NC Stage and the YMI Cultural Center welcome award-winning North Carolina based playwright and performer, Mike Wiley and his one man show– Tired Souls: King and the Montgomery Bus Boycott – to Asheville at the YMI Cultural Center (39 S. Market Street, downtown Asheville) for a limited run August 20 - 31, 2025.

Lauded nationwide by critics and locally by NC Stage audiences, Raleigh based artist Mike Wiley returns to Asheville for the sixth time, this time bringing the story of lesser known activists instrumental in lighting a fire under the Civil Rights movement and changing the course of U.S. history forever.

Tired Souls opens in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955 – the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man. Her determination was the catalyst that inspired Montgomery’s Black citizens to abandon all travel on city buses until they were no longer forced to sit in the back or stand when a white person boarded. This is the story of those who came before Mrs. Parks and laid the groundwork for this pivotal moment. Join us for a Q&A with playwright and performer Mike Wiley following each performance.

PLEASE NOTE: All performances of Tired Souls will take place at the YMI Cultural Center in downtown Asheville.

Who: Mike Wiley at the YMI Cultural Center

What: Tired Souls: King and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Where: YMI Cultural Center, 39 S. Market Street, Downtown Asheville, NC 

Dates: August 20- 31, 2025

Ticket Prices: GENERAL ADMISSION $36. Sliding Scale Tickets available on Wednesdays and Thursdays (from $6-$36), HBCU Alum discounts on Friday Nights! Call the Box Office for details.

Tickets are available by calling 828-239-0263 or online at NCStage.org