The Hombres
Originally scheduled to have its run at Two River Theater in April of 2020, the cast of The Hombres will reunite for a reading of their much-anticipated world premiere production, which has been postponed to a future season due to COVID-19. This new play by Tony Meneses is a fresh and nuanced look at the complexity and intimacy of male friendship. Set in New Jersey (“somewhere off the NJ Transit line”), the play follows Julián, a Latino yoga teacher, as he clashes with the Latino construction workers outside his studio—particularly the older head of the crew, Héctor, who seeks from Julián something he never expected. Two River co-commissioned and developed The Hombres with the NJPAC Stage Exchange, a program of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and through a reading at Two River’s 2018 Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) festival of plays and music by Latinx artists.
Benefiting Partner Organization: The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice is a statewide membership-based coalition of organizations that creates and achieves policies in New Jersey that welcome and support immigrants to become rooted economically, politically and socially within the state.
Meet the Artists
Frankie Alvarez
Frankie Alvarez
Victor Cruz
VICTOR CRUZ (he/him) (PEDRO) is a native New Yorker making his debut at the Two River Theater. He was raised in the heart of the South Bronx and at the tender age of 16, performed stand-up comedy for the very first time in the West Village. He studied in the acting conservatory at SUNY Purchase College and the day before he graduated, landed his first TV role on HBO’s The Sopranos. From then on, he has appeared in over 50 TV Shows, Films and Commercials. Victor runs his own acting studio in Times Square, the Victor Cruz Acting Studio, and is a faculty member at HB Studio. He continues sharpening his tools as an actor under the tutelage of his Spiritual Teacher and Master, Guru Enlightenment. Some of his TV & Film credits include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix), The Good Cop (Netflix), and West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg (2020).
Gerardo Rodriguez
GERARDO RODRIGUEZ (he/him/his) (HÉCTOR) most recently appeared in The Coop’s inaugural Off-Broadway production of Terra Firma by Barbara Hammond. Other select theatre credits include Summer and Smoke (CSC), Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement (INTAR), It Can’t Happen Here (Berkeley Rep), Se Llama Christina (INTAR), To the Bone (Cherry Lane), Seven Spots on the Sun (Cincinnati Playhouse), La Ruta (Working Theater), Lucy Loves Me (INTAR), Elemeno Pea (Humana Festival), Dramatis Personae (Playwrights Realm), Chad Deity (Mixed Blood). TV/Film includes Elementary, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Shades of Blue, Search Party, Person of Interest, Law & Order CI and Law & Order SVU, Blind, Misty Button, The Artist’s Wife, Cruzando, Winter of Frozen Dreams, Don’t Let Me Drown, Last Night at Angelo’s, and Fish. MFA-ART/MXAT.
Jon Rua
JON RUA (he/him) (BETO) Actor: Broadway: SpongeBob (Patchy the Pirate), Hamilton (OBC Charles Lee, Hamilton Alternate), Hands on a Hardbody (Jesus Pena), In the Heights (Sonny & Graffiti Pete). Off-Broadway: Hamilton, Kung Fu, Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Damn Yankees (Encores!). Regional: Old Globe’s Somewhere (Alejandro-Craig Noel Leading Actor Nomination), Bring It On: The Musical, La Jolla’s Hardbody, Muny’s Annie & West Side Story. Film: Fall to Rise, First Reformed, Isn’t It Romantic, TV: Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Law & Order, Verizon. Digital: Mas Mejor. Choreographer: Phish: NYE 2019 (Madison Square Garden), West Side Story (Milwaukee Rep), SpongeBob Broadway (‘WTGGT’ Assistant Choreographer), The Cher Show Broadway (‘Believe’ Choreographer), Isn’t It Romantic (Assistant Choreographer), Coheed & Cambria, Aida (Muny), Jesus Christ Superstar (Muny), Travelers Insurance, ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap, NBA, Broadway Bares. Jon’s work has been influential to Broadway’s Hamilton, On Your Feet, Bring It On: The Musical, Hands on a Hardbody, In the Heights. Dancer for Mariah Carey, Phish, Don Omar, Soulja Boy, Target, BillBoard, Puma, Reebok, IBM, Panasonic.
AJ Shively
AJ Shively
Set Rendering
Set Designer: Amy Rubin
