July 17, 2025
NewsHigh School SportseNewspaperNewslettersObituariesEvent Calendar

Small Town Theatrics bringing ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ to Coal City stage

By Shaw Local News Network
Small Town Theatrics will present 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' from July 17 - 20 at the Coal City Performing Arts Center.

Small Town Theatrics will present 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' from July 17 - 20 at the Coal City Performing Arts Center. (Provided by Small Town Theatrics)

Small Town Theatrics is ringing the bell on its 16th season as it presents Disney’s "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" this week.

The production runs from July 17 to 20 at the Coal City Performing Arts Center, located at Coal City High School, 655 W. Division St, Coal City.

Tickets cost $18 per person and are on sale at smalltowntheatrics.org.

Small Town’s production features a 53-member cast led by Logan Arroyo of Tinley Park as Quasimodo; Payton Fraser of Joliet, 2023 IHSMTA Best Actress, as Esmeralda; Derek Carlson of Coal City as Phoebus; Collin Dames of Coal City as Archdeacon Frollo; and Aidan Kostbade of Coal City as Clopin. The rest of the company represents over twenty communities, including Kankakee, Bourbonnais, Morris, Seneca, Minooka, Shorewood, Joliet, Plainfield, Romeoville, Frankfort, Dwight and Streator.

The show is directed by Jack Micetich, and the creative team is composed of co-producer Ann Gill, vocal director Ann McMann-Kotze, choreographer Kilen Davidson and assistant director Kevin Soto.

“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International.

The musical begins as the bells of Notre Dame sound through the famed cathedral in fifteenth-century Paris.

Small Town Theatrics will present 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' from July 17 - 20 at the Coal City Performing Arts Center.

Small Town Theatrics will present 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' from July 17 - 20 at the Coal City Performing Arts Center. (Provided by Small Town Theatrics)

Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer who longs to be “Out There,” observes all of Paris reveling in the Feast of Fools. Held captive by his devious caretaker, the archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo, he escapes for the day and joins the boisterous crowd, only to be treated cruelly by all but the beautiful Romani woman, Esmeralda.

Quasimodo isn’t the only one captivated by her free spirit, though – the handsome Captain Phoebus and Frollo are equally enthralled. As the three vie for her attention, Frollo embarks on a mission to destroy the Roma – and it’s up to Quasimodo to save them all.

Join Small Town Theatrics and the Coal City Theatre Department for the telling of this classic tale. Show time is at 7 p.m. July 17, 18 and 19, and at 2 p.m. on July 20.

Tickets also will be available at the door for cash only beginning one hour before each scheduled show time.