The Fire Weeds to Host Benefit Reading of THE JACKSONIAN by Beth Henley

The Fire Weeds, an experimental, female-driven theater company, has announced its first-ever play festival, taking place June 1 and 2 at Houghton Hall. The event follows the company’s current production Outraged Hearts two one act plays by Tennessee Williams which concludes its New York run on May 30. 

The festival will kick off with a benefit reading of THE JACKSONIAN by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Beth Henley. Directed by Jaclyn Bethany the cast features Erik Jensen (Broadway's The Collaboration) as Bill Perch, Lucy Walters (Power) as Susan Perch, Brooklyn Shuck (The Ferryman) as Rosy Perch, Tom Pecinka (Tony nom, Stereophonic) as Fred Webber and Lin Gathright (American Horror Story) as Eva. The reading was cast by Nick Peciaro, C.S.A. 

Set in a decaying motel in Jackson, Mississippi in 1964, the play unfolds through the eyes of teenager Rosy Perch as she observes a cast of fractured adults—including her dentist father—spiraling toward violence and tragedy. The festival is also championing new works by Grace Curley, Emma Schillage and Surrey Houlker who will be working with rising directors C.C. Kellogg, Sarah Keyes and Hanna Hall. 

The festival marks a new chapter in The Fire Weeds’ ongoing exploration of Southern Gothic aesthetics, gender, motherhood, and the complexity of growing up.  Taken together, the selection spans sixty years of American theatrical voices—all rooted in the feminine psyche and regional storytelling traditions.