Yesterday’s Bread

Monday, December 8, 2025 at 7:30 PM

FREE

$5 Suggested Donation

For Reservations, email to tncdreamup@gmail.com

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)
New York, NY 10003
Directions

Set in Newark, New Jersey in the 1980s, Yesterday’s Bread centers on Lina, a neighborhood matriarch and baker whose secret life and turn-of-the-century house become the target of a sinister local force. Lina, her live-in nephew, and those who crash into her daily routine, are swept up in a ridiculous and lethal plan to protect her home, family and the community who rely on her. This sharp, human comedy explores the secrets, regrets, and loyalties that bind us.

CAST (in order of appearance)
Lina – Mary Testa
Milly – Annie Golden
Val – Alec Ludacka
Brook – Cara Rose DiPietro
Rain – Stephanie Gibson
Gora – Joshua Davis
Bocce – Joe Barbara

RUSS PASTENA (writer) is a lifelong writer and communication expert who leveraged his degrees in Communication and Theatre to navigate a decades-long career in sales, viewing the corporate world as an elaborate form of performance art. Having honed his writing skills for business – skills he taught at the university level – he has now fully transitioned from corporate life to focus on his own creative writing. Russ lives in New Jersey with his family, listening carefully to the voices around him – voices of the overlooked, the underestimated, the wonderfully human. He writes to give shape to their stories. For Russ, the line between life and art is just a well-placed script cue.

DANNY SALLES (director) is writer/director/producer for television and theater. He directed the holiday movie, The Christmas Thief for ION TV and for 4 seasons of the ABC comedy The Middle. He is also a veteran showrunner and director on comedic TV reality series: Joan Rivers’ “Joan and Melissa (WeTV), Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (Bravo, Emmy nomination) Todrick (MTV), and The Joe Schmo Show. For the stage, Danny co-wrote book and lyrics, and served as Associate Director for the critically-acclaimed comedy Vape! The Grease Parody now running Off-Broadway at Theater 555. Last year, he directed the musical The Perfect Game at Theatre Row and he wrote book and lyrics and directed the musical comedy satire The First Annual Trump Family Special in LA and Off-Broadway starring Gina Gershon.