On Day 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic, NYTW Usual Suspect Kristina Wong began sewing masks out of old bedsheets and bra straps on her Hello Kitty sewing machine. Before long, she was leading the Auntie Sewing Squad, a work-from-home sweatshop of hundreds of volunteers—including children and her own mother—to fix the U.S. public health care system while in quarantine. It was a feminist care utopia forming in the midst of crisis. Or was it a mutual aid doomsday cult?

As the demand for masks abated and we began to return safely to space, Kristina was beginning to put her life together post-pandemic cult leadership. With hilarity and boundless generosity, she invited the audience in on her work building community in isolation, while reflecting on what we’d been through and imagining what we wanted to become. NYTW Usual Suspect Chay Yew (The Architecture of Loss, Oedipus El Rey) directed.

Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord was performed at New York Theatre Workshop (79 East 4th Street, NY, NY 10003) from October 25–November 21, 2021. The production was also available to stream online from December 1–December 14, 2021.

Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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In compliance with New York City guidelines, all attendees were required to show proof of vaccination. Masks were required at all times inside the building and theatre. For up-to-date information about our COVID policies & reopening plan, please visit nytw.org/covid.