Burning Coal's 2023 Oakwood Cemetery Series to Present BUTTERFLY WINGS Beginning in September

Burning Coal Theatre Company will present the premiere of Jerome Davis' Butterfly Wings adapted from the book Life and Death in High Places by Bruce Miller and Robin Simonton, directed by Allison Acuff. Butterfly Wings will run September 29th and 30th at 6:30 pm and October 1st at 2 pm, 2023, at the Oakwood Cemetery, located at 701 Oakwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27601. All tickets are $20, or $10 for students. Tickets and additional information can be found at www.burningcoal.org or by calling the box office at (919) 834-4001.

About Butterfly Wings

Step onto Raleigh's iconic Fayetteville Street and immerse yourself in the captivating world of Butterfly Wings, circa 1903.  This thought-provoking production unravels one of the era's most hotly debated incidents—a pivotal shooting in the heart of the capital city. Butterfly Wings invites audiences to reexamine their perception of history itself and asks the question: can we ever really understand those who came before?

About Jerome Davis

Jerome Davis founded Burning Coal Theatre Company in 1997, in Raleigh, North Carolina, alongside his wife Simmie Kastner. He has performed at Trinity Rep in Providence, People's Light & Theatre Company in Pennsylvania, the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, and the Cockpit in London. He recently directed Galileo for Burning Coal and performed in a London production of Talley's Folly at The Cockpit. He has also directed The Weir, Shining City and The Seafarer by Conor McPherson and acted in McPherson's St. Nicholas at Burning Coal and in Lexington, KY. He has also directed Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw for NC Opera. For Burning Coal: Enron, The Steward of Christendom, Rat in the Skull, Night & Day, Written on the Heart and three plays by David Edgar: Pentecost, The Shape of The Table, and The Prisoner's Dilemma. His production of Gary Owen's Iphigenia in Splott received a 5-star review at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, DC in 2019 and his production of David Edgar's Iron Curtain Trilogy received a 4-star review from Michael Billington, the Dean of London theatre critics (writing in the Guardian) when it played the Cockpit in 2014.

About Allison Acuff

Meet the visionary behind the curtains, Allison Acuff—an accomplished off-Broadway luminary who has garnered accolades for her directorial prowess. With a comprehensive education in English and Theatre from Asbury University, complemented by advanced training in Directing from the prestigious National Theatre Institute, Acuff has carved an exceptional path in the world of performing arts. Following her academic journey, Acuff embarked on a dynamic career that has seen her collaborating with renowned stages, including the illustrious Royal Shakespeare Company in London and the vibrant Davenport Theatre in Manhattan. As an alumna of Asbury University, she helmed productions that pay homage to theatrical classics, from Tennessee Williams' iconic The Glass Menagerie to the intellectually stimulating No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre. Notably, Acuff's creative energy has recently graced the vibrant Raleigh scene. Her directorial footprint includes captivating contributions to projects like select segments of KidsWrite 2023 for Burning Coal Theatre Company. She also lent her expertise as an assistant director in Aubrey Snowden's production of Urinetown at UNC Chapel Hill.

About the Cast

George Jack, a seasoned performer with an Oakwood track record spanning three decades, returns to the spotlight. With over a hundred professional productions under his belt, Jack shines as a luminary in the performing arts realm. His familiarity with Burning Coal shows, including iconic roles like Benjamin Franklin in 1776 and Polonius in Hamlet, is complemented by his standout portrayals of Tiresias in both Antigone and Oedipus Tyrannus. Joining the stage is Will Godby and Kurt Benrud, a familiar presence at Oakwood.

Adding depth to the ensemble, Dan Oliver. The cast further blossoms with new or fresh faces at Burning Coal, including Flora Bare, Gene Corden, Collins Wilson, Natalie Blackman, Matt Lyles, and Jack Wood. Emmett Walls recently appeared in the Summer Theatre Conservatory's production of Cats .  Stage Managing the production is Grace Bolton.

Burning Coal Theatre Company is an intimate, professional theater and an incorporated non-profit (501(c)(3) organization in the heart of downtown Raleigh. Burning Coal's mission is to produce literate, visceral, affecting theater that is experienced, not simply seen. It produces explosive reexaminations of overlooked classic and modern plays, as well as new plays whose themes and issues are of immediate concern to our audience, using the best local, national, and International Artists available. The company works toward a theater of high-energy performances and minimalist production values. Race and gender non-specific casting is an integral component of Burning Coal's perspective, as well as a clear viewpoint. The emphasis is on literate works that are felt and experienced viscerally to create an active role for the audience, unlike more traditional linear plays, at which audiences are most often asked to observe without participating.

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