Now to Ashes

For Immediate Release: June 24, 2025

Theatre51 Presents “Now to Ashes” 

written and directed by Renae Erichsen-Teal and Sarah Pultz, as part of the inaugural District Fringe festival. 

PERFORMANCE 1: 

WHEN: Sunday, July 13th, at 2pm-5pm

WHERE: 2111 Decatur Pl NW, Washington, DC 20008

PERFORMANCE 2: 

WHEN: Saturday, July 19th, at 2pm-5pm

WHERE: University of District of Columbia and Van Ness Main Street

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Now to Ashes is a play focusing on four exceptional abolitionist women: Sarah Grimke (Sally) and her sister Angelina Grimke (Nina), two Southern heiresses who left their life of privilege to work toward racial justice in Philadelphia; Sarah Douglass, one of the black leaders of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society; and the Grimkes’ niece, Angelina Weld Grimke, a queer black poet of her time. It reflects on an extremely polarized and fraught time in American history and pulls parallels from the past to the present in order to provide guidance for confronting our current conflicted times. Each woman’s story gives the audience a varying perspective on how to respond to injustice, while introducing the audience to a fraught time period in American history: the 1830s during the presidency of Andrew Jackson and the birth of the abolitionist and feminist movements. 

THE CAST AND CREW:

Jam Donaldson as Angelina Weld Grimké and Grace Douglass

Madison Norwood as Young Angelina Weld Grimké and Margaretta Forten

Mikaela Fenn as Sarah Moore Grimké (Sally)

Alexandria Grigsby as Angelina Emily Grimké (Nina)

Amber Patrice Coleman as Sarah Mapps Douglass

Paul Brewster as John Grimké, Jonathan Evans, and William Lloyd Garrison

Allison Turkel as Polly Grimké and Catharine Beecher

Paulette Grady as Charlotte Forten

Ari Post as Israel Morris and Lewis Tappan

Max Johnson  as Theodore Weld

Gaddiel Adams as u/s for Grace Douglass, Sarah Douglass,  Marg Forten, & Charlotte Forten

Lillian Grace Hall as u/s for Sarah Grimké (Sally) and Angelina Grimké (Nina)

Stefan Mitrović as u/s for John Grimké, Israel Morris, Lewis Tappan, and Theodore Weld 

A.J Jelonek as Stage Manager

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS:

Renae Erichsen-Teal is a professional writer, actor, and singer based in the D.C. Metro area. Selected credits include the Kennedy Center 2019 Page-To-Stage Festival’s workshop of Now to Ashes (playwright), Story District's He Said, She Said, They Said (writer, storyteller), and Theatre Prometheus' Abortion Road Trip (actor) at the Capital Fringe Festival, where it was the winner of the Best Comedy Award. Renae is also a seasoned member of the Washington Chorus (singer). She received her training and education at Christopher Newport University (vocal performance), Story District (storytelling/writing), and Studio Theater Conservatory (acting). 

Sarah Pultz is a Playwright and Freelance Dramaturg living in the Washington, DC area. Her main skill sets include script editing, research, and assistant directing. She has worked with multiple up-and-coming playwrights and has helped produce plays at the D.C. Fringe Festival as well as other small, local theatre companies. Sarah attended The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama where she received her M.A in Theatre Criticism and Dramaturgy. Since then, she has focused her career on facilitating new art and helping new artists discover and develop their voices.

ABOUT THEATRE51:

THEATRE51 is a community arts group that provides opportunities for local DC artists to develop new works. The mission of THEATRE51 is to provide a space and a platform that attempts to balance representation in the arts to more accurately reflect the reality of the world we live in. To accomplish this, we facilitate the development of new work which broadly examine power structures that maintain inequity.

SUMMARY:

Now to Ashes will be performing on:

• July 13th at 2pm at 2111 Decatur Pl NW, Washington, DC 20008
• July 19th at 2pm at University of District of Columbia and Van Ness Main Street.

Tickets will be $15 and can be found on our website: https://www.nowtoashes.com/

Contact: [email protected]

*This show is being produced in tandem with District Fringe. The official headquarters of District Fringe is located at 4340 Connecticut Ave NW, DC.

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