterical, Hale remains calm and tells people not to look to superstition – although eventually he too gets caught up in the general panic.