Featured
Theater for the New City is presenting its 24th annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, a massive annual performance marathon in and around the theater, May 24 - 26.
Coming Soon
How well do we know ourselves? How well do we know our family members? Why sometimes, we don’t get along with a family member or a neighbor? Dr. King once said, “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”
NEW YORK -- In the wake of 9/11, Bruno abandons his lucrative Wall Street career to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a painter. After years of struggling, he finally books a once in a lifetime project, only to develop major misgivings about participating and completing his painting. As his vacillations increase, hysteria and hilarity ensue. Can a marriage-minded girlfriend, greedy guru, financial folly, and one bitchy boss change Bruno's mind? Theater for the New City will present the world premiere of the piece May 31 to June 16, directed by Andrew Block.
Peruvian citizens have just elected a President bent on ridding the political and legal system of corruption. A righteous whistleblower, Jesús (Anwar Wolf), and a rash lawyer, Bara (Mateo d’Amato), find themselves sharing a cell under the surveillance of two cruel guards. Together Jesús and Bara navigate the landscape of their crimes – what transpires is both sinister and illuminating.
The work, Barabbas, speaks not just to the state of South American politics, but to the present global ethos. Much like the culture of corruption cultivated here in the U.S., Peruvian politics are similarly marred by scandal. Barabbas draws these parallels, and others more biblical, to examine the boundaries of modern morality.
A statement from director Machado, “Not since Richard Nelson’s, Principia Scriptoriae have I seen a play written by an American that has a neutral and yet passionate view of Latin American politics. Mr. Will has found an objective center to the Latin American male psyche.”
The motto of the festival is "Dream Up: Invent, Concoct." The festival is dedicated to new works. The question of the artist's vision to free or attack the material will be asked in each application. The festival does not want traditional theater which is presented in a traditional way. Theater for the New City wants to use this festival as a way to push ideas to the forefront with the hope of revealing roads less traveled or undiscovered. Presentation of a straightforward play must be imaginative in some way.
Festival performance dates:
August 25 – September 15, 2019.
All performances will take place at Theater for the New City.