July 03, 2025
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Stage Coach opens fall season with ‘The Crucible’ Sept. 22

By Shaw Local News Network
Stage Coach Players cast of "The Crucible" rehearsing a scene

Stage Coach Players cast of "The Crucible" rehearsing a scene (Photo provided courtesy of the Stage Coach Players )

DeKALB – Stage Coach Players will bring one of Arthur Miller’s best-known plays, “The Crucible,” to its stage this fall.

The drama revolves around the Salem Witch Trials and those who are wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft. The Tony Award-winning play will open Sept. 22 and run for two weekends.

The Stage Coach Players cast of "The Crucible" rehearsing a scene

The Stage Coach Players cast of "The Crucible" rehearsing a scene (Photo provided courtesy of the Stage Coach Players )

“The Crucible” is a partially fictionalized telling of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the late 17th century. The drama is an allegory for McCarthyism, when the U. S. government went after Americans who were accused of being Communists. Brad Shortridge directs the Stage Coach production.

After they are found dancing in the woods (which is forbidden in the Puritan New World), several girls begin accusing others in their village of witchcraft in order to avoid punishment. They are led by Abigail Williams (Valarie Milbrath) who also accuses the wife of John Proctor (Gavin Wilson) as she harbors a yearning for him. Elizabeth Proctor (Dorcas Keating) is arrested, so John goes to court to plead for his wife’s release from Deputy Governor Danforth (Steve Sturm).

The cast includes Norm Read as Reverend Hale, Jeff Hall as Reverend Parris, Mike Groark as Giles Corey, Ryan Ziegelbauer as Judge Hathorne and Piper Schiola-Williams as Mary Warren. Alexis Barkman, Gloria Dennison, Ashley Kelly, David Kuhn, Stephen Long, Summer McFalls, Christina Myroth, Aaron Schryver, Mandi Sester, Monique Smith and Adam Wirth round out the cast.

The show is sponsored by Jerry and Annette Johns, and Luke Butler Improvements.

The Stage Coach Players cast of "The Crucible" rehearsing a scene

The Stage Coach Players cast of "The Crucible" rehearsing a scene (Photo provided courtesy of the Stage Coach Players )

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22-24 and Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and 2 p.m. Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 at Stage Coach Theatre, 126 S. Fifth St. in DeKalb.

Tickets cost $15 for adults and $13 for seniors and children age 13 and younger.

To purchase tickets, call 815-758-1940 or visit stagecoachplayers.com.

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