Mercury Makes the Skin Glow at Aibel Room, ART/New York (Spaces @ 520)

Leviathan Lab presents an industry staged reading of Mercury Makes the Skin Glow, a new play by Gaven D. Trinidad, directed by Roger Q. Mason. The play follows veteran pageant queen Carmelita, who coerces her seven-year-old grandson Ernesto into a Filipino American pageant circuit, unearthing questions of race, identity, colorism, and the skin whitening industry. Part telenovela, part beauty pageant, and part historical reckoning, the work is a 2025 finalist for both the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. The cast includes Arianne Recto, Liz Casasola, Nacho Tambunting, Del Gonzales, Matthew De Lorme, and Karl Jingco.