Overview
Bruise and Thorn are Nuyorican, queer, and tired af of their jobs at a busted up laundromat in Jamaica, Queens. But not for long: Bruise is saving up to become a chef (like on Chopped!), and Thorn spits bars on street corners, one America’s Got Talent audition away from becoming the Boricua Nikki Minaj. When the laundromat’s basement turns out to be an illegal cockfighting ring, the cousins can’t tell if this is an opportunity to cash out and become their most fabulous selves—or a trap to keep them locked into what everyone expects them to be.
Casting & Production
Casting:
Character List(10+ Actors)
BRUISE – 22/MALE/NUYORICAN. Queer and fabulous, street smart and full of life. Thorn’s cousin.
THORN – 18/GENDER QUEER /NUYORICAN. Spits bars and has dreams of being the Boricua Nicki Minaj. Bruise’s cousin.
MRS . GALLO – 40+ FEMALE/PUERTO RICAN. She’s hot, but she ain’t a stereotype. Got that?
OLD FART – 50+ MALE, ANY ETHNICITY. He’s homeless? He sure hangs out at the laundromat a lot.
LIZARD – 23, MALE, WHITE. Thorn’s bae. Think Justin Bieber without the music.
COW – ANY AGE and GENDER . Brown and white. They’re confused and maybe a bit aggressive at times. They’re trying not to become a burger, okay?
COCKS/ANIMALS – ANY AGE/GENDER (minimum of 4). Fierce Queer Ball/Vogue performers. They should be serving face and body.
Place: Jamaica Queens at Clean It Laundromat / Live Halal Food Shop / Cockfight Pit / Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell storefront.
Time: Now? Forever?
Reviews:
“On top of its well-realized performances, Bruise & Thorn counts a memorable authenticity among its best qualities; the work is very queer, very Latinx, very New York City.”
—Juan A. Ramírez, New York Times
“Jiménez has never lacked creative ambition and is going after something important and rare with Bruise & Thorn: a depiction of queer life that does doesn’t fall back on fussy manners, but looks forward to total liberation.”
—Zachary Stewart, TheaterMania
