PRIDE PLAYS Returns This June in NYC and Washington, D.C

Pride Plays 2025, celebrating the rich tapestry of LGBTQIA+ experiences through the power of live theater, will return this June, taking place in both New York City and, for the first time, Washington, D.C.

In Washington, D.C, Pride Plays 2025 will collaborate with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Maria Manuela Goyanes, Artistic Director; Kimberly E. Douglas, Managing Director) to present the Pride Plays 2025 Festival. Pride Plays 2025 will take place during Washington, D.C’s WorldPride celebration, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Pride celebrations in Washington, D.C.

In New York, Pride Plays 2025 will partner with longtime collaborator and Pride Plays home, Rattlestick Theater (Will Davis, Artistic Director; Maegan Morris, Managing Director) to present a Pride 2025 Celebration.

Director Ibi Owolabi will join the festival programming team for Pride Plays 2025, advancing the festival’s commitment to amplifying queer voices and stories as the organization continues to grow and expand in New York City and beyond.

 “Since its inception in 2019, Pride Plays has been dedicated to amplifying and celebrating queer voices in theatre,” said producers Gravitte, Lopez, and Owolabi, along with original founders Michael Urie, Doug Nevin and Nick Mayo. “We are thrilled to expand our in-person programming beyond New York City for the first time to include Washington, DC, host of 2025’s World Pride. We believe in theatre as an essential tool to give voice to those too-often silenced, honor our histories, and fight for progress. This June, we are proud to collaborate with two wonderful and mission-driven theatre companies in Rattlestick and Woolly Mammoth to bring a dynamic lineup of LGBTQIA+ stories and artists to the stage, fostering community, conversation, and celebration.”

"The energy surrounding the Pride Plays festival is electric!,” said Maria Manuela Goyanes, Artistic Director at Woolly Mammoth. “The chance to bring it to Woolly and have our DC-based artists involved in curated readings of fantastic plays is too good to pass up! While talking about the project, I've been told how important this programming was, 'now more than ever.' Surrounding us is an LGBT+ community that's rich, entertaining, part of the history of this country, and part of our ongoing lives. So, it's not just now. It's always. Especially because the work is that strong."

"I’m delighted that Rattlestick and Pride Plays will continue our partnership with this ambitious new play festival this summer,” said Will Davis, Artistic Director at Rattlestick. “Since 2019, we have collaborated to elevate LGBTQIA+ voices, and we are thrilled to further expand the reach of contemporary queer theater—work that is vital and deeply rooted in the rich history of queer artistry. This year, Rattlestick is proud to build on our collaboration with Pride Plays and partner with Woolly Mammoth Theatre in celebrating the LGBTQIA+ artistic community."

 Details regarding Pride Plays 2025 programming will be announced shortly.

Launched in 2019 by the original founders Michael Urie, Doug Nevin, and Nick Mayo, in partnership with Rattlestick Theater, the initial festival hosted 19 separate works and involved more than 200 artists over five days. Pride Plays then presented a virtual festival in 2020, along with several online workshops. Pride Plays has also supported LGBTQIA+ creative initiatives, including Donja R. Love's Write Out Loud program. In 2024, Sam Gravitte and Sammy Lopez joined as producers of Pride Plays.

Last year, Pride Plays returned to in-person programming, celebrating with readings of Pure Glitter, by Douglas Lyons; Debt, by Adrian Einspanier & reid tang; and Saint Brigid, by Hannah Benitez. 

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