THE PLAYS
TOMORROW NEVER CAME by Jedidiah Mugarura
Directed by Ogemdi Ude
Set in 1987 Uganda, Tomorrow Never Came follows Lawrence Muhumuza, a war hero struggling with the personal cost of the liberation he fought for. Torn between duty, desire, and the life he is expected to lead, Lawrence is caught in a web of political tension, secrecy, and forbidden love. As he prepares to leave his wife, Rhoda, for his lover, Sam, the weight of his choices collides with a nation still healing from war and betrayal. In a world where survival often means silence, Lawrence must confront the impossible question—can one truly be free if they are forced to live a lie? Through a gripping and emotionally charged narrative, Tomorrow Never Came explores themes of love, power, and the sacrifices made in the name of liberation.
Show Dates:
Wednesday, June 11 - 7:00p
Tuesday, June 17 - 7:00p
Thursday, June 19 – 7:00p
Saturday, June 21 – 2:00p
Sunday, June 22 – 2:00p
Content Warnings: References to war and its violence
WHAT YOU ARE TO ME by Dena Igusti
Directed by Keng S. Meateanuwat
1994, Jakarta Indonesia. Sari is an aspiring singer hoping to achieve her dreams of stardom through table performances at her best friend’s lesbian discoteque nights. One of her song numbers leads to a chance encounter with Lisa, a determined journalist. But when Sari is forced to flee from the aftereffects of Suharto’s US-backed dictatorship and marry a family friend in Queens, the two must end their relationship to conform to the pressures of survival and migration. Years later, their love story is discovered by an emerging zine translator in Queens, who attempts to trace their current whereabouts. Utilizing excerpts of interviews with two generations of Indonesian lesbians affected by the 1998 Jakarta Riots, What You Are To Me is a look at the long-censored Indonesian lesbian zine movement, generational differences on what it means to be out, and what it means to love when everything else gets in the way.
Show Dates:
Friday, June 13 – 7:00p
Wednesday, June 18 – 7:00p
Friday, June 20 – 7:00p
Saturday, June 21 – 7:00p
Sunday, June 22 – 7:00p
Content Warnings: Mentions of rape, death, homophobia
frikiNATION by Krystal Ortiz
Music and Lyrics by EsKoria
Directed by Rula A.Muñoz
Music Direction by Jaime Cepero
frikiNation is a historical, bilingual, Cuban punk rock jukebox musical that tells the true story of young punks in Cuba in the early 1990s who took extreme measures to rig the communist system in their favor. In an attempt to access a higher quality of life within the government sanctioned HIV sanitariums, punks across the island started injecting themselves with HIV-positive blood. Using a 2003 album by Cuban punk band EsKoria, frikiNation tells this powerful history by following a pregnant rebel, her new skeptical lover, and a band of misfit friends as they fight to survive and create music in a society that pushes them to the margins. With the help of Maria, a cultural programs director determined to educate and protect them, they navigate love, freedom, and a dangerous plan to secure a better life—no matter the cost.
Show Dates:
Tuesday, June 24 – 7:00p
Wednesday, June 25 – 7:00p
Thursday, June 26 – 7:00p
Friday, June 27 – 7:00p
Saturday, June 28 – 2:00p
Content warnings: Abortion, police violence, incarceration.
ABOUT THE CRIMINAL QUEERNESS FESTIVAL
The Criminal Queerness Festival (CQF) is an Obie Award-winning annual event produced by National Queer Theater that showcases the works of international LGBTQ+ playwrights from countries where queer identities are criminalized or censored. Since its inception in 2019 during WorldPride, CQF has provided a vital platform for these artists to share their stories, fostering global awareness and solidarity.
Over the years, CQF has showcased works from playwrights hailing from diverse countries, including Syria, Venezuela, Uganda, Kenya, Iraq, China, Pakistan, Tanzania, Egypt, Mexico, India, Lebanon, and Poland. The festival has garnered critical acclaim, being recognized as a 2020 NYC Mayor's Grant for Cultural Impact Awardee and receiving recommendations from esteemed publications such as The New York Times, The Advocate, and Thrillist. NQT partners with community groups such as Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI) and esteemed venues such as Lincoln Center and the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) to amplify the festival's reach, engaging diverse audiences in critical conversations about LGBTQ+ rights worldwide.
Through CQF, NQT not only elevates marginalized voices but also enriches the cultural fabric of New York City by introducing audiences to bold, original works that challenge societal norms and inspire change. The festival embodies NQT's commitment to artistic excellence, social justice, and the celebration of queer narratives from around the globe.
The Criminal Queerness Festival has been supported by generous funders including New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the National Endowment for the Arts; the JKW Foundation; NYC Pride; and the Terrence McNally Foundation.
Creative Team
Achiro P. Olwoch — Dramaturg (Tomorrow Never Came)
Angela Salazar — Stage Manager (Tomorrow Never Came)
Mars Neri — Stage Manager (What You Are To Me)
Dmitri Barcomi — Production Manager (All)
Dan Daly — Props/Scenic Designer (All)
Alejandro Fajardo — Lighting Designer (All)
Jeremy Kadetsky — Sound Designer (All)
Jason Goodwin — Co-Costume Designer (All)
Jasmine Canjura — Co-Costume Designer (All)
Peter Dunn — Casting Director (All)
About HERE Arts Center
Since 1993, HERE Arts Center has been one of New York’s most prolific arts organizations. Today, it stands at the forefront of the city’s cultural scene, producing and presenting daring, new, multidisciplinary performance experiences. From our home in Lower Manhattan, HERE builds an inclusive community that nurtures artists of all backgrounds as they disrupt conventional expectations to create innovative performances in theatre, dance, music, puppetry, media, and visual art. By providing these genre-blending artists with an adaptive, flexible home for developing and producing their work, we share a range of perspectives reflective of the complexity of our city. HERE welcomes curious audiences to witness groundbreaking performances, responsive to the world in which we live, at free and affordable prices.
Under the leadership of Co-Directors Jesse Cameron Alick, Annalisa Dias, Lanxing Fu, and Lauren Miller, HERE continues to evolve as a home for artists and audiences alike. Appointed by the Board in 2024, the Co-Directors collaboratively lead the artistic and executive functions of the organization, shaping its vision, programming, and community engagement. HERE strives to create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive home in which all people have fair access to the resources they need to realize their visions. We acknowledge structural inequities that exclude individuals and communities from opportunities based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, and geography, and seek to counter those inequities in our work. Through mindful actions on sustainability and regenerative practices, we work toward climate justice, and a safe, livable planet for present and future artmakers and audiences.
We hope you'll join National Queer Theater at HERE Arts Center this June 2025 for the seventh annual Criminal Queerness Festival, showcasing the work of international LGBTQ+ playwrights. If you’d like to support our work and help ensure that LGBTQ+ artists get a censorship-free stage in New York City during Pride month, please consider making a donation.