(RED BANK, NJ) -- Two River Theater's celebrated Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival of new plays by Latine playwrights will take place from Thursday, July 31 to Sunday, August 3, 2025 in the Joan and Robert M. Rechnitz Theater. Now in its 14th year, this annual event joyfully showcases the richness, diversity, creativity, and talent of Latine theater artists. All festival events are open and free to the public.
“This year's festival showcases four returning writers all working at the top of their game and crafting deeply compelling stories about our current moment,” explains the festival’s award-winning curator, José Zayas. “We get to travel from Miami to California and from Atlantic City to spaces deep in the collective imagination of our country as we watch these beautifully drawn characters connect with the world around them in captivating and surprising ways.”
“The plays range from a delightfully raunchy and politically savvy adaption of the classic Noel Coward play Private Lives, to a haunting play about a mother and daughter preparing for the disasters of the world only to find that the biggest disasters are the ones closest to home; from a bittersweet exploration of a young friendship destroyed by class and time all told though the creation of a new comic book hero, to a madcap and hallucinatory journey into the world of casinos and beauty pageants,” Zayas continues. “These are bold, funny and thrillingly imaginative stories full of joy and hope. It is my pleasure to once again invite our audiences to experience the work of these wonderful writers and to be part of the development of these new plays.”
coLAB Arts, a partner on the festival for the past few years, will lead a mural project for the duration of the festival that focuses on the strong ties between the festival’s mission and its audience.
To register for all festival events, click here. Two River Theater is located at 21 Bridge Avenue in Red Bank, New Jersey.
2025 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, July 31 at 5:00pm - Community Kick-Off Celebration. Live music on the plaza with food, fun, and feasting!
Thursday, July 31 at 7:00pm - The Myth of the Two Marcos by Tony Meneses, directed by José Zayas. When Marco meets Marco in 1997 Albuquerque, an unlikely friendship begins between two boys with the same name but vastly different personalities and outlooks on life. When they discover a mutual love of comic books, the local comic shop becomes a sanctuary for both teens as they’re introduced to an Aztec superhero who becomes their guide through a time long forgotten.
Friday, August 1 at 5:30pm - STORIES FROM THE HEART. A One-of-a-Kind Sharing. Throughout the school year, Red Bank Middle School's 7th and 8th grade AVID [Advancement Via Individual Determination] students have been crafting original pieces in weekly writing sessions with Project Write Now. A new addition to the Festival, this thrilling showcase will feature poems, stories, and all-around love from these young storytellers. This is your chance to hear the words and voices of our incredible neighbors!
Friday, August 1 at 7:00pm - Miss America Pretty by Iraisa Ann Reilly, directed by José Zayas. Who wants to be Miss America when you could have the whole Universe? Cristina is an Atlantic City casino worker living in the shadow of generations of pageant queens. With a scholarship and a better future for her family hanging in the balance, Cristina has one glamorous chance to prove that she deserves the crown. Steeped in memory and surrealism, Miss America Pretty examines conformity, grief, and how far we’ll go to reinvent ourselves for the sake of systems that exclude us.
Saturday, August 2 at 2:00pm - Disaster Preparedness by Eliana Pipes, directed by Taylor Reynolds. Mitigation. Preparedness. Response. Recovery. Mama and Honey like to be ready for anything. When Mama comes face to face with the Ghost of her own mother and Honey begins to think about moving on, the two women start to question their strategies. Exploring motherhood and caretaking, the third play in Pipes’ New America Cycle reminds us that there are some disasters we’ll never see coming.
Saturday, August 2 at 8:00pm - Performance from Xol Azul Band, a five piece band formed in 2002 with its original lineup lead by singer and bassist Gidalthi Guillen, guitarist Gil Cruz, keyboardist Fabian Rojas, percussionist Javier Medel and drummer Susu Leon. Their sound represents the new Latin rock breed singing in Spanish/English. With their CD “Sale el Xol” XAB has captured American and Hispanic music lovers of all sorts.
Sunday, August 3 at 2:00pm - Vidas Privadas by Christina Pumariega, directed by Eddie Torres. Celia loves Clayton. America loves Cesar. Divorcees Celia and Cesar (still) love each other. But when they all honeymoon in adjacent hotel rooms in Ibiza, the café hits the fan. Hearts and tempers flare rocketing from old world to the new, from passion to politics in a no-holds barred immigrant debate where Cesar and Celia ask if change is actually possible. A fresh, funny, Cuban reinvention of Noël Coward’s Private Lives.
Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) is an annual celebration of new plays and music by Latine theater artists. Since Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) launched in 2011, seven productions developed in the festival have gone on to mainstage productions at the theater, including ¡VOS!, written by Christina Pumariega, Living & Breathing by Mando Alvarado, and A Thousand Maids by Tony Meneses.
Project Write Now is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit transforming individuals, organizations, and communities through writing. Since 2014, they’ve been committed to building a vibrant writing community for youth and adults. They provide a wide range of fee-based classes, editorial services, and literary events. At the heart of their mission, their community outreach programs empower youth and adults to develop essential writing and communication skills—fostering resilience, encouraging personal growth, and supporting academic or professional success.
coLAB Arts engages artists, social advocates, and communities to create transformative new work. coLAB Arts facilitates creative conversation through innovative programs and artist infrastructure, connects artists with community partners and mentors, and executes productions that challenge perceptions and inspire action. coLAB Arts creates community-powered projects in diverse spaces such as community rooms, houses of worship, and backyards, emphasizing artistic expression as civic engagement and collaboration across socio-economic, ethnic, and generational lines.
They have partnered with Count Basie Center for the Arts and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey on storytelling workshops and public events, and launched a social practice training program with ArtYard, focusing on veterans' oral histories. Their recent projects include two murals in New Brunswick, a verbatim theater production based on an 18-hour oral history, a community garden beautification, and a comic book based on local gardeners' stories. Through these initiatives, coLAB Arts engages communities to ask questions, develop relationships, and create new work.
Two River Theater’s 2025/26 Season Sponsor is Hackensack Meridian Riverview Medical Center.
Two River Theater is funded in part by public support through the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, funding through a grant from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners. Private support includes Citizens Philanthropic Foundation, Courtyard by Marriott, Edgerton Foundation, Grunin Foundation, Merrill G. & Emita E. Hastings Foundation, Investors Foundation, Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Manasquan Bank Charitable Foundation, Molly Pitcher Inn and The Oyster Point Hotel, Monmouth University, OceanFirst Bank, OceanFirst Foundation, Open Heart Yoga, Senior Living Residences Marlboro, The Shubert Foundation, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Triumph Brewing Company, Visiting Nurse Association of NJ Health Group, Zager Fuchs P.C., and other generous funders.
Two River Theater produces American and world classics, new plays and musicals, programs for young people, and festivals of new work. Each year, theyserve over 20,000 students, families and community members through their 4-6 show season, and 40+ events that reflect their diverse community of Monmouth County. Two River produces work on two stages—the 350-seat Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater, and the flexible 110-seat Marion Huber Theater.In 2020 they expanded their campus to 80,000 square feet with the opening of the Center for New Work, Education and Design.
Two River Theater has commissioned and premiered original projects including Be More Chill by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz (the theater’s first Broadway production) and Hurricane Diane by former Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George (which won an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run), and in June 2019, Two River was nationally recognized by USA TODAY as one of “10 great places to see a play.” Two River Theater is led by Artistic Director Justin Waldman and Managing Director Nora DeVeau-Rosen.
