For this drama, rather than recreating a realistic looking Eastern European shtetl onstage, Aronson created what he described as an “atmospheric set, architecturally framing the action of a classical Yiddish tragedy.” Rather than replicating the descriptions of the rabbi’s home, Aronson used his sets to physically embody the Rabbi’s conceptions of evil. Aronson’s sets contain no books, no ark, no real furniture. Instead, the use of small steps and benches and abstract shapes painted on the curved wall of the house suggest these things II also opens in Reb Dan’s house, but in contrast to the angular sets of opening scene, Aronson created tense, curved forms that were meant to mimic the moral struggles of the tzaddik, who has become increasingly obsessed with and frightened by the notion that sin and evil are what has brought about the plague. Mimicking his mental and physical state, the forms of his house threaten to collapse at any moment. In this scene, Khananye, Reb Dan’s helper, has reported to him that he has seen what is happening inside the mill. The air is thick with the smell of sulfur, the inside is adorned with gold and diamonds, and tables are setup with the most decadent food and alcohol. Devils and demons, hairy and hooved with tails and horns, fly and jump and dance.Aronson also replicated elements of the stage design in the costumes of the characters, and it is through his costume design that Aronson made his strongest statement about tradition and old-world Hasidic folklore on the one hand, and modernity and America on the other. Though the costumes of the Hasidic characters were rendered in relatively traditional style, the costumes of the devils deviated greatly from conventional renderings of red devils with pronged tails and horns. Instead, Aronson conceived the demonic elements in terms of modern dress, costuming these characters in contemporary suits, dress shirts, and derby hats. Some he even clothed in tuxedos, bowties, and top hats.. In designing the costumes in this way, Aronson drew a direct comparison between sin and the latest trends in American fashion and culture, all of which he called “modern appurtenances which disintegrate Orthodox Judaism.”