Performances begin February 10 for INTAR Theatre’s production of Fish Men by Cándido Tirado. Directed by Lou Moreno, the play makes its New York debut following a world premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, where it received four Jeff Award nominations and won the Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, among others.

Fish Men will officially open February 21. Performances take place at INTAR’s theatre space, located at 500 West 52nd Street, for a run scheduled to play through March 18.

Moreno directs a cast that features David Anzuelo (Intimacy, Aunt Dan & Lemon), Gardiner Comfort (The Elephant in Every Room I Enter), José Joaquín Perez (My Manana Comes), Shawn Randall (founder, Symphonics Live), and Ed Setrakian (Salome, Saint Joan).

Fish Men tells the story of Rey Reyes, a computer programmer for a large bank, who walks into Washington Square Park to pay off a debt his uncle incurred the night before to chess hustlers. The hustlers talk Rey into playing a few games, while Ninety-Two, a Holocaust survivor, tries to pry Rey away from them. “The struggle for Rey’s soul between the hustlers and Ninety-Two gets more and more heated until the game becomes a life and death struggle,“ read INTAR production notes.

“Tirado has been a part of the INTAR community since I came here in 1989. I could not be more thrilled to bring him back to our mainstage. As a director Fish Men links the ancient game of chess to humanity’s darkest corners. An important play for this time in our country as well as the world,” commented Moreno, who is also artistic director, in a press statement.

Tirado’s works include the musicals Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz and La Canción; and the plays Momma’s Boyz, Heart Stopping Sex, King Without a Castle, Checking Out, and First Class, among others.

For tickets and more information visit INTARtheatre.org.