Help Us Bring Fire Messiah to the Stage

Goal: $15,000 to fund the full workshop production and development of Fire Messiah

Fire Messiah is a bold new musical by Ric Averill and Company that asks a timely question: What happens when we start looking for miracles in the middle of catastrophe?

Fire Messiah follows Dan, a firefighter with a troubled past, as he battles increasingly apocalyptic wildfires in a near-future America. After carrying out a miraculous rescue, Dan unwittingly becomes a symbol of hope and is hailed online as the “Fire Messiah.” As faith, politics, climate disaster, and social media collide, Dan and his fellow firefighters—people of multiple faiths, identities, and lived experiences—are drawn together by a shared purpose: to save lives and protect one another in the face of overwhelming fire. Together, they must confront what belief really means, who is granted power, and how we survive collectively when the world is burning.

Drawing upon symbolism from the Biblical story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, Fire Messiah is resolutely modern. It tells a deeply human story about climate crisis, spiritual longing, authoritarianism, misinformation, and the fragile line between hope and harm. The score blends contemporary musical theater with choral power, dark humor, tenderness, and hard-won connection.

Why We’re Raising Funds

We are developing Fire Messiah in stages, with the goal of a full theatrical production in late 2026 / early 2027. Your support helps us move from development to a fully realized production.

Upcoming Development Milestones

• March 7, 2026 – Concert @ Lawrence Arts Center, 7pm

A public concert featuring songs from the musical, introducing audiences to the world, characters, and music.

• April 20, 2026 – Live Staged Reading @ Theatre Lawrence, 7pm

A fully staged cast reading with audience feedback to refine the script and score.

These events are essential steps toward a full production, and they require funding for musicians, performers, rehearsal space, technical support, and creative labor.

What Your Donation Supports

Your contribution directly supports:

• Fair pay for actors, musicians, and creatives

• Music direction, orchestration, and script development

• Rehearsal space and technical needs for development events

• Design exploration (set, projections, choreography, fire movement)

• Audience engagement and accessibility

This $15,000 goal allows us to responsibly build a show that is artistically ambitious, ethically produced, and community centered.

Why This Story Matters Now

Fire Messiah speaks to the current moment. As climate disasters escalate, institutions falter, and people search for meaning wherever they can find it, this musical asks us to observe what happens when fear sharpens our differences, and on the contrary, what happens when shared danger asks us to move beyond them.

It challenges us to ask:

• Who do we trust when everything feels out of control?

• How do belief and power intertwine?

• Can collective action, rather than blind faith, carry us through?

At its heart, Fire Messiah is about connection across difference, accountability, and choosing shared humanity in the face of fear.

How You Can Help

• Donate at any level. Every contribution matters, no matter how small!

• Share this campaign with theater lovers, climate advocates, and friends who want to support original art and artists in the Lawrence community.

• Join us at the March concert or April reading and be part of the creative journey.

By supporting Fire Messiah, you’re helping bring a complex, beautiful story to the stage—one that asks hard questions and makes room for hope.

Thank you for being part of this project and for supporting the future of new, original theater!