On June 4, celebrating Flannery O’Connor’s centennial birthday, Compagnia de' Colombari presented a work-in-process of REVELATION, Karin Coonrod's theatrical adaptation of one of O’ Connor’s classic short stories. The presentation at St. Paul's Church featured Trezana Beverly, KenYatta Rogers, Stacey Sherrell, Carlton Terrence Taylor, Whitney Andrews, Jo Mei, Ahmad Kamal, and Julian Elijah Martinez.

Continuing Colombari's theatrical adaptations of O'Connor's works, this potent and timely production is in development for a premiere and touring beginning Summer 2026.

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Immediately following the Brooklyn work-in-process presentation of REVELATION, actor KenYatta Rogers and director/adaptor, Karin Coonrod, flew to London to attend Flannery Abroad: A Conference in Celebration of Flannery O'Connor's Centenary. Held at Fordham University London from June 5 to 7, the conference featured a global "who's who" of O'Connor scholars and aficionados. Attendees applauded thunderously after being treated to a private video screening of scenes from the Brooklyn work-in-progress. 

For more information about Flannery Abroad: A Conference in Celebration of Flannery O'Connor's Centenary and to see a list of the speakers and events, click HERE.

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The story REVELATION by Flannery O'Connor enters the 21st century in a powerful audio drama and theatrical production directed by Karin Coonrod for Compagnia de' Colombari. Coonrod boldly gathers a diverse cast of eight actors to dramatize the conflicts that shape American society when race collides with religion in one southern town of the 1960s. The casting of actors of color playing all the white characters in the doctor's office telescopes the agency of the actors as they play to the assumptions of the status quo Southern characters.

As told through the perspective of Ruby Turpin, a Southern Christian, middle-class woman, O’Connor bears witness to the racial realities that distort one’s vision of oneself and others. As her characters stumble through changing times, in the face of human hypocrisy, O’Connor uses action, pathos and humor to reveal what she describes as “the mystery of existence.” In her prophetic view of the world, O'Connor sees and enables us to see that oftentimes, violence precedes the encounter with grace.

ABOUT REVELATION (Director's Note):

As a play, REVELATION is performed in three movements: 1) A doctor's office or the vestibule of Hell; 2) A bedroom and a pig parlor or twisting and turning on Earth, like a female Job; 3) Revelation or Heaven's fire. The O'Connor Estate's (from whom Karin Coonrod is the only director granted permission to adapt her work for the stage) mandate is to perform the piece verbatim, as written. This limitation becomes an impetus to open up a surprising theatricality. A direct line is drawn from the 21st century to 1963 to address the racism that O'Connor confronted in the pre-Civil Rights era and within herself. To achieve this, all white characters are played by actors of color. This chorus of actors--like a Greek chorus--creates the narration and also possesses an immortal resonance, a knowledge vaster than the opinionated characters in the doctor's office bound to their certitude ("What fools these mortals be!") and a joy and humility greater than is understood by the character Ruby Turpin when she shouts in a rage, "Who do you think you are?" Thus, the actors sculpt a lively trajectory from rage and brutal humor in the vestibule of Hell to one of awe--as an agelic chorus--in the fire of Heaven. The story moves into an unfathomable grace, with the desire to share fleeting glimpses of it in a visceral experience, toward catharsis.

Composers: Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby

Sound Design: Tony Geballe

Lighting Design: Chris Akerlind

Music Direction: Carlton Terrence Taylor

Movement Direction: Jennifer Harrison Newman

Development and Production History:

Compagnia de’ Colombar’s REVELATION has been in development since 2021. Originally devised as a “radio play,” the Flannery O'Connor adaptation was first presented with actors in front of a live audience in 2023 at Sea Dog Theater in New York City (January 2023), at a reading in Georgetown University at The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics (April 2023) and a fully staged reading presentation at The Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University (May 2023). Previous developments and presentations include The Flannery O'Connor Society Conference (August 2021), The Georgia College and State University Andalucia Institute (November 2021), and radio streaming in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (December 2022). In June 2025 it was staged as a work-in-process theatrical adaptation in Brooklyn.

REVELATION photography and poster by Shin Kurokawa. Graphics by Zack Stanik.