Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture and Hostos Repertory Company are proud to announce the New York City premiere of the theatrical production of Henry’s Law, an important and timely play about bullying by Stacie Lents.

For Hostos Repertory Company’s Director, Professor Angel Morales, the play is timely, topical and will resonate well with students because bullying is a problem that affects so many people, particularly in the social media age we live in today. Also, they are rehearsing during October’s National Bullying Prevention Month, a fact that is not lost on the Repertory Company.

“We see every day how cyberbullies make remarks that could have dangerous consequences,” Morales said. “Our production sheds light on the issue and can help to alert our students. The play presents the problem with some humor and serious moments, but will ultimately move the audience to reflect.”

The play premiered at Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2012, in collaboration with the Psychology and the Visual and Performing Arts departments. Now, it comes to Hostos Community College in the South Bronx, under the direction of Professor Morales and will involve faculty and students from Hostos’ Humanities, Natural Sciences, Education, English, ESL, and Social & Behavioral Sciences Departments in interdisciplinary projects.
 
The play presents Max, a brilliant but socially awkward teenager, who starts tutoring popular student Sara in chemistry. Suddenly, an unlikely friendship begins. Max isn't prepared for the feelings Sara seems to be developing and neither is her overprotective boyfriend, Jason. When cruel rumors about Max start circulating online, Max is devastated and takes drastic measures to put an end to the attacks on his character.

In an interview with NJ.com, playwright Stacie Lents stated: “There’s a lot being written about bullying, but it’s being written in a crusade fashion that not a lot of kids relate to.”

The cast includes Hostos students Daniel Guzman, Natasha Collado, Tabitha Perez and Ryan Bannon.

Performances of Henry’s Law will be at the
Repertory Theater of Hostos Community College in the Bronx:

 
November 19, 20 and December 4: 7:00 p.m.
November 25 and December 3 at 12:30 p.m.
December 2 at 2:00 p.m.
 
For more information please call 718-518-4455 or go to www.hostoscenter.org
 
About the Hostos Repertory Company
Since 1983, the Hostos Repertory Company is the resident theater troupe at the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture. An initiative of Hostos Community College Humanities Department and collaboration with the Hostos Center, the Company incorporates both professional actors and students in its productions. Over the years it has earned a reputation for being an important voice in Spanish-language and bilingual theater.
 
In recent years, the Company has participated in theater festivals such as the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Regions I & II, TeatroStageFest, a New York based Latino International Theater Festival, and toured New York City parks. During the summer of 2009, it had a two-week run at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre with its acclaimed production of Tere Martínez’s Borinquen vive en El Barrio.
 
In October of 2010, the Company’s production of Siempre se olvida algo (You Always Forget Something) received three HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors) awards including Best Play, Outstanding Achievement in Direction, and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast.
 
In 2010, the production of boom by Peter Sin Nachtrieb was invited to be showcased at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Region 1, among prestigious universities such as Yale and Boston University.
 
In 2013, the Company traveled to Edinburgh to showcase the production “Rough Magic” by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa at the Fringe Festival as part of the International Collegiate Theater Festival, and last year, it premiered the play “Young Hostos” based on the life of the College’s namesake, written by alumni Michael Torres. 

About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities since 1968. It serves as a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs. The College’s unique "Student Success Coaching Unit" provides students with individualized guidance and exemplifies its emphasis on student support services.

Recently named one of the top 10 finalists for the 2015 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, Hostos offers 27 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 500,000 students at 24 colleges.