Thinking Theater NYC

Breaking the Trust Written by Bill Rogers Directed by Gerald vanHeerden Presented by Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival, Crystal Field, Executive Director, at  Theater for the New City 155 First Avenue, Manhattan, NYC September 2-7, 2025 Jane Seaman, Wynne Anders, Shauna Bloom It’s a truism that death can bring out the worst in people, but it is no less true that death can bring out the worst about people as well. While Breaking the Trust , a play by Bill Rogers having its NYC premiere as part of the Dream Up Festival 2025 at Theater for the New City, initially seems to be an illustration of the former, by the end of this very funny play, the family has moved beyond their anger over inheritance to anger over and then reconciliation with their pasts. Siblings Norah (Wynne Anders), the eldest; Martha (Jane Seaman), the wealthiest; and Lorna (Shauna Bloom), the youngest; and their sister Donna (Deborah Unger), who stayed nearer to their childhood home than her sisters, are t...

  Dismantling Prospero Written by Tom Rowan Directed Kevin Ray Choreographed by Ai Toyoshima Produced by Marty Goldin@ TBD Capital, LLC Presented as part of the Dream Up Festival at Theater for the New City 155 First Avenue, Manhattan, NYC August 24-September 7, 2025 Andy Start and Joshua Elijah Lewis. Photo by Kevin Ray. A storm is brewing in the Midwestern University Dance Department in Tom Rowan's timely and trenchant new production, Dismantling Prospero . Set in the years immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, the play follows veteran dance professor Griffin Bates (Andy Start) as he mounts a new ballet version of The Tempest , putting wild waters into a proper roar. In a bold flourish of ego (and perhaps vaulting ambition) he casts himself as Prospero, transforming the rehearsal process into a battleground over artistry, authority, and the pressures of contemporary campus politics. In an era of bad faith questions, quick answers, and even quicker judgments, Dismantling Prospe...

The Six Paths Written and directed by My Le Presented by Theater for the New City, Executive Director Crystal Field, at Theater for the New City 155 First Avenue, Manhattan, NYC February 19-23, 2025 Harsh Desai,  Amy Hart Nguyễn, and  Siwapol Andy McMurray.    How much of human action is attributable to humans' own agency, and thus their ethical responsibility, and how individual choices shape and are shaped by the interconnected web of existence of which humanity forms one part are central questions in The Six Paths , from writer and director My Le, the youngest director in Vietnam to debut at The Hanoi Opera House. Intersecting with such questions in the play are the ways in which the idea of a self, however agentic, is varyingly constructed across cultures and cosmologies. In The Six Paths , Vietnamese Buddhism provides the ontological framework for an epic yet intimate exploration of identity formation, love and care, grief and sacrifice, and ever-progressing yet...

Theater for the New City Executive Director Crystal Field is proud to present The Six Paths , a spiritual exploration of Vietnamese Buddhism that delves into identity, enlightenment, and cultural heritage. Performances begin Wednesday February 19 at Theater for the New City's Cabaret Theater, located at 155 First Avenue, New York, NY 10003. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors. Inspired by the short story "Coi Luan Hoi," by Than Long and translated by Trang Ha, The Six Paths follows the transformative journey of a young demon grappling with his purpose in the universe. Through themes of self-realization and cultural identity, the play offers audiences an emotional and thought-provoking experience. Blending traditional Buddhist concepts with contemporary theatrical innovation, The Six Paths highlights universal questions of existence and belonging. Spanning 100 minutes with no intermission, the production promises to be an unforgettable...

Bread & Puppet Theater in The Decapitalization Circus at Theater for the New City, 2010. On stilts: Peter Schumann. Photo by Lee Wexler/Images for Innovation. Theater for the New City's Emerging Playwrights Program will be beneficiary of the theater's 22nd annual "Love 'n Courage" benefit on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at The Players, 16 Gramercy Park South. The evening honors Peter Schumann, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Bread & Puppet Theater, and celebrates the theater's long relationship with that company. Theater for the New City (TNC) is a four-theater complex at 155 First Avenue. Its awards include the Pulitzer Prize, 43 Village Voice OBIE Awards, nine Audelco Awards, two Bessie Awards, five ASCAP Awards, ten Rockefeller Playwrights Fellowships, The Mayor's Stop the Violence Award, the Manhattan Borough President’s Award for Public Service and Artistic Excellence in Theater, and a NY City Council Proclamation awarded to TNC’s Street Th...

Theater for the New City and Crystal Field proudly present the world premiere of A Shift of Opinion , a powerful new play by Vadim Astrakhan, directed by Joe John Battista. A Shift of Opinion is a historical drama that delves into timeless questions of identity, power, and resistance. It explores the story of Jacob Schiff, a Jewish American banker and philanthropist who confronts the Jewish Massacres in the Russian Empire. “The story of Jacob Schiff fascinated me, and I saw multiple similarities to today’s events: Russia at war with a smaller neighbor, the Jewish pogroms, the rise of anti-immigrant sentiments in America, and the need for the Jewish State. Additionally, I saw an opportunity to bring to life some of my favorite giants of American literature: Mark Twain, O. Henry, and Jack London,” says Astrakhan. Set between 1903 and 1917, A Shift of Opinion brings to life the untold true story of Schiff as he secretly funds the downfall of the Russian Empire in retribut...

Anton Goes to Heaven (?) Written by Stefan Diethelm Directed by Andy Reiff Presented by Theater for the New City, Crystal Field, Executive Director, at Theater for the New City 155 1st Ave., Manhattan, NYC September 19-October 6, 2024 Chris Cornwell. Photo by Ai Toyoshima The first act of the title character in Swiss playwright Stefan Diethelm's newest work, Anton Goes to Heaven (?) , is to crush an empty beer can on his head and toss it to the floor, where it joins a small pile of similar refuse. Anton's ( Chris Cornwell ) surroundings reflect the stagnant condition in which he currently finds himself. He has no job, no woman, as he puts it (Anton is a big believer in [hetero]normative masculinity), and nothing to occupy his days–even the television on his floor lets him down. What he does have in great supply is rage, much of it aimed at what he sees as a degenerate society (the kind of society that would fire truth-teller Tucker Carlson from FOX News), and, by his own admiss...

The Coronation of Queen Jaguar Created and performed by Christine Stoddard and Aaron Gold Featuring Adriana Ascencio, Jada Bennett, Nate Brown, Jeffrey Copeland, Andie Fuentes, Dylan Manning, Rob Penty, and Michal Serpe A Quail Bell production presented by Theater for the New City , Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director, at Theater for the New City 155 First Ave., Manhattan, NYC September 6-14, 2024 Christine Stoddard and Aaron Gold Have you ever wanted to witness a coronation, but without standing in line for hours in the rain like our friends across the Atlantic have recently done? If so, then you're in luck: Christine Stoddard and Aaron Gold's deftly comedic The Coronation of Queen Jaguar positions audience members as titled guests at the eponymous investiture, using the ceremony as an umbrella under which to stage a series of improvisation-and-interaction-heavy segments that meld character-based satire and audience participation into a gratifyingly distinctive expe...

roller rink death kink sex cult Written and directed by Skylar J. Beirne Assistant direction by Ryan Honey Presented by Theater for the New City , Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director, in association with SeaTrain STudios at Theater for the New City 155 First Ave., Manhattan, NYC August 31-September 15, 2024 L-R: Daniel Oakley and Allie Donnelly. Photo by Dennis Beirne. "No kink shaming" has become a widely accepted maxim, but what if the fetish in question is, say, killing and eating someone? The "levels" of the titular cult in Skylar J. Beirne's roller rink death kink sex cult –handily enumerated on a square of paper placed on each audience member's seat before the show–do not explicitly include cannibalism, but neither do they rule it out. And the cult's leader claims that, with consent, even murder can be not only acceptable but transcendently beautiful. Sometimes funny, sometimes discomfiting, occasionally gloriously surreal, this penetrating ...

Matt, James and Ben in Lord Finnington Bus in The Positively Puzzling Case of the Purloined Pelvis: At Vicar's Gate Written by James Sweeney and Matt Tanzosh Directed and designed by James Sweeney, Matt Tanzosh, and Ben Fletcher Presented by Theater for the New City , Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director, at Theater for the New City 155 First Ave., Manhattan, NYC August 25-September 2, 2024 Ben Fletcher and Matt Tanzosh. Photo courtesy of the artists. Classic British detective fiction, of the Arthur Conan Doyle/Michael Innes/Agatha Christie/Dorothy L. Sayers variety, popularized tropes that are still inescapably familiar today (think, for example, of the investigator climatically gathering everyone together in a drawing room to make a bit of a show of explaining their solution to the crime). Matt, James and Ben in Lord Finnington Bus in The Positively Puzzling Case of the Purloined Pelvis: At Vicar's Gate takes these tropes, supercharges them, gives them a hilariously NS...

The Waiting Room Written by Vel Grande Directed by Dennis Oliveira Presented by Theater for the New City , Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director, at Theater for the New City 155 First Ave., Manhattan, NYC August 25-31, 2024 L to R: Heather Alzapiedi, Brett Fox, and Jake Declan. Photo by Dan Morales  To say that life is often illogical if not outright nonsensical certainly qualifies as an understatement. Making its world premiere this month, The Waiting Room , a comedic one-act from Utah-based playwright, novelist, and short story writer Vel Grande, joins the venerable tradition of theater exploring the search for meaning amidst the absurdity of existence. Expertly blending metatheatrical and existential comedy, The Waiting Room is currently part of the 2024 Dream Up Festival  at Theater for the New City (TNC). The new works festival, in its twelfth iteration this year, runs from August 25th to September 15th and is dedicated to discovering new authors and challenging, no...

Fight Over the Breeches; Gift of Louis E. Shecter, 1972, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore Theater for the New City, Crystal Field (Artistic Director), FFP, and Stage Voices proudly present the Off-Off Broadway world premiere of Tongs and Bones Shakespeare , based on footnote, or,  generally, off-marquee characters, in the Bard’s plays. The theatrical quartet, by Bob Shuman, is directed by Frank Farrell and has been selected as part of Theater for the New City’s Dream Up Festival, August 25-September 15, 2024, curated by Michael Scott-Price and Crystal Field.  Playing at the Community Theater in the Theater for the New City complex, the one-acts, included as part of the Tempestuous Amusements, Interludes, Noises, and Drollery are The Wanton Wind , based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream ; From a Cloven Pine , a prequel to The Tempest ; and The Coxcomb’s Wedding , inspired by As You Like It . Additionally, Farrell and his actors have agreed to provide a bonus rea...

Bring Them Back Written and directed by David Willinger  Presented by Crystal Field, Executive Director, Theater for the New City, at Theater for the New City May 9-19th, 2024 Paul Korzinski and Carole Forman. Photo by Steven Pisano Bring Them Back is a great new work by David Willinger featuring Carole Forman as Trudy and Paul Korzinski as Paul in a 90-minute play at Theater for the New City. Son of a psychoanalyst, Paul is a playwright who is experiencing writer's block in the worst way. He can't sleep, he's lost interest in eating, he's constipated on every front, and with good reason: death surrounds him. Every other phone call delivers a message that yet another family member or friend has checked out, and he's left reeling. On the day after Yom Kippur, Paul is desperately experimenting with Kabbalistic ritual to bring back the deceased. This, he hopes, will help him move past his remorse and guilt in not giving due attention to the living when they were al...

Orson's Shadow Written by Austin Pendleton Directed by Austin Pendleton Presented by Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director of Theater for the New City , in association with Oberon Theatre Ensemble and Strindberg Rep at Theater for the New City heater for the New City 155 1st Ave., Manhattan, NYC March 14-31, 2024 Patrick Hamilton as Kenneth Tynan, Brad Fryman as Orson Welles. Photo by Jonathan Slaff. Orson Welles; Laurence Olivier; Vivian Leigh: they stand as towering figures in the history of stage and screen. Orson's Shadow , from the multitalented Austin Pendleton, himself no less than a theatrical luminary, renders a spellbinding portrait of these stars attempting to navigate their professional and personal lives as living legends in the face of an onrushing future. One might, for example, read the play's title as referring to the long shadow cast by Welles on others and on history but also to the shadow cast by Citizen Kane on everything that Welles did or atte...