Market House Theatre

10/14/2026

Remember reading The Crucible in high school? Highlighters, study guides, maybe a SparkNotes or two?

This is not English class.

On a page, Salem is a lesson. On stage, it’s a town tearing itself apart, one whisper at a time. Our cast of 19 Paducah neighbors brings Arthur Miller’s story to life starting TOMORROW, and a limited number of on-stage seats put you right inside the courtroom.

The Crucible | October 15 – November 1 | Market House Theatre

10/14/2026

24 DAYS AWAY!

Some stories deserve to be told. Others need to be heard.

Join us on Friday, November 6, at 8 PM at the Clemens Fine Arts Center for Death of Kings: A Journey of an American Soldier, a powerful performance by Ben Grimes, Artistic Director of Market House Theatre.

This moving production follows an American soldier's journey from enlistment and deployment to returning home, exploring the realities of service, sacrifice, trauma, and healing.

🎟️ ADMISSION IS FREE! We simply ask that you reserve your seats in advance.

📅 Friday, November 6 | 8 PM
📍 Clemens Fine Arts Center | WKCTC Campus
🎟️ Reserve your FREE tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1998957182744?aff=oddtdtcreator

We hope you'll join us for an unforgettable evening of storytelling, reflection, and connection.

Help us spread the word! Share this event with friends, family, veterans, military families, and anyone who would appreciate this meaningful performance.

10/13/2026

A fiddle left behind. A threatening encounter. Music coming from someone who should no longer have been able to play.

That is the heart of one of Paducah’s unusual ghost stories.

In a version recounted from Market House Theatre’s River City Ghost Tour, a traveling fiddler was beheaded near town and buried among trees. Afterward, people supposedly saw him dancing there. He became known as Poplar Foot.

The legend continues with another musician, Clinton, returning for a forgotten fiddle. Confronted by threatening men, he mimed playing—and the ghost supplied the music, frightening them away.

It’s a different kind of haunting from the ones that send people fleeing an old house. Here, the frightening appearance helps someone in trouble. The dead musician’s connection to his instrument becomes the thing that protects a living musician.

That detail gives the story its staying power. You can picture someone lifting empty hands as though holding a fiddle, hoping the gesture will somehow help—and then hearing music.

We haven’t established a historical identity for Poplar Foot or independently verified the killing. This is Paducah folklore, preserved through local storytelling and the ghost-tour tradition.

But as a story, it leaves us with an unforgettable image: a musician who still answers when another fiddler needs him.

Have you heard this legend before? Was the ghost called Poplar Foot, Popular Foot, or something else in the version you heard?

👻 Continue exploring Paducah’s ghost lore in person with Market House Theatre's River City Ghost Tours.

Next: Friday, October 16—the face in the First National Bank mirror.

10/13/2026

Salem is ready for you. 🕯️

Here’s your first look at The Crucible: the town, the court, and the people caught in between. Two days until the accusations begin.

The Crucible opens THIS Thursday, October 15, and runs through November 1. Don’t wait. 🎟️ mkt.show/crucible

10/13/2026

From Gander to Salem. 🎨

The same wood that welcomed you into the warm, kind community of Come From Away is getting a much colder makeover for The Crucible: layer by layer, from clean, warm brown to weathered, unforgiving gray.

Same boards. Very different town.

The Crucible opens THIS Thursday, October 15, and runs through November 1. 🎟️ mkt.show/crucible

10/09/2026

10/09/2026

There are two types of people at Halloween. 🎃

Some of you are here for the fun: costumes, candy, a spooky story or two. Others want something that actually keeps you up at night.

We’ve got room for both. River City Ghost Tours take you through downtown & Oak Grove Cemetery after dark through October 30 . And THE CRUCIBLE runs October 15 – November 1, with onstage seating that puts you right inside the courtroom.

10/08/2026

Open auditions for It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play are coming up October 12 at 6 p.m. at the April Cochran Theatre Education Building. Whether you've been on our stage before or you've always wanted to try — this is your moment. Learn more online!

10/07/2026

Paducah, Miki has an announcement. 🎤
Broadway performer Miki Abraham learned how to be a pro on our stage. Now they’re coming home to help the next class of Governor’s School hopefuls get audition-ready.
GSA Audition Prep Masterclass
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 4–7 PM · Market House Theatre
Register at mkt.show/miki One-on-one coaching spots are limited.

10/06/2026

The court has assembled. 🕯️

Meet the cast of The Crucible: 19 of your Paducah neighbors stepping into Salem, 1692, to tell one of the most powerful stories in American theatre.

The Crucible runs October 15 – November 1. We convene in just nine days. See you in the woods.