COAL CREEK Plays Centre Stage, Opens 1/21

More than 7,500 strikers walked out of nearly 100 coal mines in the Paint Creek and Cabin Creek coAl Fields of West Virginia during the bloody 1912-1914 labor war. Coal Creek is the story of one family's turmoil, caught in the cross hairs of that struggle.

The winner of our 2009 New Play Festival, Walter Thinnes' Coal Creek was chosen from among scores of works submitted by playwrights across the country. Director Brian Haimbach's cast includes Bruce Meahl, Justin Walker, Jeff Warren, Alyx Clements and Olivia Wilusz.

Tickets to this world premiere production are $10 for adults and $5 for students.

The 2010 New Play Festival will be funded, in part, by the Dramatists Guild of America, the professional association of American Playwrights. Described by Tony-nominated playwright Lee Blessing as "one of the most important elements of contemporary play development (in) the region," the nationally-recognized festival's previous winners include Guided Tour, The Edith Whartons, The Legacy and The Uncurled Hand.

Coal Creek will run December January 21-30 with 8 p.m. performances January 21-23 and 28-30 and a 3 p.m. mantinee on Sunday, January 24. Performances will be given on Thursdays-Sundays ONLY. All seats reserved. The box office can be reached at 864.233.6733 from 2-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 2 hours before performances. The theater is located at 501 River Street inside the Citi Smith Barney building just one block off Main Street in downtown Greenville.