HOOD RIVER — Columbia Center for the Arts (CCA) will stage Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” directed by Lowry Browning, from October 9 through October 25, 2026, in the CCA Theater at 215 Cascade Avenue in downtown Hood River. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Bradbury’s story follows Guy Montag, a fireman in a future society where firemen don’t put out fires — they start them, burning books that the state has outlawed. When Montag begins to question what he’s destroying, he’s forced to choose between the comfortable world he knows and the dangerous ideas he’s discovering. More than seventy years after the novel’s publication, its questions about censorship, distraction, and who gets to decide what we read feel as urgent as ever.
“It’s still very relevant,” said Browning, “It’s a fascinating play that brings up a lot of emotions and thoughts about what our future is going to look like.”
The production features an incredible cast of Gorge-area performers, including Benjamin Sheppard as Guy Montag, Emily Joyce as Clarisse McClellan, Kirk Thomas as Captain Beatty, and local set, costume, and lighting designers.
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Tickets are $23 general admission and $21 for students and seniors, and are available at columbiaarts.org. PG-13 for some mature themes, not recommended for children under the age of 13.
“Fahrenheit 451” is produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois.
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