Jordan Catalano said: "I had this discussion with a friend last night. I’ve been “taught” the play twice in my life and been part of a couple in depth lectures/discussions and I’m struggling to remember if I ever heard Proctor referred to as a Hero, in any way."
I was taught the play, and I myself have taught the play, and you'd have to be real dense to turn Proctor into the hero, and what a disservice to Arthur Miller's brilliant play!
That said, he could be viewed as a victim, and I have emphasized him as more of a tragic loser, so I think theres something behind portraying him as the villain (I have not seen this play so I dont know quite how they get there, though I can imagine). I hope to catch this but if the point is that The Crucible is actually an overtly sexist or "cancelable" work, ill roll my eyes hard.