Fires, Ohio

A timely family drama inspired by the classic, Uncle Vanya. 

Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission

By Beth Hyland
Directed by Marissa Wolf
 

As wildfires rage closer and closer to a small Ohio college town, the mopey grown children and second wife of a sort-of-mediocre professor are threatened by another kind of crisis: a visit from a family friend that threatens to bring all of their tensions to a towering inferno. Now, each of them will be forced to choose: stay and smolder, or leave and burn? Inspired by the classic family drama Uncle Vanya, FIRES, OHIO updates a beloved story for our painfully absurd present, taking a hilarious and heartfelt look at the natural (and personal) disasters that transform our everyday lives. In addition to winning the 22nd annual Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, FIRES, OHIO has been awarded the Kennedy Center's Paula Vogel Award and the Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting.   

Best enjoyed by audiences 16 and up. 

This production contains explicit language; depicts smoking and drinking; addresses mature content related to sex and sexuality.

Cast & Creative     Trailer     Quotes     Events     Media     Program     Venue

Kendeda Winner
World Premiere

Hertz Stage

This production has ended.

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A vintage oil lantern with the reflection of a burning house and smoke inside the glass, set against a dark background.
Orange text reading “FIRES, OHIO” with abstract, flame-like shapes above the words, resembling burning or fire.

Inspired by the classic family drama UNCLE VANYA, FIRES, OHIO brings an old story into our painfully absurd present, exploring how today’s most toxic forces impact our everyday lives.

FEB 25 – MAR 22, 2026

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A timely family drama inspired by the classic, Uncle Vanya. 

Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission

By Beth Hyland
Directed by Marissa Wolf
 

As wildfires rage closer and closer to a small Ohio college town, the mopey grown children and second wife of a sort-of-mediocre professor are threatened by another kind of crisis: a visit from a family friend that threatens to bring all of their tensions to a towering inferno. Now, each of them will be forced to choose: stay and smolder, or leave and burn? Inspired by the classic family drama Uncle Vanya, FIRES, OHIO updates a beloved story for our painfully absurd present, taking a hilarious and heartfelt look at the natural (and personal) disasters that transform our everyday lives. In addition to winning the 22nd annual Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, FIRES, OHIO has been awarded the Kennedy Center’s Paula Vogel Award and the Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting.   

Best enjoyed by audiences 16 and up. 

This production contains explicit language; depicts smoking and drinking; addresses mature content related to sex and sexuality.

Cast & Creative     Trailer     Quotes     Events     Media     Program     Venue

Cast & Creative Team

Writer

A person with wavy, shoulder-length reddish-blonde hair sits against a blue background, wearing a dark floral patterned top and resting their face on their hand, smiling faintly.

Beth Hyland

Playwright

Director

Smiling person with short blonde hair wearing a yellow top and large hoop earrings, posed against a plain teal background.

Marissa Wolf

Director

Creative

Madeleine Oldham, a woman with long black hair, wearing a gray blazer and pearl necklace, smiles while standing against a dark green wall.

SaRee Grimes

Assistant Director
A person with short hair, a mustache, and a beard stubble looks at the camera in a black and white portrait, wearing a tank top and an earring.

Lex Liang

Scenic & Costume Design
A woman with shoulder-length gray hair and a black top is smiling slightly in front of a plain gray background.

Laura Hackman

Intimacy Consultant
Curved, parallel white lines form an abstract pattern on a blue-green gradient background.

Robert J. Aguilar

Lighting Design
Jake Guinn

Jake Guinn

Fight Choreography
Madeleine Oldham smiles wearing a New York Rangers beanie next to a brown dachshund dog with its tongue sticking out, outdoors with leafless trees in the background.

Madeleine Oldham

Sound Design
A man with short dark hair and glasses is wearing a maroon and blue striped collared shirt, facing the camera against a plain light-colored background.

Aaron Vockley

Associate Sound Design

Cast

An older man with gray hair and a goatee, wearing a gray plaid suit jacket and light blue shirt, looks directly at the camera.

David de Vries

Professor
A woman with short curly hair and earrings looks directly at the camera, wearing a sleeveless brown top against a blurred background.

Chisom Awachie

Erin
A woman with curly hair smiles at the camera, wearing a patterned blouse against a plain dark background.

Tiffany Denise Hobbs

Elena
A woman with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes looks directly at the camera with a neutral expression, set against a blurred dark background.

Rebeca Robles

Sonia
A young man with short brown hair wears a grey sweatshirt and blue shirt, looking at the camera with his hand resting behind his neck against a neutral background.

Billy Harrigan Tighe

John

Understudies

Maddie Compton

Maddie Compton

Sonia
Rial Ellsworth, a middle-aged man with a bald head, gray beard, and glasses, is smiling at the camera, wearing a brown jacket and black shirt against a blurred neutral background.

Rial Ellsworth

Professor
A young man with light skin, brown hair, and a short beard wearing a dark blue shirt with pink patterns, looks slightly past the camera against a blurred background.

Warren Levi Haney

John
A woman with medium-length dark hair wearing a light beige turtleneck top, looking at the camera with a neutral expression against a dark background.

Lizzy Liu

Erin
A woman with long wavy black hair, wearing a light-colored blouse, poses against a plain lavender background.

Irene Polk

Elena

Crew

Xiaonan (Chloe) Liu

Xiaonan (Chloe) Liu

Stage Manager
Phoebe Sweatman

Phoebe Sweatman

Stage Management Production Assistant

“It’s really important to me that people who have never heard of UNCLE VANYA can enjoy FIRES, OHIO fully. This is not an adaptation where you only enjoy it if you know Chekhov. Theater can already be so exclusionary, and the absolute last thing I want to do is shrink the pool of people who can enjoy the play…what I love about adaptation is that you get to be in conversation with an artist you love and admire. You get to argue with them. You get to use them as a jumping-off point. You get to experiment with things that maybe disappointed you in the original work—all while holding real humility for the historical context you’re engaging.”

Beth Hyland
Playwright

Special Events

Beyond the Stage

Events

Views Navigation

Event Views Navigation

Today

From Page to Stage

Two women sit at a table with wine glasses, one woman crying and being comforted by the other in a close embrace, sharing heartache over the recent Fires in Ohio against a dimly lit background.

ArtsATL Review: ‘In Fires, Ohio, Chekhov’s world meets the modern climate crisis’

A man wearing sunglasses, a blue bandana, and gloves crouches indoors in Fires, Ohio, using a cordless drill on a piece of wood, with yellow panels in the background.

Atlanta Magazine: ‘Behind the scenes of Fires, Ohio’

Announcing the Cast and Creative Team of Fires Ohio: A person with wavy blond hair and bangs, wearing a floral top, smiles with their chin resting on their hand in front of a plain blue background.

Interview with Playwright Beth Hyland

Two women sit on couches in a cozy living room, one holding a drink and the other a bowl, smiling and talking with each other. A blender and glass sit on the coffee table as they discuss news of fires in Ohio.

Inside Rehearsals for Fires, Ohio

Announcing the cast and creative team of Covenant: Cast photo lineup for "Fires, Ohio" featuring Chisom Awachie, David De Vries, Tiffany Denise Hobbs, Rebeca Robles, and Billy Harrigan Tighe with their character names.

Meet the Cast & Creative Team

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