Featuring: MLK Day Celebration, Visual Art Gallery, New Freshworks Residencies, Owning Our Future Symposium on BIPOC Institutional Ownership, Tribute Concert for Whitney Houston

Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) has announced its Winter/Spring 2025 season. It offers a lineup of Youth & Family programs, a visual arts exhibition, a tribute concert, and Freshworks work-in-progress showcases. The season culminates in May, when KST hosts their special national symposium, Owning Our Future: A Symposium on BIPOC Institutional Ownership.

This season, KST presents a range of impactful events to inspire, challenge, and uplift: from An MLK Day Celebration and Let Freedom Sing concert honoring the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to Lifting Liberty, a visual arts exhibition by artist Njaimeh Njie that celebrates the creative spirit of East Liberty. KST is also thrilled to support two new Freshworks artists and their work-in-progress with residencies: Singer Zuly Inirio’s La Voz Que Soy and choreographer Anya Collins’ Fugue, which explore themes of identity, history, and the present moment. Additionally, the overwhelming community excitement surrounding WHITNEY: A Tribute Concert with Dwayne Fulton continues to be a highlight.

In 2022, KST shared its strategic plan, Owning Our Future, Thriving Where We Live, with a bold vision for KST to become a national cultural destination—a creative home for bold voices rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people. 

“In these uncertain political times, KST is called not only to reflect but to act. The theater has an opportunity to reimagine a future shaped by art in a world that is constantly shifting. Despite the volatility around us, one truth remains clear: through the arts, there is always a path forward.” according to the KST season announcement. 

KST invites everyone to join the Owning Our Future Symposium in May 2025, exploring BIPOC institutional ownership and envisioning a new future for equitable, accessible cultural spaces owned and anchored by BIPOC communities. Together, KST plans to pave new avenues toward cultural justice.

“KST will continue to build a space where art, creativity, and community thrive—where every voice matters and every story is honored. The work is just beginning, and the best is yet to come.”

Tickets are now available at kelly-strayhorn.org.

The KST 2025 Winter /Spring Season Lineup

YOUTH & FAMILY | DANCE | MUSIC 
In The Spirit of Rev. Dr. King
An MLK Day CelebrationThrough Art & Advocacy
Monday, January 20 
1:00pm – 4:00pm Community Partner Activities 2:00pm – 3:00pm Performance Program
Kelly Strayhorn | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25
KST honors the lasting legacies of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an afternoon of community activities and performances.Tickets

MUSIC | COMMUNITY
Let Freedom Sing Concert
Celebrating Social Justice in Song
Monday, January 20 
7:30pm – 9:00pm
Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $2 – $50

Let Freedom Sing celebrates the social justice legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Pittsburgh through vocal and instrumental music, as well as spoken word. Tickets

KST GALLERY | VISUAL ART 
Njaimeh Njie
Lifting Liberty
Thursday, February 27 – Saturday, May 31
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 27, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Gallery Hours with Performance
Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $20

East Liberty has been a thriving cultural destination for more than 100 years. Lifting Liberty considers how the arts can be anchored in East Liberty for the next 100 years. Tickets

SPECIAL EVENT | MUSIC
Whitney
A Tribute Concert with Dwayne Fulton
Saturday, March 15
5:30pm – 7:00pm: VIP Reception7:30pm – 9:00pm: Concert
Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave
Pay What Moves You: $35 – $65

Join KST for WHITNEY, a powerful tribute to the legendary Whitney Houston led by Musical Director Dwayne Fulton. A night of musical brilliance! Tickets

FRESHWORKS | MUSIC
Zuly Inirio
La Voz que Soy

Friday & Saturday, April 4* – 5* | *with discussion
7:30pm – 9:00pm 
KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $15 – $30
La Voz que Soy, or The Voice I Am, is Afro-Latina soprano Zuly Inirio’sreinterpretation of the 1958 French opera La voix humaine.  

This work uses the opera’s original framework—revisiting her past love through a final phone call. Tickets

FRESHWORKS | DANCE
Anya Collins
Fugue
Friday & Saturday, May 2* – 3* | *with discussion
7:30pm – 9:00pm 
KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $15 – $30

Inspired by Baroque music and its fugue structure, Anya Collins’ Fugue uses dance to explore the intersections of social systems, music theory, and collective awareness. Tickets

SPECIAL EVENT 
Owning Our Future
A Symposium on BIPOC Institutional Ownership
Friday May 16 – Sunday, May 18
All Day Programming: Discussions and Performances
Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Tickets on sale in February 2025

KST is leading a groundbreaking national symposium that aims to reshape the future of accessible, equitable cultural spaces owned and anchored by BIPOC communities.
Learn More

THEATER | COMMUNITY 
theatriQ
Creative Sessions
Wednesdays, January 8 – April 23
5:30pm – 8:00pm
KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
FREE

Join theatriQ as they create a brand new production together! Whatever your creative love, there’s space for you to shape the show. Register

THEATER | COMMUNITY 
theatriQ
An Original Theater Production
Friday – Sunday, April 25 – 27
Times Vary
KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $40

A brand new production collaboratively created by theatriQ, Dreams of Hope’sperforming arts youth ensemble for queer and Trans creatives. Tickets

Categories: Arts and Ideas