Pulsing to the beat of salsa, funk-disco, and hip-hop, TORCHED! alternates from 1970’s New York —when news of Bronx fires filled the headlines— to the present day featuring personal accounts of survival. Part investigative theater and part poetic fiction, TORCHED! brings forward true stories of those who lived through the devastating fires to lay bare the infamies of the arson-for-profit business. A Latinx ensemble cast of ten actors and musicians performs under the direction of Rosalba Rolón and musical director Desmar Guevara. Performances are at Pregones Theater in The Bronx (575 Walton Avenue near 149th Street & Grand Concourse), Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets start at $25, seating capacity is limited.

“TORCHED! pays tribute to real people who fought back, who continue to want to set the record straight, who continue to research, give testimony, and unmask ugly truths behind the fires. With this production, we join the generations of Bronx artists and activists shining light on this period of our history,” says Rolón, a United States Artists Fellow and Doris Duke Artist Award recipient who is also Pregones/PRTT’s Artistic Director.
Rolón developed TORCHED! over five years, consulting with historians, theater makers, scholars, and activists who jointly helped lay the groundwork for TORCHED! “Everything came to a head during the long and thankfully productive months of pandemic when a revolving roster of ensemble artists helped give the production its current musical form, says Rolón. “They all share in its triumphs. TORCHED! is so much about reclaiming a shared history and about giving credit where credit is due.”