NEW YORK — Three transgender young adults navigating friendship, identity and the complexities of growing up in Texas are at the center of “Waco Boy Club,” a new play by Mack Lawrence scheduled to premiere Nov. 19-21 at Brooklyn Art Haus as part of National Queer Theater’s 2026 season.
The production, directed by Maya Quetzali Gonzalez, features Sagan Chen, Hunter Hopkins Dunn and Anna Aubry as three childhood friends whose relationships evolve as they confront questions about love, belonging and their identities.
Set in a Texas garage, the play incorporates elements of a séance, dance and coming-of-age storytelling to explore the relationships among Cosmo, Strider and Phantom.
Chen, a genderfluid and queer Chinese American performer, will portray Cosmo, one of the three childhood friends at the center of the story.
Chen’s previous credits include Netflix’s “Survival of the Thickest,” NBC’s “Grand Crew” and “High Maintenance.” Their theater work includes productions with the National Asian American Theatre Company and Clubbed Thumb.
Dunn, a nonbinary actor and collaborative artist, will portray Strider. Their television credits include “Law & Order: SVU” and “Poker Face,” while their theater credits include “Black Girl Magic Show,” “Like Hyacinth Flowers,” “Midden” and “Hamlet.”
Dunn has also worked as a gynecological teaching associate, helping medical professionals provide more comfortable and inclusive care to transgender patients.
Aubry will portray Phantom, the third member of the childhood friendship group.
According to Aubry’s website, the performer specializes in new theatrical works and has appeared in off-Broadway and downtown productions. Aubry is also an actor, writer and improviser associated with Upright Citizens Brigade and Brooklyn Comedy Collective.
Aubry’s previous work includes “Omie Wise,” “Where’s Jamie” and “Fucktown, USA,” along with theatrical productions such as “Twelve Minor Prophets,” “Road Kills” and “Radio Man.”
The production is supported by PFLAG NYC, Chosen Family Law Center and the Hetrick-Martin Institute, organizations that provide advocacy, legal assistance, education and other services to LGBTQ+ communities.
Gonzalez, a Texas-raised, Brooklyn-based director and choreographer, has worked with several major theatrical institutions, including Playwrights Horizons, Signature Theatre, MCC Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company and Dallas Theater Center, as well as on Broadway.
According to National Queer Theater, Gonzalez has also developed, directed and choreographed work with organizations and venues including La MaMa, SheNYC, The Tank, Judson Arts and The Brick.
Her recent choreography and movement work includes “Gooey’s Toxic Aquatic Adventure” at the Bushwick Starr and “A Woman Among Women” at Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3.
Lawrence, who describes themself on their website as a transgender playwright, movement artist and sixth-generation Austinite, creates theatrical works exploring queer experiences through a distinctly Southern perspective.
Their previous projects include “DINNER,” a dance-theater production presented at the Brick Aux in Brooklyn in 2025. Another Lawrence play, “Here Everything’s Better,” is scheduled for presentation in November 2026 through the Finish Line Commission at Cygnet Theatre in San Diego.
Lawrence is also an MFA playwriting candidate at the University of California, San Diego, and previously earned a bachelor’s degree in dance from the University of Texas at Austin.
According to its mission statement, National Queer Theater, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization, “harnesses the power of live performance to imagine a more just and joyful future.”
The organization seeks to expand opportunities for LGBTQ+ artists and audiences through productions and educational initiatives supporting creative expression in the United States and internationally.
Among its programs is the OBIE Award-winning Criminal Queerness Festival, which showcases theatrical works by artists from countries where LGBTQ+ identities or relationships are criminalized.
The festival provides opportunities for artists to present developing productions and share stories shaped by experiences with discrimination, censorship and restrictions on LGBTQ+ expression.
National Queer Theater also operates Staging Pride: Queer Youth Theater, which offers master classes, social events and opportunities for LGBTQ+ youth in New York City to engage with professional theater artists.
The production will take place at Brooklyn Art Haus, a multidisciplinary arts venue that hosts theatrical performances, visual art exhibitions and other creative programming. The venue provides performance space for emerging artists and supports new theatrical works.
According to the production’s cast and creative team biographies, the cast and production team include LGBTQ+ artists and allies working across New York City’s theater community.
The creative team includes Hahnji Jang as costume designer, Gaya Maria Chatterjee as set and prop designer, Ryan Gamblin as sound designer and Maryam Sweirki as lighting designer.
Jang’s work includes the Transcendent Punk Costume Closet, a project focused on making performance costumes and gender-affirming clothing more accessible to transgender, gender-nonconforming and LGBTQ+ artists of color.
Campbell Anidjar serves as stage manager, with Peter Dunn responsible for casting. Additional production personnel include production manager and technical director Dmitri Barcomi and dramaturg Khristián Méndez Aguirre.
Anidjar, a transmasculine stage manager, has worked on productions including Broadway’s “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and “Merrily We Roll Along” at New York Theatre Workshop.
According to the official production page, performances are scheduled for Nov. 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 21 at 2 and 7 p.m. at Brooklyn Art Haus, 24 Marcy Ave. in Brooklyn. Tickets are $25, and the production runs approximately 90 minutes without an intermission.
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