Stage Coach Players began in DeKalb County in the summer of 1947, shortly after World War II had ended and America was ready to entertain and be entertained. The first season of plays were performed in a large barn on the John Ellwood Ilehamwood Farm. Permission was received to use the farm's antique stage coach as a ticket office, hence the name Stage Coach Players was coined, and the troupe beca
me the area's only live theatre company. The barn was cleaned and rebuilt inside by volunteers who, with equipment donated by local firms, turned it into a workable theatre. In 1951 a loyal patron donated an acre of land on Barber Greene Road. We put up a pole barn, and moved into what was to be our home for the next half century. The Stage Coach Players is a non-profit organization with a clear mission "to foster an appreciation of the theatre and create opportunities for all those interested in the theatre to participate." Today, we are one of the oldest, continuously operating community theatre troupes in Northern Illinois. The summer of 2001 was the last time the Stage Coach Players performed on the stage of "the little theatre on Barber Greene Road." It was time to ring down the curtain in a location that had served well, but had become obsolete. Time and modern needs had taken their toll. We are taking our show on the road to a new, permanent location in the former Moose Lodge on 5th Street and Grove in east downtown DeKalb, behind the Post Office and just a block south of Highway 38. Since that first night on the farm, several generations of residents have been inspired by the Stage Coach Players...on both sides of the footlights. We have produced over 250 dramas, comedies, musicals and "whodunits," starring more than 2,000 of your family members, friends, business associates and neighbors as our actors and actresses. Over 4,000 more people have participated behind the scenes. We have delighted well over 200,000 people who have come to Stage Coach Players' productions through the years from allover DeKalb County. Ours has always been a friendly and relaxed community with roots deep in farming and agriculture. A night at the theatre has been something we all have looked forward to and supported for a long, long time. We call ourselves the Stage Coachers, and we have produced six shows each year, with five presented in the summer, and either a dinner theatre performance or a major musical offered each winter. You've soared with us to the music of Broadway classics like Oliver and the irrepressible Gypsy. We have presented Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with a cast of over 100 adults and children this spring. You have been challenged and thrilled by dramas such as The Miracle Worker: You have tried to decide if it was the butler whodunit it in countless mysteries, and have laughed until your sides hurt at farces such as Don't Dress for Dinner. From William Shakespeare to Lerner and Lowe. From Agatha Christie to Bernard Pomerance. It has been, for half a century, "another opening, another show." We performed in our building on Barber Greene Road for the final time last summer, closing out with the delightful, timeless Fantasticks. We introduced our patrons to our new theatre in fine style with Gypsy, followed by The Importance of Being Earnest. Volunteers made the move in just 30 days, thanks to a temporary permit from the City of DeKalb. The two-story, 20,000-square-foot former Moose Lodge was built in 1951, and has been occupied by the Church of Christ for the past 20 years. This building was, of course, not purpose-built as a theatre. It requires extensive renovation to bring it up to "state-of-the-art" production and comfort standards specific to the performing arts. We, the Stage Coach Players, are looking to raise $1.2 million dollars in philanthropic dollars to be used to bring the building up to code, including important specifications for persons with disabilities. During the winter of 2007 - 2008 the lobby was renovated as part of updating the facility.
