The 2025 Spring Arts Preview: Our picks in Theater

Theatrical Outfit has made it a priority to support new playwrights. This year, they are not only platforming playwrights but giving them the chance to be producers as well with Launchpad: A Made in Atlanta Festival, running March 11 through March 23. The first of the works is Venus by Steve Yockey, a dark comedy exploring the intersections of love and fear in modern life. Stop the Vietnam War! is a solo musical comedy written and performed by Phong Le, with music by Justin Greer. Stephen Ruffin and Filipe Valle Costa come together for Mr. Cool, an exploratory piece about a former UFC World Champion who starts a podcast. Finally, Bridget McCarthy will restage her one-woman show, Fat Juliet, previously staged at Essential Theatre. –LE

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Actor’s Express has a gangbusters season lined up. After people lose their heads over the production of Marie Antoinette, playwright Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog will run March 20 through April 19, directed by Eric J. Little. The play, which won the Pulitzer in 2002, is about two African American brothers, ironically named Lincoln and Booth, who are fated to remain in perpetual competition, even as they try to overcome poverty through humiliating jobs and card games. It promises to be a must-see. -BC

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The Alliance Theatre has garnered a reputation for premiering works that make their way to Broadway. Such may be the case again with Millions, a musical written by Bob Martin — with music and lyrics by Adam Guettel and direction by Bartlett Sher — running May 9 through June 15. The adaptation boasts a decorated creative team, with Guettel, Martin and Sher receiving multiple Tony Award nominations and at least one win each. Guettel and Sher previously collaborated in 2005 on The Light in the Piazza and in 2018 on Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. This is the second musical by Martin to premiere at the Alliance, following 2016’s The Prom. -LE

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In 2025, the Atlanta Fringe Festival is doubling in size and scope. Now in its 13th year, the wild array of performances will now run for two full weeks, May 27 to June 8, featuring 59 productions which will have six performances apiece. Chosen by a lottery, this year’s lineup will once again provide Atlanta stage opportunities for local, national and international talents, giving audiences the chance to connect with weird, niche and risky pieces of entertainment. -BC

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More Theater Highlights . . .

• Based on a ’90s queer romcom, Trick! The Musical, a world premiere production, is at Out Front Theatre May 1 through May 17.
  
• A one-woman show starring Carolyn Cook, I Carry Your Heart With Me, is on stage at Horizon March 14 to April 5.
  
• Based on the novel by Stephen King, Misery is in the black box at 7 Stages May 9 through May 11.
  
• Aurora Theatre presents Waitress the Musical, featuring Grammy-winning tunes by Sara Bareilles, May 22 through June 22.
  
• Young John Lewis, a world premiere about Black congressman and Atlantan John Lewis, debuts at Theatrical Outfit June 4 through June 29.
  
• Spelman graduate Alexis Woodard’s directorial debut, The Dark Lady, is on stage at Synchronicity June 6 through June 29.
  
• Just in time for solstice, Georgia Ensemble Theatre presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream June 12 through June 29.
  
• The Pulitzer-winning and Tony-winning self reflection A Strange Loop is at Actor’s Express July 24 to August 31.

More 2025 Spring Picks