THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Crystal Field, Executive Director, with
The LES Committee, Presents:

The 28^TH Annual LOWER EAST SIDE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

FREE!!!

LISTEN TO THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY’S LOWER EAST SIDE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS PROMO

 

Memorial Day Weekend. MAY 26, 27, 28 2023 – Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (btw 9th & 10th Street)
www.theaterforthenewcity.net, 212-254-1109

Theater for the New City has currently scheduled over 200 performing arts organizations, independent artists, poets, puppeteers and film makers for its 28th annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts. Admission is free but donations will be gratefully accepted.

This year, the festival is mounted with a theme addressing climate change: “The Heat Is On” followed by an exhortation taken from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Act Now in the Living Present.” The subject will be addressed in some of the playlets and acts written for the festival.

Indoor performances will take stage from 6:00 PM to midnight each day, utilizing two of TNC’s four theaters. From 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Saturday, vendors and food sellers, including booths from nearby restaurants, will set up in the closed-off block of East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues.

You can check out the Gallery Guide here: Global Warming: The heat is on gallery exhibit

FRIDAY EVENING IN THE JOHNSON – MAY 26
6:00 PM – COBU
6:32 PM – BARBRA HERR, “TRANSMISSION”
6:44 PM – OYU-ORO
6:56 PM – “MARTIN’S TRUTH” (excerpt) —Written by Victor Vauban Júnior
7:08 PM – YIP HARBURG RAINBOW TROUPE
7:20 PM – “HAMLET IN HARLEM” by Alberto Ferreras
7:32 PM – ROD RODGERS DANCE COMPANY, “BLACKNESS, BODY, A MOTHER’S LOVE”
7:54 PM – “ISSUE #9” by Briana Bartenieff
8:06 PM – CHINESE THEATER WORKS
8:18 PM – INFINITY DANCE THEATER, “ETUDE”
8:30 PM – “ROMEO AND JULIET, A TRIBAL ROCK MUSICAL” by William Electric Black
8:42 PM – “PEARLS AND SWINE/THIS BODY IS MINE” by WillieAnn Gissendanner
8:54 PM – CONSTELLATION MOVING COMPANY
9:06 PM – THE DRILLING COMPANY
9:17 PM – LORCAN OTWAY, “THE FATE OF THEATER 80”
9:24 PM – KT SULLIVAN
9:36 PM – DAVID AMRAM
9:48 PM – RICHARD WEST
10:00 PM – MARLAIN ANGELIDES, “CYVELLA”
10:12 PM – “BLISS STREET, A NEW ROCK MUSICAL” (Song excerpts)
10:24 PM – INMA HEREDIA
10:36 PM – “RAYMOND’S SECOND WIFE” by Anne Lucas
10:48 PM – MICHAEL VASQUEZ
11:00 PM – PENNY ARCADE
11:12 PM – “TWISTED” (Song excerpts)
11:24 PM – THE LEGENDARY AMAZ’N GRACE AND JESSIE ORTIZ
11:36 PM – “HUMAN” by Bryce Payne
11:48 PM – LEX AND THE CULT OF SPIRITS

FRIDAY EVENING IN THE CABARET – MAY 26
7:00 PM – STAR ‘69
7:32 PM – TIERNEY TNC THEATER WORKSHOP
7:44 PM – ED MALIN
7:56 PM – “WALKING BACKWARDS”
8:08 PM – MAUDE LARDNER BURKE
8:20 PM – BEI BEI YUBO ZHONG
8:32 PM – “THE VERY LAST DANCE OF HOMELESS JOE” by Richard Courage
8:44 PM – JOE BENDIK
8:56 PM – DARPAN JOSHI, “BASIC CABLE METHOD ACTING”
9:08 PM – PETER DIZOZZA
9:20 PM – STAN BAKER AKA THE HUMAN TELEVISION
9:32 PM – WENDY STUART
9:44 PM – ERIC KUZMIK
9:56 PM – ALICIA FOXWORTH
10:08 PM – ELLEN STEIER
10:20 PM – TEXTILE THEATER COMPANY
10:32 PM – “I AM NEZAHUALCOYOTL” by Roman Primitivo

SATURDAY AFTERNOON YOUTH PERFORMANCES
JOHNSON THEATER
COORDINATOR: DANIELLE HAUSER
HOSTED BY JOHN GRIMALDI
2 PM – 4:10 PM – MAY 27
2:00 PM – JOHN GRIMALDI
2:20 PM – SONGS FROM THE “WIZARD OF OZ”
2:45 PM – TNC ARTS IN EDUCATION, “CHANGES & TIME”
3:00 PM – COBU KIDS JAPANESE TAIKO DRUM GROUP
3:15 PM – MOVE. MAKE. BLOOM DANCE STUDIO
3:35 PM – KALAVANT CENTER, SITAR DUET WITH TABLA
4:00 PM – CITY KIDS!

 

FILM PROGRAM 2023 – MAY 27
CABARET THEATER, 1 PM – 11 PM

SATURDAY EVENING IN THE JOHNSON – MAY 27
6:00 PM – mister pablo
6:32 PM – KINDING SINDAW
6:44 PM – “FREEDOM SUMMER” by Toby Armour—Directed by Joan Kane
6:56 PM – SMOKEY STEVENS, “I JUST WANT TO TELL SOMEBODY”
7:08 PM – GLITTER KITTY, “LES FEST-MAISON”
7:20 PM – CAROL TANDAVA
7:32 PM – QUICKSILVERDANCE, “LAST GASP!”
7:44 PM – THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS, “ HETA HASHSHUK“ – GRASS DANCERS
7:56 PM – YARA ARTS GROUP
8:08 PM – ASHLEY LIANG DANCE COMPANY
8:30 PM – JOHN GRIMALDI
8:42 PM – JUDY GORMAN
9:04 PM – ALESSANDRA BELLONI
9:16 PM – “THE PHANTOM OF THE METAVERSE” by Barbara Kahn
9:28 PM – “EXPLORING JAZZ”—Directed by Bennett Pologe and Michael Lewis
9:40 PM – TYM MOSS
9:52 PM – WISE GUISE
10:04 PM – ZERO BOY
10:16 PM – “WHO MURDERED LOVE?” (song excerpts)
10:28 PM – HOLLIE HARPER
10:40 PM – NEW YIDDISH REP
10:52 PM – NICKY PARAISO
11:04 PM – ROBERT GONZALES JR.
11:16 PM – ALISA KILLZ & LUIGI BABE
11:28 PM – NUYORICAN POETS CAFE
11:40 PM – SOPHIA GUTCHINOV, “SOPHIA”
11:52 PM – TORTAS Y TACONES, “IN CROCODILE’S LAIR” (excerpt)

SUNDAY EVENING IN THE JOHNSON – MAY 28
6:00 PM – FIDDLER AND THE CROSSROADS
6:32 PM – ART LILLARD QUARTET
6:54 PM – “LIGHTHOUSE”
7:04 PM – FACEBOY
7:16 PM – WICK SIMMONS AND KAORU IKEDA
7:28 PM – SABURA RASHID
7:40 PM – RASVAN STOIAN, “THE LIVING ROOM”
7:47 PM – “THE SUN ALSO SETS” by James Stanton
7:59 PM – “9:48” by Tom Diriwachter—Directed by Jonathan Weber
8:11 PM – CHARLY WENZEL
8:23 PM – EVAN LAURENCE
8:35 PM – VINIE BURROWS
8:47 PM – “ABSOLUTE LOVE! SONGS BY CHARLES DREW & LOWE”
8:59 PM – AKIKO TOKUOKA
9:11 PM – LIZ MAGNES
9:23 PM – THE LOVE SHOW—Directed by Angela Harriell
9:35 PM – STEVE EPSTEIN
9:47 PM – AUSTIN PENDLETON
9:59 PM – “ALL AMERICAN DREAMERS” by Matt Morillo
10:11 PM – LISSA MOIRA, “EARTH: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT. DEMOCRACY: USE IT OR LOSE IT”
10:23 PM – “READER AS A GOAT” by Melanie Marie Goodreaux
10:35 PM – DAVID ELYHA
10:47 PM – ADRIAN TOMBY, “ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE”
10:59 PM – MICHAEL LADERMAN
11:06 PM – DOMINGO DIAZ JR.
11:18 PM – LE SQUEEZEBOX CABARET

SUNDAY EVENING IN THE CABARET – MAY 28
7:00 PM – VELVETTE
7:32 PM – LOWER EAST SIDE PERFORMING ARTS
7:44 PM – COSMIC ORCHID
7:56 PM – DADAnewyork, “DADA-KONZERT MIT DANSA”
8:08 PM – “A HAPPY LITTLE THING” (excerpt) by Emily Cohen (poetry) and Steven J. Harris (script)
8:20 PM – “THE SIXTH COLUMN: UKRAINE. INTRIGUE. SACRIFICE. LOVE.” by Stephan Morrow
8:37 PM – CZECHOSLOVAK-AMERICAN MARIONETTE THEATER, “KACHA AND THE DEVIL”
8:49 PM – BURNING CITY ORCHESTRA
9:01 PM – TIERNEY TNC THEATER WORKSHOP
9:13 PM – TOMMY J. MOORE
9:25 PM – MATT ANGEL
9:37 PM – MELANGE—Richard West on guitar; Susan Mitchell on violin
9:49 PM – AARON DALLA VILLA
10:01 PM – CHRISTINE STODDARD
10:13 PM – THE DEBBIE DONNAS
10:25 PM – RICHARD WEBER
10:32 PM – THOMAS DEAN BAKER

 

TNC WORKING ON LES

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

in association with Sound Dog Properties

Presents

Bliss Street

Extended performances to May 18, 19, 20

April 27, 2023 – May 14, 2023  May 20, 2023
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM
Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes with 10 minute intermission
Tickets $18, Students and Seniors $12

Previews April 27 & 28. Critics are invited on or after April 29 (opening date).
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/f8Kq7Do2EPhKjLDu6
Bliss Street Official Press Release

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02vskmSnBRp4nXJNHa3iff8GXnsfBtJXmZSUvxTLor5ZEwQF8EbmnFe9mXa1LtYFL5l&id=100050926987849&mibextid=qC1gEa

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
JOHNSON THEATER

“Bliss Street” is a new musical recounting a significant chapter of New York’s iconic 70’s Rock & Roll history. It documents the life and legacy of Paul Sub, who founded and ran a succession of New York music clubs in the 1970’s. These included the short-lived Popcorn Pub (1972-3) and the more enduring Coventry on Bliss Street in Queens (1974-76), where artists such as Kiss, The Ramones and The New York Dolls debuted. Written by Abra Bigham from a concept by Rich Brotman, with songs by Charlie Sub, directed by Lissa Moira, it is both an homage to Paul and a coming of age story of his son, Charlie, who grew up in the “revolutionary” 60’s and 70’s in the gritty atmosphere of his father’s clubs. Creatively stymied in his own musical career, Charlie moved to California to find his purpose but ultimately came back to NY and his father’s milieu to find his Rock ‘n Roll voice as leader of the band Charlie Sub & Sound Dogs.

In “Bliss Street,” this family story of the Subs will be staged inside an intricate and powerful multimedia milieu designed by Andrew Levin of StageTrip Industries using virtual scenery by Carlos Almonte of MotionBlur. The idea is for audiences to be visually immersed in a unique era of the Big Apple’s history as seen through the eyes of Charlie Sub, an introverted teenager whose true feelings were only expressed in his songs. Music is from the repertoire of Charlie Sub & Sound Dogs, played by the actual six-member band but re-imagined for theater, with lead vocals sung by the actors. The saga is narrated by Ethyl, an all-seeing character who is the dramatic personification of the spirit of the club.

CAST
Blaize Adler-Ivanbrook – Charlie Sub
Marlain Angelides* – Ethyl
JC Augustin
Thomas Deen Baker
Ella Baldwin
Zach Birdsall
Jef Canter* – Paul Sub
Tyler Egesdal
Alisa Ermolaev
Patrick Kenner*
Milo Longenecker
Sarah MacDonnell* – Ethyl on two nights, 4/28 and 5/13
Alyson Reim*
Felice Rose*
Amelia Sasson*
Toni Renee Taylor
Fang Tseng

PRODUCTION
Director – Lissa Moira
Book and additional lyrics – Abra Bigham
Music and Lyrics – Charlie Sub
Concept and Story – Rich Brotman and Charlie Sub
Music Supervisor – Paul Guzzone
Set Design – Mark Marcante
Set Decoration and Props – Lytza Colón
Lighting Design – Alexander Bartenieff
Choreography – Sage Buchalter
Musical Director – Jonathan Fox Powers
Costume Design – Billy Little
Assistant Director/Production Stage Manager – Charles C. Casano
Virtual Scenery – Carlos Almonte of MotionBlur
Video Production and Projection – Andrew Levin of StageTrip Industries
Art Design – Taylor Cardamone and Andrea Perry of Total Boar
Audio Support – Nick Graci of Northstream Live
Assistant Stage Manager – Samantha Green
Video loops and image research – Tommy James
Additional marketing – Scott Bayer

Musicians of the Bliss Street Show Band
Jonathan Fox Powers – Bandleader, Piano
Charlie Sub – Rhythm Guitar
Pat Branci – Bass
Richie Brotman – Keyboard
James Wormworth – Drums
Paul Jacobs – Guitar
Kevin Hunter – Lead Guitar
Arno Hecht – Reeds

Book writer Abra Bigham is an award-winning actor, singer, playwright, lyricist and poet, George London grantee, two time Heideman Finalist and veteran of America-in- Play, sometimes known as Georgia James. Her works include the film “White Lies” and the plays “Mary S.” (a gothic chamber musical about Mary Shelley), “Stone Rabbit” (semi-finalist Beverly Hills Theater Guild/Julie Harris Award) and “The Last Battle of Olustee” (part of a triad that explores the aftershocks of the American Civil War in three different centuries). Other works have been staged at 78th Street Theater Lab, The Duplex, Westbeth, HOME for Contemporary Music and Art, HERE, Upstairs at O’Neill’s, Laurie Beechman Theater, Barrington Stage Company (MA), Moonwater Theater (TX), and National Musical Theater Network.

Director Lissa Moira is a playwright, screenwriter, director, artist and poet. Her last TNC production,”Who Murdered Love?” (February, 2023), which she directed and co-wrote with Richard West, was a Dadaist musical comedy. Front Row Center (Ed Kliszus) called it “a delight from start to finish.” Steve DiLauro wrote in Village Sun, “Calling all commercial producers. This show has legs. Man, does it ever.” Moira is two-time Jerome Foundation grantee and an OOBR Award-winning actress. She directed and was dramaturg of “Siren’s Heart, Norma Jean and Marilyn in Purgatory” by Walt Stepp, which enjoyed a seven-week run at TNC in 2011 and then played 14 months Off-Broadway at the Actors Temple starring Louisa Bradshaw. The following year, she directed “Skybox,” also by Walt Stepp, at TNC. Richmond Shepard (lively-arts.com) described Moira’s “The Seduction of Time” (TNC, 2014) as “a fascinating mixture of text, music, song and dance exploring a personification of the mythic relationship between nature and time as they mate.” Her direction of “Cocaine Dreams” at the Kraine was described by the NY Post (Chip Deffaa) as “inspired.”

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

TNC’s NEW CITY, NEW BLOOD READINGS SERIES

Theater for the New City

Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

Flawless

By Robin Goldfin

Monday, April 17, 2023 at 7 PM

FREE

$5 Suggested Donation

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
Please contact literary@theaterforthenewcity.net for reservations

FLAWLESS is a play based on and inspired by an award-winning essay by Canadian writer David J. Lawless.
As her father cares for his wife of over 50 years who now has Alzheimer’s, their youngest daughter takes center stage, witnessing the relentless repetition of the disease and the extraordinary patience and commitment of her father’s love. The play brings a whole world into view, as we see the same couple in the first year of their marriage, filled with hope for the future. As their daughter struggles to accept her mother as she is now and recalls who she was in the past, she moves through time and space to learn the power of memory, and to remember what is important when the mother she loves cannot.

The story is told with live music composed by Oren Neiman, dance and movement by Laurie DeVito, in a script by Robin Goldfin, directed by Ed Chemaly.

ROBIN GOLDFIN is a playwright, performer and teacher based in New York. His most recent project is “Suddenly, a Knock at the Door,” a play based on stories by award-winning Israeli author and filmmaker Etgar Keret with original live score by Oren Neiman. Robin’s own 10-minute play “The Acoustics,” directed by Ken Talberth was part of Artistic New Directions’ Eclectic Evening of Shorts. His solo play, “The Ethics of Rav Hymie Goldfarb,” directed by David Carson premiered in The Midtown International Theatre Festival. (“Splendidly crafted” wrote nytheatre.com.) Robin’s other writing has been published in Tikkun Magazine, Zeek, and The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide; and in the anthologies Queer Stories for Boys: True Stories from the Gay Men’s Storytelling Workshop and One on One: The Best Men’s Monologues for the 21st Century. As a performer, Robin danced for five years with Laurie DeVito’s She-Bops and Scats, a concert jazz-dance company and taught Simonson Jazz Dance Technique in New York and abroad.
Robin has held artist’s residencies at Makor, The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and at The Mishkan Omanim (Artists Residence) in Herzylia, Israel. Robin holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dramatic Writing from New York University and is currently Clinical Professor of Writing in New York University’s Liberal Studies Program. He is a member of PEN American Center and The Dramatists Guild.

ED CHEMALY (Director) is a director, actor and writer. At NY’s Metropolitan Playhouse he directed The Jewish King Lear (NYIT Award Nomination), The Easiest Way (adaptor and director) and The Spirit House. Other New York credits include Labor Day, A Doctor In Spite of Himself, shows at Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Mint Theatre, Henry Street Settlement, Spectrum Stage Co. and The Producers Club, as well as six original cabaret shows at The Village Gate, Eighty Eights and The Duplex.
Regionally he has directed The Deertrees Theatre Festival productions of Sleuth, I Ought To Be In Pictures and Almost, Maine, at The Northeast Theatre and Electric Theatre Company The Odd Couple (female version), Almost, Maine, The Gibson Girl of His Dreams and Operation Opera. as well as Marriage Play at the Triangle Theatre in Philadelphia, Luv and Broadway Bound at Liberty Stage Co., a dinner theatre tour of Move Over, Mrs. Markham and a national tour of The Imaginary Invalid.

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

TNC’s NEW CITY, NEW BLOOD READINGS SERIES

Theater for the New City

Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

RUBBER

A play by Vinnie Nardiello
DIRECTED BY Kerri Ann Murphy

Monday, May 8, 2023 @ 7 PM

FREE

$5 Suggested Donation

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
COMMUNITY SPACE

Tucked away in non-descript government buildings across the country you’ll find “rubber rooms,” a purgatory for educators deemed both unable to teach and unable to be fired. In Rubber, the rubber room is closing, and Phil from the teacher’s union has arrived to process the cases of the last remaining teachers. Maureen, an old school marm and possible pill abuser, Jerry, a once popular teacher with anger issues, and Lisa (information redacted upon request of union attorneys).are promised a possible return to the classroom. However, after so many years away, with that promise comes the threat waiting outside the protection of the drab walls and fluorescent lights.

Writer Bio:
Vinnie Nardiello’s work has been featured nationally in both television and theater. In addition to his own offerings on the stand-up comedy circuit, Vinnie has had his work performed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. His debut play, The Boom, was featured at the Dream-Up Festival at Theater for the New City and his 2022 play Diving Horses enjoyed a run at NuBox Theater under the production of Theater 68. Another script, Li’l, was featured as part of the reading series at Black Box PAC in Englewood, NJ. He has also created Duppet, a short film found on Amazon Prime, and a produced pilot, Radio Gods, starring Paul Provenza and Rick Overton. His work can be heard on programming as diverse as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, SNL’s Weekend Update, ESPN, and Sirius XM radio.

Director bio:
Kerri Ann Murphy is a performer, theater educator, and director. She was one of the founding members of the Acting Shakespeare Company and as a performer appeared in Timon of Athens with the York Shakespeare Company, Measure for Measure w/ director Nona Sheppard, and Jenn Wehrung’s Takin’ U Back sketch comedy series which she also contributed to as a writer. Kerri Ann’s directing credits include Theater 68’s premiere of Diving Horses by Vinnie Nardiello, She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and numerous scenes as part of NJ Shakespeare Theater’s Teen Shakespeare Festival. She would like to thank Vinnie Nardiello for once again trusting her to direct his work.

 

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

Katy and Jennifer vs. The Flasher on New Year’s

March 16 – April 2, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM
Running Time: 75 minutes
Tickets $20

Sundays – Pay What You Can
Online sales have various prices to choose from

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
CINO THEATER

The play is set on the first New Years Eve after 9/11, when Generation X had their whole lives ahead of them but every moment was colored by the shock of the attacks. At this unique time, Katy and Jennifer are savoring their breakthrough into young adulthood and independence. They had both intended to ring in the new year with their boyfriends, celebrating with erotic raptures. But earlier in the evening, Jennifer’s boyfriend had turned her off by immature and inappropriate behavior. So as the ball was dropping, he’d gotten the boot. Katy’s casual partner, Bobby, has accidentally anesthetized himself with a generous helping of the meds he takes to stave off his PTSD from the attacks. He is zonked out in her bedroom. Slamming the front door to shut out the flasher, Katy and Jennifer look to this now-somnolent example of manliness for protection, with hilarious consequences.

REVIEW New York Theatre Wire

CAST
Emily Lappi – Katy
Bree Ogaldez – Jennifer
William John Burns – Bobby, Katy’s boyfriend

PRODUCTION
Writer – Matt Morillo
Director – Phoebe Leonard-Dettmann
Set Design – Mark Marcante
Social Media Coordinator – Jenna Leigh Miller
Press Representative – Jonathan Slaff
Graphic Designer – Kiff Scholl, AFK Design

Playwright Matt Morillo, originally a film maker, made an auspicious theatrical debut in 2006 with “Angry Young Women In Low Rise Jeans With High Class Issues.” The comedy was presented by TNC in 2007 and had an Off-Broadway run in NYC, multiple engagements in Hollywood and Sydney (Australia) and TNC return engagements in 2009, 2010 and 2011, but never seemed to exhaust its audience. It was followed by a thoughtful comedy, “All Aboard the Marriage Hearse” (TNC, 2008), and Morillo’s first serious play, “American Soldiers” (TNC, January 2010), a family drama about a woman war veteran’s return to her home in Long Island. In 2011, Morillo returned to TNC in comic form with “The Inventor, The Escort, The Photographer, Her Boyfriend and His Girlfriend,” a sex comedy of five people barricaded in one apartment building with a fierce snowstorm outside, looking for love in all the wrong places. It subsequently went on to an acclaimed Los Angeles run and won the Teapot Award for Outstanding Theater Performance at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His serio-comedy “Allen Wilder 2.0 ” (TNC, 2016) was a comedy of bungled romance in Levittown, LI between two mid-lifers: one who ran away and one who stayed. His last three projects have all debuted on the West Coast: “All American Sex Addict Woke/AF” (2018), “If We Run” (2019) and a comedy web series, “Mister Harmac,” which is currently airing on YouTube. He has also taken up standup comedy; his appearance schedule is on Instagram at @mattmorillo.

Morillo’s “Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High Class Issues,” “All Aboard the Marriage Hearse” and “American Soldiers” have all been published by Samuel French Inc.

Prior to his theatrical shift, Morillo was a fixture on the New York independent film scene for ten years. He debuted at age 23 with his romantic comedy, “The Pretenders,” a film with a cast of unknowns and a non-existent budget that became an enjoyable, funny and ultimately touching film about twenty-somethings struggling with life’s ups and downs. His next project, “Good Tidings,” was a fifteen-minute short film about a young girl suffering through her parents’ divorce. It received great praise at film festivals for its realism and honesty. Morillo’s third film, “Maid Of Honor,” was a true breakthrough. A twenty-five minute comedy about a simple guy trying to hook up with the maid of honor at a wedding, it was a hit on the festival circuit, winning three awards, playing to sold-out theaters and leaving audiences laughing and begging for copies of the film. He returned to on-camera productions with an “Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High Class Issues” web series in 2013.

Director Phoebe Leonard Dettmann is an actor, writer, director and founding member of Randomly Specific Theatre (randomlyspecifictheatre.com). She was born and trained in Australia and became an American citizen four years ago. Dettman first met Matt Morillo in 2007 when she appeared in the Australian Premiere of “Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans With High Class Issues.” She writes that Morillo entrusted his latest play to her “after fifteen years of fast friendship and countless all you can eat sushi and saki nights” through which he became cognizant of her wit and great good humor. Her Australian theater credits include: “Stairwell” (Actor/Writer) at Old Fitzroy in Sydney. Her New York credits include “Secondary Pitch,” “Learning To Skip,” “Accumulated Heartbreak Disorder” (Actor/Writer), “Koalas Are Dicks,” “Arbuckle Syndrome” and “Fistful of Cake Pocketful of Miracles” (Director) for Randomly Specific Theatre and “Othello: The Panther” and “Salome: Princess of N’Orleans” at Rebel Theatre.

Bree Ogaldez (Jennifer) is an Afro-Caribbean, NYC-based actress and singer who recently appeared as Abe Lincoln in “Hair” (Cortland Repertory Theatre) and Assata/Lotus in “Lotus and the Unlikely Crew” at NYTF Winterfest. Recent screen credits include indie film “Someone Somewhere” and the pilot spec “Shadow Cast.” (www.breeogaldez.com)

Emily Lappi (Katy) is making her NYC debut. She graduated from South Coast Repertory’s Acting Intensive Program in 2014 and recently made her Equity principal debut as Shelby in “Steel Magnolias.” California credits include “A Christmas Carol” at South Coast Repertory, “Heaven on Earth “at La Jolla Playhouse and “Moon Over Buffalo” (Rosalind) at STAGEStheatre (OC Weekly Best Ensemble of 2017). Films include the indie horror film “One Night in Ravenwood,” the web series “Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High Class Issues” and the indie pilot “Cut Loose.” (www.emilylappi.com)

William Burns (Bobby) recently appeared in “We Will Rock You” with Theater Workshop of Nantucket and “Staten Island! The Musical” at The Tank Theater with ThisIZZit Productions. He is an ensemble member of Open Hydrant Theater Company @ The Point, located in the Bronx.

Morillo writes, “TNC has afforded me the opportunity that is the dream of every artist. To be able to hone my abilities in an environment where they support, promote, nurture and inspire you to push, grow, and stretch all of your abilities to levels that perhaps even you yourself do not think are possible. I can’t explain how happy I am to be back here…at home!”

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CRYSTAL FIELD

PRESENTS

LOVE N’ COURAGE

Theater for the New City’s Annual Benefit for its Emerging Playwrights Program

 

Monday, February 13, 2023
at The Players Club • 16 Gramercy Park South

Honoring New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera
and
Playwright, Director and Teacher Eduardo Machado

Cocktails at 6:00pm
Seated Dinner 6:45pm
Performances 8:00pm

Tickets $200
Table of Ten $1,750

 

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

The Time Travelers Club Manhattan Division

A play by Barbara Kahn

February 23 – March 12, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday @ 8:00PM, Sunday @ 3:00 PM
Running Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes including intermission
Tickets $15, Seniors/Students $12
Groups 10 or more use discount code TIME26 online for $10 each

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
CINO THEATER

Time perception changed for many during two years of isolation as online communication replaced attendance at the theater. I was inspired by the (temporary) change in my lifestyle to research and write The Time Travelers Club, Manhattan Division, my 26th production at Theater for the New City.
Time travel has long been a subject in popular culture. My play sends a woman named Dolly from the present on a journey to 1870 Greenwich Village. An equipment malfunction leaves her stranded in the past, where she encounters real-life characters while attempting to find her way home. Poet Emma Lazarus was at the beginning of her prestigious career. Composer Georgina Schuyler was a descendant of Alexander Hamilton and early Dutch settlers. The nature of the close friendship of these unmarried women from disparate backgrounds leaves room for speculation. Famous actress Charlotte Cushman and her “wife” sculptor Emma Stebbins stopped in New York en route to Boston where Charlotte sought treatment for breast cancer. Sarah Smith was a widowed African American school teacher who boarded in a building on 13th Street—a building that survives but is threatened with demolition in today’s rush to gentrify our historic neighborhoods. When Dolly fails to return home, her wife Alice attempts to rescue her and bring them both ‘back to the future.’
The play is my gentle homage to my favorite movie—“The Wizard of Oz.”

CAST
The Present
Alice, Arianne Banda.
Dahlia, called Dolly. Alice’s wife. Jamie Coffey
John. A clerk. JC Augustin
A reporter. Selear Duke.

The Past (1870)
Emma Lazarus, Nikki Monson
Georgina Schuyler, Jenna Levere
Sarah Smith, Rebekah Wilson
Charlotte Cushman, Steph Van Vlack
Emma Stebbins, Charlotte Cushman’s ‘wife.’ Isa Goldberg

PRODUCTION TEAM
Barbara Kahn (Playwright/Director)
Mark Marcante (Set Designer)
Alexander Bartenieff (Lighting Designer)
Lytza Colon (Set Decorator and Prop Designer)
Billy Little (Costume Designer)
Joy Linscheid (Sound Designer and Board Operator)
Selear Duke (Stage Manager)
Joe Bly (Photographer and Videographer)
Virginia Asman (Graphics Designer)

 

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents
With the support of Suite 524

NOT ABOUT ME

Written and Directed by Eduardo Machado

January 13 – February 5, 2023
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00 PM,  Sunday at 3:00 PM
Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes with intermission
Tickets $18, Seniors/Students $10 – Box Office (212) 254-1109

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
COMMUNITY SPACE

Not About Me is a memory play that takes audiences on a haunting journey through the mind of a playwright during Covid-19 lockdown. Long buried memories of friends lost to a mysterious “gay” disease come crashing into the present, and he is compelled to examine his artistic and political life in the theater. This play is a bittersweet meditation on how tragedy can unearth pain along with the treasures buried in the past.

The cast features
Mateo d’Amato
Michael Domitrovich
Crystal Field
Ellis Charles Hoffmeister
Charles Manning
Drew Valins
Heather Velazquez

Creative Team
Mark Marcante (Scenic Design)
Sean Ryan (Production Design)
Alex Bartenieff (Lighting Design)
Kelsey Charter (Costume Design)
Bird Rogers (Projection Design?)
Emily Irvine (Puppet Designer/Maker)
David Margolin Lawson (Sound Design)
Original music by Michael Domitrovich

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

Who Murdered Love?

Book by Lissa Moira and Richard West
Music by Richard West
Lyrics by Lissa Moira
Directed by Lissa Moira

February 2 – 19, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00 PM,  Sunday at 3:00 PM
Running Time: 2 hours 10 minutes including intermission
Tickets $18, Seniors/Students $12 – Box Office (212) 254-1109

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
CINO THEATER

“Who Murdered Love?” by Lissa Moira and Richard West is a Dadaist musical comedy set in 1924 New York City and in a Paris dreamscape. Its story follows WWI veteran and private eye “Sleepy” Sam Speed, his girl, Gail Friday and his junior detective, Everett Greene, as they attempt to unravel the disappearance and possible murder of DaDa Love at the behest of their client, a stunning heiress named Honey Potts. DaDa Love–enigmatic, handsome and charismatic–is at the center of the world for Dadaists in a time when Surrealists are vying with them for artistic supremacy. The sleuthing trio’s quest for him leads them through a mad psychedelic adventure that is populated by takeoffs on artists of the post-WWI period who were also known for their artistic and sexual jealousies.

The authors, Lissa Moira and Richard West, wrote the tuner to illustrate the theme of cultural wars among artists: artistic jealousies and artistic totalitarianism. West says, “Every generation has these problems–midlevel artists try to dominate the scene and seek power to dominate other people.” Their concept landed nicely on the Dada movement of the twenties, in which everybody preferred the satirical to the serious and relationships between artists devolved into rivalries of dogma between Dadaism, Surrealism and Eclecticism, like when André Breton excommunicated Tristan Tzara and expelled Salvador Dalí from the Surrealist group on supposedly idealistic grounds. “Every generation has these problems,” says Richard West.

Our Cast in Alphabetical Order
Louisa Bradshaw* as The Countess Analise
William Broderick* as Andre Ranton
Sage Buchalter Ensemble and Dance Captain
Jef Canter* as Darcel Ducamp
Alisa Ermolaev as Honey Potts
Ejyp Johnson as DaDa Love
Rori Nogee*as Gail Friday
Amy Catherine Welch* as Blossom
John David West as Sleepy Sam Speed
Chase Wolfe as Everett Greene

*Appearing courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association

Our Production Team
Musical Director – Peter Dizozza
Choreographer – Olivia Palacios
Assistant Choreographer – Sage Buchalter
Set Design – Mark Marcante
Set Decoration and Special Props – Lytza Colón
Lighting Design Alexander Bartenieff
Costumes – Lytza Colón
Stage Manager – Lafayette Elizabeth Orsack
Board Operator – Franklyn Rodriguez

The property began at Theater for the New City in 2002 as a straight play and evolved into a musical in two subsequent productions: at TNC in 2010 and the NY Fringe in 2012. It is now in a new, finished form.

Lissa Moira (director, book & lyrics) is a playwright, screenwriter, director, artist and poet. She is two-time Jerome Foundation grantee and an OOBR Award-winning actress. She co-authored, with Richard West, the long-running OOB hits “Sexual Psychobabble” and “The Best Sex of the XX Century Sale.” At Theater for the New City, she headed The Chrysalis, a play development project. Her “Time It Is” made the final ten of the Chesterfield/Paramount Screen Writing Competition (from 5000 submissions worldwide). With Robert Santoli, Moira co-authored the feature film “Dead Canaries,” which was directed by Santoli and featured Charles Durning, Dan Luria, Dee Wallace and Joel Higgins. She directed and was dramaturg of “Siren’s Heart, Norma Jean and Marilyn in Purgatory” by Walt Stepp, which enjoyed a seven-week run at TNC in 2011 and then played 14 months Off-Broadway at the Actors Temple starring Louisa Bradshaw. The following year, she directed “Skybox,” also by Walt Stepp, at TNC. Richmond Shepard (lively-arts.com) described Moira’s “The Seduction of Time” (TNC, 2014) as “a fascinating mixture of text, music, song and dance exploring a personification of the mythic relationship between nature and time as they mate.” Her play “Before God Was Invented” (TNC, 2011, 2014) was nominated for a Susan Brownell-Smith Award. Andréw Martin, (Nite Life Exchange) wrote, “’Before God Was Invented’ is for those craving a glorious glimpse into what the very best evening can be in the greatest tradition of the theatre art form. Please run, don’t walk to catch it.” Her direction of “Cocaine Dreams” at the Kraine was described by the NY Post (Chip Deffaa) as “inspired.” Moira writes, “I would like to thank Crystal Field for her continuing faith in me, both as a writer and director, and for allowing me to have the opportunity both to direct and to present my own new works. The theater has been an indispensable launching pad for me.”

Richard West (composer) is a writer, musician and actor. Among his plays are “Warhol in Hell,” “Bohemia on Wry,” “Sex and the Single Samurai” and “Enlightenment on the Installment Plan.” With Lisa Moira, he has written “Sexual Psychobabble,” “Who Murdered Love? “and “The Best Sex of the XX Century Sale.” His one man shows include “Coastal Complexes, ” “The Hip Revival Hour,” “Daffodils for Duchamp,” “Cafe Vanity,” “Coming of Age Amongst the Urban Savages,” “Coming of Age in a Stoned Decade,” “The Blue Monkey,” “The Floating Duck Variety Show,” “Going Out of Democracy Sale,” “The Grand Theft Inaugural Ball,” “Variety Show” and “You Sure Got a Lot of Nirvana.” He had a radio career on the West Coast (KPFA), a Manhattan Cable TV show (“That’s More Like It”), and has performed his satirical and serious songs and East-West exotic fusion music at venues ranging from The Limelight, Theater Row Mudd Club, The Knitting Factory and The Village Gate. He collaborated on a song cycle with Lissa Moira, “The Son of a Bush from Texas & Other Related Songs.” He is a Jerome Foundation grantee.

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

Stories From My Mother

A play for puppets and actors by Peter Bulow

December 22, 2022 – January 8, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00 PM,  Sunday at 3:00 PM
Running Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Tickets $18, Seniors/Students $15 – Box Office (212) 254-1109
No shows December 24, 25, 31 and January 1

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
CINO THEATER

“Stories from My Mother” a play for over-life sized puppets, actors and marionettes, tells the story of my family’s survival during the Holocaust and the war in Europe, and how this has affected the next generation. Though the main character, Peta, begins the narrative with the cryptic statement:
“Some of this story is true, and some of it is a lie”, in fact almost all of it is true- the dialogue is taken from family conversations heard during childhood. The puppets are recreations of family members- both the German ones and the Hungarian Jews, and attempt to channel their remarkable and vibrant personalities.
The set is at times the house in Queens where some of the stories were heard, at other times the snow covered section of the Budapest ghetto in 1944. Shadow play, revolving dioramas, and dramatic puppets bring what was past and what was imagined to life.”

CAST
Alec Pacheco
Lola Granelli
Peter Bulow
Pamela Salela
Ellen Veres – Parachutist

Made possible with funding from the International Raul Wallenberg Foundation

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.