HERE Hosts

500 Rats: A Love Story

Sept 12-14, 2025

In 500 Rats: A Love Story, Ibbi, an anxiety-ridden lesbian, has been left stranded in a shitty apartment situation by their French roommate. Mrs. Stockton doesn’t believe her when she complains about the rat problem in her apartment and blames her for the chewed up cords and debris in the unit, suggesting that she would keep Ibbi’s grossly inappropriate security deposit. Ibbi meets a hot they/them named Jo and they hit it off, with Jo possibly becoming Ibbi’s sublet roommate. They accidentally trip on mushroom tea and try to trap the rats that Ibbi has been seeing in the apartment. Ibbi and Jo are lured into the heart of the rat empire where they meet Mother, the matriarch of the rats of NYC.

Tickets

Location: HERE Arts Center, 145 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY

Performances:

Friday, September 12th: 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 13th: 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 14th: 2:00 PM

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Additional Information

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

BT Hayes is a multi-disciplinary artist from Pittsburgh, PA / Richmond, VA and based in NYC. Their queer sequel to Twelfth Night — 13th Morning — went to Edinburgh Fringe last summer. Short plays: My Titties Are Where I Keep the Horrors (Classic Stage, 24 Hour Plays: Nationals), Pashmina, the Duchess (In Confidence), Masha Eats What She Does Not Understand (The Tank). English-language translations: Love Among the Fireflies (Alex Adams ’07 Grant), mary stuart: a new translation (Robert & Lynn Fagles Thesis Prize). She is a member of the BMI Bookwriting Cohort, working on puppet-horror musical, “What Remains of Burke & Hare.” Upcoming work: Who’s Your Daddy? at the Brick AUX.

Em Hausmann is a Brooklyn-based Director/Theatre-Maker with a focus on new works development for shows that are wonderfully weird, silly, and otherworldly. Recent directing: MISS MONEY HONEYBEE (The Madison Theatre), CRABBY (Ars Nova/ANT Fest), SNOW BIRD (Brooklyn Art Haus), BEETHOVEN: LIVE IN CONCERT (Fort Salem Theater). Em is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and a Resident Director for the Neurodivergent New Play Series and Fresh Binder Productions. emhausmann.com @emhouseman

Beth Slade is a New York–based theatre artist and arts administrator originally from Florida. She currently serves as the General Management Coordinator at NYCC and is a 2025 CIPA Rising Producer Fellow and Moxie Incubator Producer. Beth has held Producing, Artistic, and General Management roles with The 24 Hour Plays, Baseline Theatrical, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Turnkey Theatrical, where she supported multiple commercial workshops and the ticketing team for the 77th Annual Tony Awards. Upcoming:i know why iris chang died (Esmé Maria Ng), The Order of Chaos (Will Wegner & Charlie Romano)

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

Moxie Arts NY is a nonprofit theatre and film production company dedicated to engaging audiences with stories centering women, created by artists of historically excluded genders. Our programming provides funding and opportunities for artists at all stages of career development, including dramaturgical support, resources for staged readings, and professional management for the development of new work – from the page to the stage, and everywhere in between.