RELEASE: KST’s House Party: Lavender Wave Rises with Unstoppable Pride and Celebrates Queer Resilience
The Saturday, July 12 benefit features exceptional performances from Jasmine Hearn, Zuly Inirio, and a bumping dance floor.
Design by Heidi Wiren Kébé
Pittsburgh, PA – Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) invites attendees to come together at their annual benefit House Party on Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 5941 Penn Ave. Born from the ashes of the Lavender Scare, an era of persecution that queer resilience turned into a spark of revolution, this year’s theme Lavender Wave rises with unstoppable pride. The event comprises a VIP Reception and a Dance Party, with tickets available between $50 – $325.
Between the 1940s and the 1960s, there was a period of time known as the Lavender Scare, when queer federal employees were targeted, interrogated, accused, and fired or forced to resign because of their sexuality and who they were. Despite the panic, the country saw a rise in gay rights movements and LGB leaders and organizations like Frank Kameny, The Mattachine Society, and the Daughters of Bilitis, who laid the groundwork for a new era of activism, visibility, and resistance.
House Party: Lavender Wave pays homage to the great LGBTQ+ forerunners whose courage sparks a revolution that still inspires us today to act up and fight back. House Party highlights KST’s mission as a home for creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people.
KST’s Co-Executive Director Joseph Hall shares, “Lavender Wave honors those who stood tall in the face of adversity and helped pave the way for future generations. It invites us to reflect on the struggles and acts of resistance that brought us here, to celebrate how far we’ve come, and to continue the fight against oppressive governments for our liberation”.
Audience members dancing in the previous House Party, Photo by Chad Isaiah
This year, at the VIP Reception, attendees will experience the mesmerizing energy of dance artist Jasmine Hearn and the electrifying vocals of opera soprano Zuly Inirio. KST will again transform their historic lobby with stunning design by media artist Scott Andrew, along with visuals of admirable LGBTQ+ leaders who guide people through the revolution. At the Dance Party, DJ Herman Pearl and Jazz Bailey will turn up the energy, filling the space with unforgettable beats and joyful celebration. Guests can also gather in the lobby for a fun photo booth experience and a splash of extra jazz with Danielle “Whuttie” Stewart’s face painting.
KST is a community anchor and economic driver in East Liberty, contributing $2.2 million to the local economy annually, and 74% of KST audiences visit one or more local businesses during their visit to a KST event. Tickets and contributions generated from House Party support KST’s Fall 2025 season of programming.
What makes this year’s celebration especially meaningful is that the audience can choose to have the proceeds from their Dance Party tickets support KST or a past or present KST Mutual Aid Resident, including PearlArts Movement & Sound and Dreams of Hope. This reflects KST’s ongoing commitment to collective care and creative community building.
Artistic Director Bekezela Mguni of Dreams of Hope, Pittsburgh’s premier arts-focused organization for queer young people expressed her excitement for House Party: “KST has been our home base for many years. We have offered community workshops, held gatherings, rehearsals, and showcases to provide a welcoming environment for LGBTQIA+ youth to grow in confidence, express themselves, and develop as leaders. Being part of House Party and reclaiming this wave of dreaming, community-building, and queer future-making as our own means a lot to us.”
To learn more about Kelly Strayhorn Theater, please visit Kelly-Strayhorn.org
House Party: A Benefit for Kelly Strayhorn Theater
Saturday, July 12, 2025 | 7:00pm – 9:00pm VIP Reception | 9:00pm – 12:00am Dance Party
Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Tickets for House Party are $175 – $325 per attendee of the Immersive VIP Reception, or $50 – $100 per attendee of the Dance Party, and can be reserved here.
Immersive VIP Reception tickets include all-night open bar access, a catered buffet, and live performances. Dance Party tickets include one complimentary beverage from the cash bar and performances from local DJs.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jasmine Hearn, born and raised on occupied Akokisa lands (Houston, TX), is an interdisciplinary artist, teacher, doula, performer, and organizer. Jasmine, recently named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch (2025), is a recipient of a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists award (2023), Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize in Design with collaborator Athena Kokoronis of Domestic Performance Agency (2023), a Creative Capital Award (2022) for current project, Memory Fleet, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship (2019), NY Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards for Outstanding Performer (2021, 2017* with the skeleton architecture).
Afro-Latina soprano, scholar, and TEDx speaker Zuly Inirio is originally from the Dominican Republic and has performed as a soloist throughout the United States and Europe. She is the founder of the Afro-Latinx Song & Opera Project, which commissions new works centering Afro-Latin and Afro-Latinx communities and works to decolonize the classical music canon by uplifting the voices of Afro-Latin American composers. Zuly is also the founder and Executive Director of Instituto Cimarrón, an organization dedicated to advancing the cultural and artistic legacies of marginalized communities of color through research, education, and performance. Her work builds bridges between tradition and transformation, using voice and story as powerful tools for justice, belonging, and joy.
Scott Andrew (Media Designer) b. 1982, Waynesburg, PA, is a multimedia queer-oriented visual artist, media designer, educator, and curator. Scott is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Studio Arts at the University of Pittsburgh and an adjunct Professor in the School of Art at CMU. Recent projects include ’Suite Life’ and ‘House Party’ at KST, ‘Ego’ and ‘Dragonfly Dawn’ at the New Hazlett Theater, ‘sum of y’all’ by PearlArts Movement + Sound, and ’The Marthaodyssey’, by dance artist Jesse Factor.
Danielle “Whuttie” Stewart is the creative force behind Face 2 Face with Whuttie. A Braddock native that has always had a love for art — even while earning her Master’s in Criminal Justice Administration from Point Park University. Nineteen years ago, friends and family asked (okay, insisted) she paint at their parties. What started as a favor quickly became a passion. Today, she brings color, joy, and imagination to birthdays, school events, community days, festivals, and more.
HOUSE PARTY HOST COMMITTEE
Rep. Jessica Benham
John Binz
Donny Donovan & Gina Winstead
Ephorm Freeman
Dr. Cecilia Golden
Jake Goodman
Kathleen & Christopher Green
Caitlin Green & Upendo Tookas
Maria & Frank Guyette
Erin Ickes
Stacey Jarrell
Shenay Jeffrey
Marion Lewis
Morgan Overton
Chris Rafalski
Karla Stallworth
Karl & Bea Thomas
ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER
Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is a home for creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people. We welcome our home to all who uplift Black, Indigenous, people of color, and queer voices.
KST is an institutional arts anchor in Pittsburgh’s East End that has served the community for more than two decades. Since launching KST Presents programming in ’08, KST has been Black-led, fostering radical imagination for Black and queer arts, culture, and community in Pittsburgh by cultivating BIPOC and/or queer artists, entrepreneurs, and arts administrators, developing their careers, and shifting narratives around Black possibility.