YOUNG JOHN LEWIS, LAUNCHPAD and More Set for Theatrical Outfit 2025 – 2026 Season

Theatrical Outfit has announced its 2025–2026 season, which includes a state-wide tour of its original hip hop musical Young John Lewis, four mainstage productions, the return of its new works festival Launchpad 2.0, and a lineup of partner productions as part of its Live at the Balzer series.

The season opens this fall with Young John Lewis, a world premiere production commissioned by Theatrical Outfit. The musical, which premiered in summer 2025, will now travel to venues across Georgia, beginning with a scheduled stop at the Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech. The production dramatizes the early life of civil rights leader John Lewis, focusing on his political awakening and growing moral courage. Theatrical Outfit partnered with the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation to ensure the production accurately reflects Lewis's legacy.

Artistic Director Matt Torney called the musical “a fresh look at one of the most dynamic and thrilling moments in American history,” and emphasized the company’s commitment to creating opportunities for Atlanta artists to develop and tour their work.

The company's 49th mainstage season begins with a new staging of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie (October 29 – November 23, 2025), followed by the world premiere of Bleeding Hearts by Atlanta-based playwright Steve Yockey (January 28 – February 22, 2026), described as a farce addressing class inequality. In the spring, Arthur Miller’s The Price (April 8 – May 3, 2026) will be co-produced with The Breman Museum and feature Andrew Benator, Brian Kurlander, and Eric Mendenhall. The season concludes with Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists (June 3 – 28, 2026), a play set during the French Revolution examining themes of activism and artistic legacy.

Theatrical Outfit will also revive Launchpad 2.0 (July 2026), a new works festival focused on developing Atlanta voices. The first edition in 2024 led to additional productions of all four featured plays. Associate Artistic Director Addae Moon said the festival is “an engaging template for new work development,” and noted the upcoming season will also include dramaturgical frameworks for the company’s two revivals to deepen audience engagement.

Additional programming includes two productions under the Live at the Balzer banner. True Colors Theatre Company will present Jordan E. Cooper’s Ain’t No Mo’ (July 29 – August 24, 2025) while its regular venue undergoes renovation. Fat Juliet, a solo play by Bridget McCarthy first staged in Launchpad, returns for a limited run (August 28 – September 7, 2025).