Second Stage Series

Three bold productions. One unforgettable June. Our Second Stage Series awaits!
Performance Dates: June 11 - 28, 2026

Every year, Burning Coal Theatre uses its theatre space in Raleigh, NC to foster emerging innovative theatre talent in a series of new works and plays in the summer months. 

Second Stage, also known as our “Wait ‘Til You See This!” series, is typically performed in repertory in June at our usual space, the Murphey School Auditorium (224 Polk St., Raleigh, NC 27604). It is an opportunity to experiment with form, present new works, and / or collaborate with up-and-coming artists.

There is no physical second performance location at Burning Coal’s space. The name is derived from the type of work typically seen on the smaller upstairs or second stages of larger theatres. Historically, these spaces have been a hub for new, innovative and contemporary works – exactly what we aim to bring to our summer series. 

SHADOWS IN RED LIGHT

  • Written by:  Roné Sargent
  • Produced by:  Burning Coal Theatre
  • Director:  Jerome Davis  
  • Ticket price : $10
  • A concert version of a new musical set during the AIDS epidemic in New York City. 

    A single mother thinks she is placing her baby in foster care. Years later, as Angeline faces adversity, she longs to find her mother she believes abandoned her. Themes of hope, sacrifice, and belonging shape this story about love in its many forms.

  • Show Dates:
    • Saturday, June 13th @2pm
    • Sunday, June 14th @5pm
    • Thursday, June 18th @ 7:30pm
    • Sunday, June 21st @5pm
    • Friday, June 26th @ 7:30pm
    • Sunday, June 28th @2pm

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DANGER!

  • Written by:  Lucius Robinson
  • Produced by:  Burning Coal Theatre
  • Director:  Jerome Davis  
  • Ticket price : $10
  • A wild solo show about a man who is convinced his neighbor’s son is a changeling, and the lengths he will go to prove this monster lives among us.  Originally seen at the Charm City Fringe Festival, as well as festivals in California, Kansas City and Rhode Island, Raleigh native Lucius Robinson returns for a third summer with Burning Coal.
  • 45 Mins, no intermission
  • Show Dates:
    • Thursday, June 11th @7:30pm
    • Friday, June 12th @7:30pm
    • Friday, June 19th @ 7:30pm
    • Saturday, June 20th @2pm
    • Saturday, June 27th @2pm
    • Saturday, June 27th @7pm

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DR. RIDE’S AMERICAN BEACH HOUSE

  • Written by:  Liza Birkenmeier
  • Produced by:  Brave New Classics
  • Director:  Ruth Berry
  • Ticket price : $25
  • It’s 1983, the evening before Dr. Sally Ride’s historic space flight. Hundreds of miles from the launch a group of women with passionate opinions and no opportunities sit on a sweltering St. Louis rooftop watching life pass them by. Their uncharted desires bump up against American norms of sex and power in this intimate snapshot of queer anti-heroines.
  • “Luscious. Funny. Erotic. The play itself just keeps soaring up and up and up.”
    – Vulture
  • 90 Mins, no intermission
  • Show Dates:
    • Saturday, June 13th @7:30pm
    • Sunday, June 14th @2pm
    • Saturday, June 20th @7:30pm
    • Sunday, June 21st @2pm
    • Thursday, June 25th @7:30pm
    • Sunday, June 28th @5pm

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Lobby interior