SEVEN EVENINGS OF WORK CREATED
BY TNB2S+ ARTISTS FOR TNB2S+ ARTISTS
AT CARNEGIE HALL, OPEN JAR STUDIOS,
AND THE CENTER
OCTOBER 20 - 26, 2025
Coinciding with LGBTQ+ History Month, the fourth annual Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival brings together seven teams of transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+) playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, stage managers, and performers (yes, even in roles written for cis folks!) to develop and showcase work created entirely by and for TNB2S+ artists.
As previously announced, the Festival will open on Monday, October 20 with a one-night-only concert of THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at Carnegie Hall featuring a star-studded all-trans and non-binary cast led by Laverne Cox, Alex Newell, Betty Who, Jonathan Van Ness, Dylan Mulvaney, and more. All net proceeds will benefit Trans Lifeline, Black Trans Liberation, and Breaking the Binary Theatre. Tickets for THE DROWSY CHAPERONE in Concert are available here.
The Festival will continue at Open Jar Studios from Tuesday, October 21 – Saturday, October 25 with ten readings of five new plays and conclude at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The CENTER) on Sunday, October 26 with the organization’s annual Finale commissioning project. Tickets for the Festival presentations at Open Jar Studios and The CENTER are complimentary and will be available beginning Thursday, October 9th.
Casting and additional creatives will be announced at a later date. Festival casting is by The Telsey Office / Charlie Hano, CSA. Esmé Maria Ng serves as Festival Line Producer.
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE in Concert
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025
8PM at Carnegie Hall
A Benefit for Breaking the Binary Theatre, Trans Lifeline, and Black Trans Liberation
Music Supervision by Anessa Marie Scolpini
Directed by Tony Award Nominee L Morgan Lee
Featuring an all-TNB2S+ cast:
Laverne Cox is The Drowsy Chaperone
Max Mendoza Crumm is George
Joslyn DeFreece is Underling
Jack Haven is Feldzieg
Dylan Mulvaney is Kitty
Alex Newell is Janet Van De Graaf
Peppermint is Mrs. Tottendale
Chris Renfro is Aldolpho
Jonathan Van Ness is Man in Chair
Betty Who is Robert Martin
Garnet Williams is Trix
Gio Coppola and Futaba are The Gangsters
Patrick Nathan Falk, Luz, Zachary A. Myers, Wren Rivera, Nora Schell, and Charlie Steiner are The Ensemble
For more information on THE DROWSY CHAPERONE in Concert, and to book tickets, please click here.
DEATH COMES IN THREES
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2025
3PM & 7PM at Open Jar Studios
by AriDy Nox (they/them)
directed by Cooper Howell (they/them)
In a bedroom on the edge of a meadow on the edge of a cliff on the edge of a shoreline, Me and Myself (im)patiently wait for Death, earnestly trying not to kill each other first.
LEGENDARY
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025
3PM & 7PM at Open Jar Studios
by Cheeyang Ng (they/them)
directed by Emilio Ramos (he/they)
Legendary is a solo ritual-musical that follows a queer Asian immigrant in the U.S. as they wrestle with inherited legacies and imagine new ones. Blending Chinese mythology, circle singing, and audience call-and-response, the Narrator transforms their search for identity and belonging into the creation of a brand-new myth: an act of collective healing, joy, and defiance.
THE LADY OF M STREET
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2025
3PM & 7PM at Open Jar Studios
by Dane Figueroa Edidi (she/her)
directed by Sharifa Yazmeen (she/her)
When Beth’s husband, Mac, has a chance to become the new Headmaster of a famous prep school in 1980’s DC, she is determined to do everything she can to help him achieve it, including murder.
HIRAETH OR, WHEN PLUTO WAS A PLANET
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2025
3PM & 7PM at Open Jar Studios
by Jayne Deely (they/them)
directed by Mack Brown (they/them)
Kap’s reluctantly back in Queens for Sam’s wedding — but tying the knot isn’t the only thing on Sam’s checklist. With friends Ish and Mel along for the ride, the crew dives headfirst into a weekend of ’90s throwbacks, childhood flashbacks, and a few emotional landmines. But as old wounds resurface and one very unexpected guest shows up, their nostalgic trip down memory lane takes a sharp left turn.
PUNCH BACK
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2025
3PM & 7PM at Open Jar Studios
by Genevieve Simon (he/they)
directed by Kedian Keohan (they/he)
Seven trans college students fall in love and secretly distribute HRT while learning how to box in the red state of Ohio.
PUNCH BACK is presented in association with Ten Toes Theater Collective.
LIMITLESS: A COLLECTION OF COMMISSIONED SCENES AND MONOLOGUES
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2025
5PM at The CENTER
co-conceived by L Morgan Lee (she/her) and George Strus (they/them)
directed by L Morgan Lee (she/her)
in partnership with Concord Theatricals
featuring new works by 12 TBA TNB2S+ artists
Following Overheard, Bliss, and Dare, BTB Core Community member L Morgan Lee and Founding Artistic Director George Strus are partnering with Concord Theatricals/Broadway Licensing for the fourth year in a row to create Limitless: A Collection of Commissioned Scenes and Monologues. The twelve commissioned works inspired by the prompt "LIMITLESS: What does it mean to be free? What does it feel like to fly?” will be crafted together and brought to life by a cast of five TNB2S+ performers to close the 2025 Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival. The works will then be published and licensed by Concord Theatricals in 2026.