DEKALB, ILL, July 26, 2023 – As many Americans struggle to survive on bare minimum wage, the epic comedy Nickel and Dimed chronicles the experiences of an undercover journalist as she moves across the country, taking on a series of low-wage jobs. Directed by David W. Booth, Nickel and Dimed opens August 10, 2023 and runs for two weekends. The production is sponsored by Jerry and Annette Johns along with Clark and Arlene Neher.
Written by Joan Holden, the play is adapted from the best-selling book by Barbara Ehrenreich, “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.” The events in the book are based upon Ehrenreich’s experience while undercover. Booth most recently directed SCP’s production of Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (2021). The play follows Barbara (based on the author), played by Teresa Haish (The Dixie Swim Club), as she attempts to keep herself housed and fed on minimum wage jobs, which are typically viewed as unskilled labor.
When the play opens, she is employed as a waitress in a diner and having a tough go of it, even with help from those who have worked at the diner for a much longer time. She thought was prepared for hard work. However, at age 55, she continuously must work double shifts. She has nonstop aches and pains and without health insurance or enough money to even see a doctor, she must swallow handfuls of Ibuprofen. It doesn’t help that the only place she can afford does not have a stove so she’s forced to live on fast food.
Ultimately, Barbara tries her hand working as a motel maid, a nursing home attendant, and a member of a cleaning crew at a private home cleaning company. She finds them all incredibly difficult jobs. However, she learns that the worst part of her experiences is the damage that all of that accumulates in her heart.
Thankfully along the way, Barbara finds glimpses of hopefulness in some of her co-workers. They are played by Jan Booth ($38,000 for a Friendly Face), Jason Reed (The 39 Steps), Gabriela Rodriguez (Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean), Wendy Tritt (Funny Money), and Tasha Yunker (A Murder is Announced).
The ensemble consists of Nina Fontana, Barbara Kolb, John Linderoth, Will McJunkin, Ryan Read, and Aaron Schryver. There will also be a live band playing music. The band includes Denny Boynton, Sean Freeman, Michael Mattingly and Bonnie Miller.
When Barbara Ehrenreich first heard that Holden was interested in turning her book into a play, she thought “Impossible! It won’t work.” Ehrenreich was surprised, then delighted, to see the results. Ehrenreich stresses the play is a work of fiction loosely based on her non-fiction book. Nevertheless, she says the play drives her own point home. Ehrenreich says in her book that her goal was to “see whether or not I could match income to expenses, as the truly poor attempt to do every day.”
According to Teresa Haish, one of the most important points of the play is that the demands placed on the working class in America often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. “Most entry level jobs are physical and/or involve hour after hour on your feet with the bare minimum of breaks. Nickel and Dimed seeks to give a voice to this often invisible segment of our working population.”
She added that sometimes these workers are dismissed by those believing their situation is created solely by bad decisions and laziness. “(In) this production we’ll explore how limited options, the vicious cycle of poverty and management can exacerbate the issues faced by these workers and how hard it is to overcome them.”
The play also finds humor and bright glimpses in Barbara’s co-workers. Many of those characters endure life struggles with courage and graciousness. “It’s hard to make a living if you can’t live off of what you’re making,” Jason Reed said. “But that doesn’t stop a lot of people from trying to make the best out of the situation in their workplace.”
Nickel and Dimed had its world premier twenty-one years ago this week at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre, and like any good play, there are plenty of reasons to come to SCP this August. To Reed, one reason is, “If you have worked a job where you were paid by the hour, you will find something to relate to in this play. Even though the play is set thirty years ago in the 1990s, the issues of low pay and hard times still apply almost exactly the same way now as then.”
Performances for Nickel and Dimed are August 10 – 12, 2023 and August 18 – 19, 2023 with a curtain time of 7:30 p.m. along with Sunday matinees on August 13 and August 20, 2023, with a curtain time of 2:00. Tickets are $15 each or $13 for seniors and children aged 13 and under. Tickets are currently on sale through the box office phone at 815-758-1940. To purchase tickets, visit our online website at www.stagecoachplayers.com. You can also call the SCP box office at 815-758-1940. The box office will open Sunday, August 6, 2023.
Thank you for being understanding as SCP navigates COVID-19 guidelines. For this production, masks are suggested but not required. If the state of Illinois guidelines change, our guidelines will change also. Thank you for helping us keep our patrons, cast and crew safe.
