National Queer Theater Reveals Cast of TOMORROW NEVER CAME at 2025 Criminal Queerness Festival

National Queer Theater (NQT) and HERE Arts Center have announced the cast and creative team for the world premiere of Tomorrow Never Came, a new play by Ugandan writer Jedidiah Mugarura, running June 11–22 as part of the 2025 Criminal Queerness Festival. Now in its seventh year, the Obie Award-winning international theater festival spotlights LGBTQ+ playwrights from countries where queer identities are criminalized or censored.

Directed by Ogemdi Ude, Tomorrow Never Came is set in 1987 Uganda and follows Lawrence, a decorated war hero, as he confronts the personal costs of liberation, love, and secrecy in a society still recovering from civil war. Caught between his wife, Rhoda, and his male lover, Sam, Lawrence must decide whether the price of truth is worth the risk of freedom.

The cast features Odera Adimora (Knock at the Cabin) as Lawrence and Dillon Daniel Mutyaba, a recent graduate of The Juilliard School, as Sam. Jason Kisare (School of Rock, Broadway) and Imani Pearl (1776, Broadway) play Kirabo. The cast also includes Natasha Hakata as Rhoda, Petrina Ampeire as Namara, and Shiro Kihagi as Maria. Casting is by Peter Dunn. (These actors appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association in an Equity-approved showcase.)

The production’s creative team includes dramaturg Achiro P. Olwoch and stage manager Angela Salazar. Scenic and props design is by Dan Daly, with costume design by Jason Goodwin and Jasmine Canjura. Lighting is designed by Alejandro Fajardo and sound by Jeremy Kadetsky. Sean Griffin serves as fight director, with intimacy direction by Amaal Saifudeen. Production management is provided by Dmitri Barcomi.

Tomorrow Never Came joins two other world premieres in this year’s Criminal Queerness Festival: frikiNation by Krystal Ortiz (presented in partnership with Musical Theatre Factory), and What You Are to Me by Dena Igusti. The festival will run June 11–28 at HERE Arts Center and include post-show talkbacks with International Artists and activists.

Criminal Queerness Festival, produced in partnership with NYC Pride, continues to be a leading platform for global queer storytelling. The initiative has previously presented work by LGBTQ+ playwrights from over a dozen countries including Syria, Venezuela, Pakistan, and Kenya, offering a rare glimpse into the artistic expression of communities where queerness remains under threat.