Drops in the Vase premieres a spooky new play set in a haunted tattoo parlor.
May 2 - 16, 2026 at The Flea
After a wildly successful inaugural season that included Clay McLeod Chapman’s feejee mermaid and Kayla Eisenberg’s Lilith in Pisces, Drops in the Vase present the World Premiere of NEEDLE & BONE by Maggie Cino and Scott C. Sickles with additional material by Montserrat Méndez May 2 - 16, 2026 at The Flea (20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007). The performance schedule varies. Tickets are $25 - $35, available at www.dropsinthevase.com.
In NEEDLE & BONE, the proprietress of a haunted tattoo parlor attempts to connect with her father on the anniversary of his passing leaving the artists who work for her to struggle with the line between the living and the dead.
NEEDLE & BONE is directed by Felicia Lobo starring Anthony Naranjo, Caye Navarrete, Val Quinonez, Tom J. Reid, Jeffrey Robb, Lizzie Roberts and Morgan Zipf-Meister with stage management by Hadley Todoran. The production team includes Sandy Yaklin (Scenic Designer), Ben Philipp (Costume Designer), Ivy Walker (Lighting Designer), Ari Cleveland (Sound Designer), Dana Rossi (Props Master) and Emily Edwards (Intimacy & Violence Director).
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Maggie Cino has been described as “a writer of extraordinary versatility and imagination.” Her playwrighting credits include: WARM ENOUGH FOR SWIMMING (FringeNYC Encore Series, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference semi-finalist, excerpts appear in the Smith & Krause Best Men’s and Best Women’s Monologue series), DECOMPRESSION (FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for Playwrighting, Chain Theater Minor Variations Series, published by Indie Theater Now), and ASCENDING BODILY (published in the Plays and Playwrights series).
Scott C. Sickles (he/him) is an internationally produced LGBTQ+/ neurodivergent/ American Born Mixed Korean writer. Plays include NONSENSE AND BEAUTY (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Edgerton Award, ATCA Steinberg Finalist; Next Stage Press), MARIANAS TRENCH (Leviathan Lab; Road Theatre; Portland Stage), PANGEA (Garry Marshall Theatre), PLAYING ON THE PERIPHERY: MONOLOGUES AND SCENES FOR AND ABOUT QUEER KIDS (Whim Productions, KCMO). Emmy and five-time Writers Guild of America Award winner for GENERAL HOSPITAL.
Montserrat Méndez: Writer. Director. Professional Troublemaker. Born in Puerto Rico, raised on Jersey grit, and baptized in the raw, unfiltered chaos of New York’s indie theater scene. His play THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST PART DEUX: THOROUGHLY STUPID THINGS won Outstanding Playwriting at FringeNYC 2008. His chamber musical EL FUEGO Y SU HEREDERO, centered on Lolita Lebrón’s armed uprising in the U.S. Capitol, was a finalist for the Perelman PAC’s Democratic Cycle—because nothing says “revolution” like a musical.
Felicia Lobo (Director, NEEDLE & BONE) is a Brooklyn-based director, performer, and educator. Her recent directing work includes SNOW DANCE at the East Village Basement, GAS at Theatre Row, & POP PUNK HIGH at Le Poisson Rouge. She has developed new work with playwrights at Dramatists Guild Foundation, Pipeline Theatre, The Brick, Judson Church and The Flea. Outside of the theatre, she fronts the Brooklyn punk band QWAM. Felicia holds a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch (Atlantic Acting School) and a Master's in Educational Theatre from CCNY. www.felicialobo.com
Drops in the Vase was founded in 2023 by Stephanie Cox-Connolly, Pete Boisvert, Brianna Sauvage, Morgan Zipf-Meister, Chris Connolly, and Sarah Lahue. It is a not-for-profit production company committed to independent theater and community building. By providing artists with opportunities to create, promoting audience engagement, and producing live theater, we seek to foster the next era of artistic expression while maintaining a connection to our community’s past.