FLOYD COLLINS to Open at Firehouse Theatre in Richmond

Firehouse Theatre will present Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's Floyd Collins beginning November 11, with an official opening on November 13 and performances continuing through November 29, 2026.

Firehouse Theatre's new Artistic Director Katrinah Carol Lewis will direct the musical, which features music and lyrics by Guettel and a book by Landau.

Based on a true story, Floyd Collins follows a Kentucky cave explorer who, while attempting to turn a cave into a tourist attraction in 1925, becomes trapped 200 feet underground. As efforts to rescue him unfold, his ordeal becomes a public spectacle. The musical features a score influenced by folk, bluegrass and Americana music.

Erik Grendahl will make his Richmond professional musical theatre debut in the title role. The cast also includes Jonmichael Tarleton as Homer Collins, Maria Carpinelli as Nellie Collins, Katherine Ferranti as Miss Jane, Josh Polk as Skeets Miller, August Hundley as Jewell Estes, Nathan Whitmer as H.T. Carmichael, William Vaughn as Bee Doyle and Dale Heiskill as Ed Bishop.

Wayne Parker, Ian Page and Milo Roscoe Jones round out the company, with understudies Ben Miller, Parker, Lucy Ellis, Kerrigan Sullivan, Joshua Barton, Michael Bagwell, Joey Gravins and Samuel Sanders.

The creative team includes Musical Director Elle Meerovich, Choreographer Tippi Hart, Associate Director and Dialect Coach Nicole Cowans, Movement Assistant Milo Roscoe Jones, Dramaturg Monica Booker and Directing Observer Jack Paone.

The design team includes Scenic Designer Matthew Allar, Lighting Designer Michael Jarrett, Costume Designer Willa Piro, Sound Designer Grace Brown LaBelle and Props Designer Tim Moehring. Griffin Hardy serves as Assistant Lighting Designer and Master Electrician, with Katie Dodge as Assistant Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor. Isabel Stone is the Stage Manager and Keegan Ferrell is the Assistant Stage Manager.

The production's musicians are Rinatt Montoya on guitar, Bea Kelly on bass, Milo McAdams on percussion, Marissa Resmini on violin/fiddle and Joan Hovda on cello.

Guettel's Floyd Collins previously received the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical and an Obie Award for its music. The musical played Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theater in spring 2025. Guettel's other works include The Light in the Piazza, Myths and Hymns and Days of Wine and Roses.

Landau is a writer, director and longtime Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble member whose credits include The SpongeBob Musical, Superior Donuts and Bells Are Ringing. She co-authored The Viewpoints Book with Anne Bogart.