NOTHING LIKE BEFORE to Make Off-Broadway World Premiere at Chain Theatre
Adrienne Acevedo Lovette stars alongside Diego Aguirre and Rica de Ocampo in the production.
SXSW Audience Award winner and Sundance Collab Film Challenge-winning actor, filmmaker, and director Adrienne Acevedo Lovette will present the world premiere of her original one-act play, Nothing Like Before, as part of the 2026 Chain Theatre Summer One-Act Festival in New York City. The production will perform July 9–11 as part of Festival Block 7 at the Chain Theatre in Midtown Manhattan.
Unlike a traditional stage production, Nothing Like Before serves as the opening act of a feature film. Following its theatrical premiere, the play will be adapted as the film's opening chapter before expanding into a cinematic world for the remainder, creating a unique bridge between live theatre and independent filmmaking.
The cast stars Adrienne Acevedo Lovette, known for her performances in HBO's The Penguin, FX's Fosse/Verdon, AMC's Better Call Saul, TUBI's I'm Okay, We're Okay, and David Rabe's Off-Broadway premiere of By the Look of Her. She is joined by Diego Aguirre (Showtime's Dexter: Resurrection and CBS's FBI), David Rey (I'm Okay, We're Okay and Grand Theft Auto), Victoria Bennett (VICE TV's Icons Unearthed, Tubi's Beverages with Bevin, and the digital series Adultish), John A. Rice (AHC's Blood Feuds, I'm Okay, We're Okay, and Netflix's Maniac), and Rica de Ocampo (HBO's Crashing and This G*d Damn House off-Broadway).
Nothing Like Before follows five former high school theatre kids who reunite in the very theatre where they once dreamed of changing the world through art. Gathering for the funeral of their childhood friend Sofia, the group is forced to confront the memories, betrayals, and abandoned dreams they've spent years trying to outrun. When Sofia seemingly reaches out from beyond the grave, her final wish forces them to confront these buried truths. Ultimately, the friends discover that some stories refuse to stay buried and that healing will require facing the past together.
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