The Lavender Performing Arts Festival, Atlanta’s queer artist showcase, returns for its second year this week at Out Front Theatre Company.
From July 16 to 20, queer performers will take the stage to showcase a variety of shows, including cabarets, stand-up, theater, and everything in between.
“Queer theater is here to stay, and Lavender Fest provides one of the few spaces in America for new, bold work to be featured,” Ty Autry, the Founder and Festival Director of Lavender Fest, said. “As the authors and protectors of our history, we aim to ignite multiple generations of storytellers, creators, and artists to experiment with LGBTQIA+ theater. Our festival emphasizes Southern queer storytelling, and we are proud to feature a season with every show sharing those stories of the South.”
The festival kicks off on July 16 with an opening party at the Atlanta Eagle, featuring drag bingo with Ruby Redd at 8:30 p.m., before the performances begin on the 17th. This year’s lineup includes ten unique shows, 16 performances, and two stages: the main stage and Out Front’s new Triangle Cabaret. The festivities end with a closing party at Moonlight, the FORTH Hotel’s rooftop bar, on July 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. The party will include drag performances, a DJ, and awards.
Check out what amazing queer performances will be on display, and get your tickets now at lavender-fest.com.
Black Bastard by Jon Gentry
July 17, 6 p.m.
July 19, 8:30 p.m.
Queer. Millennial. Creole. From “Reading Rainbow” to reading the house down, writer and performer Joe Gentry transforms into more than 10 vivid characters in this prismatic coming-of-age tale where ‘90s Houston meets theatrical magic.
The Lily Show by Lily Kerrigan
July 17, 7:15 p.m.
July 18, 9:45 p.m.
July 19, 7:15 p.m.
“The Lily Show” is about queerness, professional cuddling, and getting heckled at sex clubs. Lily also tells the story of the time she dislocated her jaw giving a blowjob. All the stories are true… or are they? The blowjob one definitely is.
Bottle of Soup by CWK
July 17, 8:30 p.m.
July 19, 6 p.m.
A shy costumer and a smug employee meet in the soup aisle of a cheap grocery store. Both are trans and thoroughly drunk. Lise hides in an anxious shell with a mysterious bottle in hand, and Cliff drinks openly from a flask. Somehow, the two both find themselves in the exact same spot next week. And the next one. But the third, neither is drinking alcohol anymore – it’s soup? Bottle of Soup is a romantic comedy about alcoholism, the reality of being genderqueer, and, worst of all, working in retail.
Yesterday is Dead by Maria Chryssopoulos
July 17, 9:45 p.m.
July 18, 7:15 p.m.
July 19, 9:45 p.m.
A one-woman show featuring a lesbian journeying through her sexuality from a hundred years ago to now, destroying the suffering that has lingered, and moving into a sense of hope.
Stuck by JJ Ivey
July 18, 6 p.m.
July 20, 3 p.m.
When Drew’s straight best friend, Dale, stumbles back into their life – drunk, unannounced, and after more than a decade apart – the night spirals into a messy mix of surprising flirtation, nostalgia, and unresolved tension. As laughter gives way to confessions and fears, and old traumas surface, the two must confront their past and what it means for their future. “Stuck” celebrates the beauty of imperfections, queer love, and queer bodies with a distinctly Southern voice.
Contains nudity.
Related stories:
•Out Front Theatre announces 2025/26 season
• Georgia Council for the Arts announces more than $1.3 million in grants
DOUBLE HEADER: One Morning at the Office by Vandy Beth Glenn and Gracefully Stumbling Thru Beekeeping Age by Mark Orintas
July 18, 8:30 p.m.
One autumn morning in 2007, Glenn told her boss at the Georgia State Capitol that she was transgender. Thus began a chain of events that led to a federal lawsuit, testimony before Congress, a groundbreaking civil rights precedent, and a career in public speaking and standup comedy. This is her story.
With sharp wit and relatable insights, this stand-up special takes you on a comedic journey through Orintas’ life, from health to self-awareness – or lack thereof – to aging and the awkwardness of embracing life as a DILF. Known for his razor-sharp wit and candid storytelling, Mark weaves tales from surviving conversion therapy to scrotox, Botox, and beyond!
I Thought I’d Be Famous By Now by David Cohn
July 18, 11 p.m.
This 10-song cabaret features the anthems that shaped Crohn woven into stories of family, coming out, navigating corporate life, and holding onto the dream that refuses to fade.
Conversations on How to Get Your Mom Laid by Ty Autry
July 19, 3 p.m.
Based on possibly somewhat true events that may or may not have happened comes a tale full of joy and laughter. Travel from small-town Georgia to the sun-kissed skies of Italy on a quest to find love and some lovin’. Anything is possible when you have a queen by your side – literally, anything.
With Love, Women by Hannah Marie Smith, Rachel Jarrard, and Eliza Yarbrough-Saxon
July 19, 11 p.m.
“With Love, Women” is a love letter from queer female singers to queer female icons and songwriters who shaped their coming out journeys. Every power ballad and dance anthem helped them find the words and the courage to step into their truth. Through music, the group revisits the moments that brought them into their most authentic selves. Part confessional, part concert, this show is about the songs that move us, the voices that free us, and the joy of self-acceptance.
Tickets to the Lavender Performing Arts Festival 2025 are $17.79 at lavender-fest.com.
