6 must-see plays opening on Atlanta stages this winter
In the world premiere of “Bleeding Hearts” at Theatrical Outfit, good intentions go awry when Timothy invites a homeless man into the middle-class household he shares with wife Sloane.
Meanwhile, wealthy neighbor Felicia complicates an already chaotic situation when she keeps barging into the couple’s home and pilfering their possessions. And because this is a Steve Yockey play, plenty of blood is spilled along the way.
The dark comedy by the creator and showrunner for “The Flight Attendant” on HBO Max and “Dead Boy Detectives” on Netflix is one of several new theatrical productions opening at playhouses across the metro area this winter.
Yockey, an Atlanta native now living in Los Angeles, describes his play as a pitch-black farce about income inequality and the disappearing middle class in America.
“The first draft of this I wrote in 2017, and it only becomes less of a farce every day,” he said.
He admits the topic “isn’t something people want to laugh at, and it’s also something we’re constantly inundated with on the news.” That’s why he uses comedy as a vehicle to explore it.
The play was inspired by the Joe Orton farce play “Loot” and something journalist George Packer wrote, which Yockey paraphrased: “There are all these different ways inequality separates people into classes and the longer that it goes on, the harder it is to imagine the lives of those in different classes.”
The best way to talk about such heavy topics, Yockey decided, “was through a cracked mirror or through a funhouse mirror. Farce is a way to do that.”
His ultimate goal, though, is to entertain audiences. “If they also are moved or recognize themselves within the play, that’s great.”
The play is directed by Sean Daniels, the co-founder and former artistic director of Dad’s Garage Theatre, now based in Tampa, Florida. The two have a long history, beginning in 2003 when Daniels hired Yockey as the theater’s marketing director. This is the first production of Yockey’s that Daniels has directed.
“I knew he would knock it out of the park,” said Yockey. “It’s his sweet spot, I think.”
“Bleeding Hearts” isn’t the prolific playwright’s only Atlanta production this year. In April his black comedy about romance, “Venus,” opens at Actor’s Express.
Among his other projects, Yockey, who has a development deal with WB Television Group, is in early stages of working on an eight-episode limited series based on the John Berendt book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
“We’ll see what happens with it. … You never know with TV,” he said.
Jan. 28-Feb. 22. $40 and up. Theatrical Outfit, The Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St., Atlanta. 404-528-1500, theatricaloutfit.org
More winter plays
It’s opening night of the amateur stage production for “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” and everything that could go wrong does go wrong in this British farce featuring clumsy actors, flimsy sets and a fidgety corpse. This is a repeat production of the 2023 production that became Aurora Theatre’s biggest-selling comedy. Jan. 22-Feb. 15. $46 and up. Aurora Theatre, 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. 678-226-6222, auroratheatre.com
Portraying the role of Esther, a stenographer tasked with transcribing the firsthand accounts of returning Vietnam War veterans, Atlanta actor Carolyn Cook also inhabits war-weary soldiers, catty co-workers, her less-than-ideal boyfriend, her love interest and her grandmother in this one-woman show reprised by Horizon Theatre. When Esther has an intimate encounter with a vet who later goes AWOL, she finds herself in the middle of an investigation that takes an unexpected twist. Jan. 30-Feb. 15. $40 and up. Horizon Theatre, 1083 Austin Ave., Atlanta. 404-584-7450, horizontheatre.com
When the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League refused to let Toni Stone compete because she was Black, Stone joined the Negro leagues in 1946 and became the first woman to play professional baseball. The star athlete is the subject of this musical adaptation of Crystal Hubbard’s book presented by Synchronicity Theatre. The subject matter is so compelling, the Alliance Theatre staged the well-received Lydia R. Diamond play “Toni Stone” in 2022. “Catching the Moon” features blues-infused music and lyrics by Tyrone R. Robinson, with book and lyrics by Nichole Jackson. Feb. 20-March 15. $38 and up. Synchronicity Theatre, at Peachtree Pointe, 1545 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-484-8636, www.synchrontheatre.com.
As a raging wildfire approaches, a family is forced to decide whether to stay or flee as they await the arrival of a family friend who may have the power to change the course of their destiny. This adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” by Beth Hyland won the 2025 Alliance/Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Prize, among other accolades. Feb. 25-March 22. $25 and up. Alliance Theatre’s Hertz Stage, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-733-4600, alliancetheatre.org
In this bawdy, profane comedy with poignant undertones, Octavia, Imani and June are three Black twentysomethings in New York City who spend one 24-hour period drinking, hooking up, getting into tussles and taking solace in their friendship as they navigate an inhospitable world. Jan. 29-Feb. 14. $25 and up. Out Front Theatre Company, 999 Brady Ave., Atlanta. outfronttheatre.com
