Classics with a twist, premieres made for Atlanta best theater in 2025
The 2025 calendar year brought a lot of reintroductions to characters from history (“Young John Lewis”), plays written long ago (“Fiddler on the Roof”) and new looks at old authority (“Doubt”). And while every performance felt fresh, Atlanta’s theater artists had audiences questioning in new ways — which is what exceptional theater is all about.
Again for this year, ArtsATL’s theater critics put their heads together and came up with the nine productions — a difficult task, given the top-notch performances this season — that stood out and stayed on our minds long after curtain call.
In calendar order, these nine highlight what Atlanta artists are capable of — whether they’re actors, playwrights, directors or crew — and the kind of theater for which audiences hunger. The answer is new ideas.
“The Lehman Trilogy,” Theatrical Outfit, February 2025: Though critic Andrew Alexander opens his review with the quip — “Anyone up for a three-hour play about investment banking?” — this heavyweight show on the history of three brothers seizing, then losing, the American dream was “portrayed with ease and conviction” by Brian Kurlander, Eric Mendenhall and Andrew Benator.
“Hot Jambalaya,” Dad’s Garage, March 2025: Reviewed by critic Benjamin Carr as “a delicious, Cajun-flavored show,” this Dad’s production was five years in the making — yes, since the pandemic — and simmered just the right length of time to create a comedic musical that is “layered, surprising, fun and funny.”
“I Carry Your Heart with Me,” Horizon Theatre, March 2025: Jennifer Blackmer’s "I Carry Your Heart with Me," named for the poem by E.E. Cummings, hit the stage at Horizon Theatre as a one-woman show performed by theater mainstay Carolyn Cook. Following the story of a young military stenographer during the Vietnam War, the production was well-paced and gripping, according to Benjamin Carr, and enhanced by the set design of Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay.
“How to Make a Home,” Out of Hand Theatre, April 2025: Written by Amina McIntyre and focusing on Iraqi veteran Antonio and his daughter as they search for secure housing, this solo show traveled to various metro Atlanta homes, where audiences were treated to Markell Williams’ “lightning bolt of a performance and chameleonic flexibility,” according to critic Luke Evans.
“The Reservoir,” The Alliance Theatre, April 2025: A finalist in the 2023/2024 Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, this world premiere written by Jake Brasch dealt with the realities of addiction and aging and employs, according to Luke Evans, a funny script with “an Amy Sherman-Palladino-like quickness.” Evans also praised “a superb cast” and said it was Philip Schneider as Josh and Wilner as Beverly, “his snarky but wise paternal grandmother, who make up the emotional core of the show.”
“Doubt: A Parable,” Actor’s Express, May 2025: Written by John Patrick Shanley, this production about dark secrets hidden behind religion engaged audiences with its open-ended mystery. Benjamin Carr praised the cast in his review, calling Tess Malis Kincaid “one of the city’s best performers (who) tackles some of the most difficult roles in the canon with relish,” while Justin Walker “betrays nothing with his excellent approach” and Tiffany Denise Hobbs commands a “particularly intense and surprising single scene.”
“Young John Lewis,” Theatrical Outfit, June 2025: John Lewis, a key Civil Rights figure, was depicted during his younger years of making “good trouble” in this world premiere musical starring Michael Bahsil. With lyricist Psalmayene 24, director-choreographer Thomas W. Jones II and composer Eugene H. Russell IV, the successful show continues touring the state this winter. Critic Leon Stafford reviewed the production as “part comedy and part history lesson but mostly a love letter to the leader in musical form.”
“Fiddler on the Roof,” Alliance Theatre with the Atlanta Opera, September 2025: You’ve probably seen this 20th century classic written in 1964 by Jerry Bock, but the 2025 staging from the Atlanta Opera and Alliance Theatre was, according to Luke Evans, “simultaneously a delight and a gut punch, with director Tomer Zvulun leaning fully into the highs and lows of the classic musical.”
“The Glass Menagerie,” Theatrical Outfit, November 2025: Selected as a personal favorite by artistic director Matthew Torney, this staging of Tennessee Williams’ first play was a “simple but effective production,” according to critic Jim Farmer, who praised the four-person cast as a “tight ensemble” and Torney’s direction as “unrushed and natural.”
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ArtsATL (artsatl.org) is a nonprofit organization that plays a critical role in educating and informing audiences about metro Atlanta’s arts and culture. ArtsATL, founded in 2009, helps build a sustainable arts community contributing to the economic and cultural health of the city.
