BODEGA CAT to Play Chain Theatre's 2026 Summer One-Act Festival

BODEGA CAT, a new one-act play written by Melvin Ningyao Yen and directed by Sissi Xiqian Chen, will be presented as part of Chain Theatre's 2026 Summer One-Act Festival, Program #28. Performances will take place at Chain Theatre, 4th Floor Mainstage, on July 29 at 6:30 PM, July 31 at 8:30 PM, and August 1 at 2:00 PM.

Set in a 24-hour Brooklyn bodega, BODEGA CAT is a quiet, darkly funny two-hander about a missing cat, bad coffee, loneliness, and the small rituals people create to survive the night. The play follows a night clerk and a regular customer as the search for a cat that may or may not exist becomes a way of asking for care without saying so directly.

An earlier version of BODEGA CAT was first staged earlier this year with PlayGround-NY. This Chain Theatre production marks the play's next life as a developed 30-minute version.

'BODEGA CAT began with a very small question,' says playwright Melvin Ningyao Yen. 'What if two people could only admit they needed each other by talking about a cat? I was interested in how ordinary objects - bad coffee, fluorescent light, a counter, a bowl on the floor - can become a language for loneliness and care.'

 "BODEGA CAT explores urban loneliness, boundaries, and the quiet ways people seek connection in a city that never stops moving," says director Sissi Xiqian Chen. "I hope audiences feel the weight of these characters' wounds and find a sense of healing in their quiet, late-night company." 

The production features Marisa Moureau as CLERK and Elizabeth Rose as REGULAR.

The creative team includes Sissi Xiqian Chen as director, Amelia Yuqing Wang as stage manager, Ruomeng Li as scenic designer, Silvan Tang as sound and music designer, and Yuyi as key visual artist.

BODEGA CAT

2026 Chain Theatre Summer One-Act Festival - Program #28
Chain Theatre, 4th Floor Mainstage
312 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018

Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Friday, July 31, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Saturday, August 1, 2026 at 2:00 PM

Tickets: https://www.chaintheatre.org/2026-summer-oneact-festival/block-28
Ticket Code: MELVIN26

Audiences are encouraged to use ticket code MELVIN26 when purchasing tickets to get 20% off, as this helps the production receive credit and its share of the box office.

Cast

Marisa Moureau as CLERK
Elizabeth Rose as REGULAR

Creative Team

Melvin Ningyao Yen - Playwright
Sissi Xiqian Chen - Director
Amelia Yuqing Wang - Stage Manager
Ruomeng Li - Scenic Designer
Silvan Tang - Sound & Music Designer
Yuyi - Key Visual Artist

About the Play

A 24-hour Brooklyn bodega.
A missing cat.
Two people who do not want to go home.

In BODEGA CAT, a night clerk tells a regular customer that the bodega cat is gone. What begins as a practical search slowly becomes something stranger and more intimate: a ritual of staying, noticing, and asking for help without ever quite saying the words.

The cat may or may not exist. The need does.