Stage Coach Players performances of ‘Cabaret’ begin July 11 in DeKalb

DeKALB – The Stage Coach Players will open its next production, the musical “Cabaret,” on July 11.

The musical is scheduled to run for two weeks.

“Cabaret” tells the story of Clifford Bradshaw, an American writer who arrives in Berlin to work on a new novel. Bradshaw receives black market work from Ernst Ludwig, a German smuggler, and stays at a boarding house run by Fraulein Schneider. He visits the Kit Kat Club and meets and befriends Sally Bowles, an English cabaret chanteuse. Bowles visits Bradshaw the next day after being fired and convinces him to let her live in his room. Schneider also begins a romance with Herr Schultz, an elderly Jewish fruit shop owner.

“Cabaret” is based on the 1939 novel “Goodbye to Berlin” by Christopher Isherwood and the 1966 musical of the same name by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff.

The Stage Coach production will be directed by Steven Meerdink, who previously directed the Stage Coach production of “Bright Star” in 2023. Musical direction is provided by Terri Crain Goodman and pit direction by Ken Goodman.

Meerdink said the use of reflective surfaces in the shows is really to have audiences look at themselves and examine how we contribute to society as individuals.

“It is rare that a musical brings entertainment to the stage, as well as an important message and makes us think.” Meerdink said in a news release, “I would just like to emphasize that this is a musical with fun musical numbers but also forces us [as audience members] to examine ourselves and ask, ‘What would we do in these circumstances’.”

Performances of “Cabaret” will be held at 7:30 p.m. July 11 through July 13 and July 18 through July 20 at the Stage Coach Theatre, 126 S. Fifth St., DeKalb. There also will be matinee performances at 2 p.m. July 14 and 21.

Tickets cost $23 for seniors and children ages 12 and younger and $25 for everyone else. “Cabaret” contains mature subject matter.

The cast includes Isaiah Panke as Clifford Bradshaw, Morgan Prentiss as Sally Bowles, Eli Oleson as the Emcee, Brad Shortridge as Ernst Ludwig, Mindy Kaplan as Fraulein Schneider and Greg Anderson as Herr Schultz. The rest of the cast features Summer Arwood, Darielle Culver Balika, Taylor Dobes, Zach Eckhardt, Anaya Evans, Joel Ledbetter, Aaliyah McCormick, Maddie Mormino, Kasey Pennington, Joleigh Reiss, Melissa Roseberg, Aljuwan Smith and Emelie Walton.

“I think this show does an incredible job of showing the consequences of choosing to ignore reality, and how that affects people and all of those around,” Prentiss said in a news release.

Kaplan said her favorite part of the show is watching the cast members together, and her favorite song is the title song, “Cabaret.”

“Cabaret brings 21st century audiences the question of action versus inaction and interest versus apathy,” Kaplan said in a release. “What would any one of us do when faced with a challenge that forces us to choose … and what are the consequences of doing nothing?”

For more information, visit stagecoachplayers.com.