Two River Theater Reveals Cast For 12th Annual Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival

Two River Theater has revealed casting for their highly anticipated Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival of new plays by Latine playwrights, set to run Thursday, August 3 through Sunday, August 6 in Two River’s Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater. 

 

“Crossing Borders is an incredible celebration of community,” says Artistic Director Justin Waldman. “It is thrilling to welcome this stellar group of artists to Two River and to share their immense talents with Red Bank.” 

 

The Festival begins with the Community Kick-Off event on Thursday, August 3 on Two River’s Plaza, withlive music from local musician Gil Cruz, delicious eats from neighborhood restaurants and tables hosted by a variety of community partners.  There will also be a limited number of free tours available for community members to explore the Two River Theater spaces. Sign up for a tour here: https://tworivertheater.org/whats-on/crossing-borders-2023/

 

In addition to the free play readings, Colombian singer-songwriter Alea will perform a free concert on Saturday, August 5 on Two River’s Plaza. Alea’s in-person performances are powerful encounters of the spirit, passionate travelogues that link downtown New York to a tropical Colombian cantina. Her most recent album, 2021’s Alborotá, was shortlisted as among the Best Latin Music of the year by both Rolling Stoneand NPR.

 

This year’s festival is once again curated by the award-winning José Zayas (Two River’s Pinkolandia and El Coqui Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom) and is the first Crossing Borders Festival under the new leadership team, Artistic Director Justin Waldman and Managing Director Nora Deveau-Rosen. 

 

Thursday, August 3 at 7PM

A Thousand Maids, written by Tony Meneses (Two River’s The Hombres and Guadalupe in the Guest Room) and directed by May Adrales (Two River’s In This House, Vietgone), will feature Mayaa Boateng (Exception to the Rule, Merry Wives), Tina Chilip (A Delicate Balance, Netflix’s Jessica Jones), Yadira Correa (Truckers, Mala), Zabryna Guevara (Water by the Spoonful, X-Men: Days of Future Past ), and Denise Manning (What To Send Up, HBO’s Vinyl) A Thousand Maids will be a part of Two River’s upcoming 30th anniversary season, running from April 6 – April 28, 2024 on the Marion Huber Stage.

 

Friday, August 4 at 7PM

VOS!, written by Christina Pumariega (Turner & Hooch, Her Math Play) and directed by José Zayas (Two River’s Pinkolandia and El Coqui Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom), will feature the playwright herself and  Florencia Lozano (One Life to Live, Love’s Labors Lost).

 

Saturday, August 5 at 3PM

Rebecca Oaxaca (Lays Down A Bunt), written by Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Pulitzer Prize finalist) and directed by José Zayas (Two River’s Pinkolandia and El Coqui Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom) will feature Maggie Bofill (Devil of Choice, NBC’s Smash), Kalyne Coleman (What To Send Up When It Goes Down, AMC’s Interview with a Vampire), Jorge Cordova (2019 Crossing Borders reading of Optional Boss Battle, Netflix’s Black Mirror), Hiram Delgado (Two River’s Two Sisters and a Piano, Broadway’s Take Me Out), Jose Gamo (Two River’s Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing),Irene Sofia Lucio (Broadway’s Slave Play, FX’s The Americans), Luis Moreno (Paramount +’s Evil, Epiphany), Jason O’Connell (Two River's Cyrano and Noises Off), Brian Quijada (Wolf Play, CBS’s Blue Bloods), Christopher M. Ramirez (Two River’s Living & Breathing, As You Like It), and Alexandra Silber (Broadway’s Fiddler on the Roof, NBC’s Law and Order).

 

Sunday, August 6 at 3PM

Black Beans Project, written by Melinda Lopez (Yerma, Mala) and Joel Perez (Broadway’s Fun Home, Netflix’s tick, tick…Boom!) and directed by Lopez, will feature and the playwrights themselves and Hechter Ubarry (Broadway’s Man of La Mancha, Crocodile Dundee II).

 

Tickets are free and all plays run between 90 minutes and 2 hours. There will be a brief reception with light refreshments following each reading.

 

FREE TICKETS/ACCESS

To register for all festival events, visit: https://tworivertheater.org/whats-on/crossing-borders-2023

ABOUT CROSSING BORDERS

Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) is an annual celebration of new plays and music by Latine theater artists.

 

Since Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) launched in 2011, five productions developed in the festival have gone on to mainstage productions at the theater, the most recent being our 2022/23 season production of Living & Breathing by Mando Alvarado. Upcoming in our 2023/24 season, A Thousand Maids by Tony Meneses will be the sixth Crossing Borders production to have a mainstage production.

Photo credit: @thehomelesspimp

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