Crystal Field News

Theater for the New City Executive Director Crystal Field is presenting 'Skip to My Lou,' Steve Romagnoli's new play inspired by the true story of a Congolese pygmy put on exhibit in the Bronx Zoo.

Back in 1992, Fernando Bermudez, a Washington Heights resident, was convicted of a homicide that occurred in Greenwich Village. Eyewitnesses recanted soon after, but he remained in prison.

Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, will present its 41st annual Thunderbird American Dancers Dance Concert and Pow Wow from February 5 to 14, 2016. There will be dances, stories and traditional music from the Iroquois and Native Peoples of the Northeast, Southwest and Great Plains regions. The event has become a treasured New York tradition for celebrating our diversity by honoring the culture of our first Americans.

Two plays about the epic conflict of faith, hope and despair - one existential and one disturbingly real and circumstantial - will be seen in tandem at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, in December.

Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director) presents Scratch Night at TNC (Michael Scott-Price, Curator) Monday, November 2nd at 7pm, $5 Suggested Donation.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 38th annual Village Halloween Costume Ball tonight, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue.

In Italy, theaters are under real estate pressure; their precious locations and spacious buildings are eagerly sought by developers who try to convert valued cultural assets into commercial buildings.  This clash of artistic idealism and commercial opportunism has been dramatized by Italian playwright Alberto Bassetti in 'Dealers of Souls,' a new play whose American premiere will be presented November 12 to 29 by Theater for the New City in collaboration with Kairos Italy Theatre.  It's a supernatural drama in which two men are negotiating the sale of an old theater. The buyer, a clearly corrupt theater entrepreneur, promises to restore it but actually, he intends to turn it into a supermarket. Can his intrigues be stymied by a strange actress who squats in the building, who seems to be part hobo and part phantom of the theater?  Can she save the day?

Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Executive Director) will present Squeaky Bicycle Productions' World Premiere of Dylan Lamb's dark comedy Ten Ways on a Gun, directed by Kathryn McConnell (Pop Dies in Vegas) tonight, October 9-25 at the Community Space Theater at Theater for the New City (155 1st Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets). Performances will be October 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23 & 24 at 8pm; October 12 at 7pm; October 11 & 25 at 3pm.Tickets ($15 in advance; $18 at the door) are available online at www.squeakybicycleproductions.com or by calling SmartTix at 212-868-4444. The show runs approximately 2 hours, including intermission. 

From tonight, October 8, through October 25, Theater for the New City will present the world premiere of 'Wives,' newly written by Mario Fratti, in a double-bill with his breakthrough play, 'The Academy.' Taken together, the two plays illustrate the changing nature of the battle of the sexes between the postwar period and now. The two-part evening is directed by actor/director Stephan Morrow, who plays the instructor of a school for gigolos in 'The Academy.'

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 38th annual Village Halloween Costume Ball on Saturday, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue. This unique festival continues as a grand coming-together for everyday New Yorkers and artists alike. A carefree fall tradition, it celebrates the creativity that comes with the season.

On October 12 from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation will sponsor a free event, 'An Evening of Theater for the New City's History,' narrated by Crystal Field and featuring special guests, at TNC, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street).

Theater for the New City, Crystal Field, Executive Director presents DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, an explosive study of alienation and the redemptive power of love by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Moonstruck). Lissa Moira directs John Talerico and Susan Mitchell*. Twelve performances will be staged at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue (bet. 9th and 10th Streets), New York, NY 10003 from tonight, September 24 - October 11, 2015.

From October 8 to 25, Theater for the New City will present the world premiere of a new play by Mario Fratti, 'Wives,' in a double-bill with his breakthrough play, 'The Academy.' Taken together, the two plays illustrate the changing nature of the battle of the sexes between the postwar period and now. The two-part evening is directed by actor/director Stephan Morrow, who plays the instructor of a school for gigolos in 'The Academy.'

'A Casual Gathering' is a musical written by Daniel Schwartzman (book, music, lyrics) and directed by James Martinelli that explores the evolution of human relationships and the desire we all have to relive the past and use our memories to rewrite the present. Its American premiere will be presented by Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival tonight, September 12, through September 20. The musical traces the intimate reunion of six high school friends in a Manhattan bar who have not seen each other for decades. After the initial joy at seeing each other again, the realities of their lives and what they have failed to achieve come to the surface.

From October 8 to 25, Theater for the New City will present the world premiere of 'Wives,' newly written by Mario Fratti, in a double-bill with his breakthrough play, 'The Academy.'  Taken together, the two plays illustrate the changing nature of the battle of the sexes between the postwar period and now.  The two-part evening is directed by actor/director Stephan Morrow, who plays the instructor of a school for gigolos in 'The Academy.'

Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Executive Director) will present Squeaky Bicycle Productions' World Premiere of Dylan Lamb's dark comedy Ten Ways on a Gun, directed by Kathryn McConnell (Pop Dies in Vegas) October 9-25 at the Community Space Theater at Theater for the New City (155 1st Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets). Performances will be October 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23 & 24 at 8pm; October 12 at 7pm; October 11 & 25 at 3pm.Tickets ($15 in advance; $18 at the door) are available online at www.squeakybicycleproductions.com or by calling SmartTix at 212-868-4444. The show runs approximately 2 hours, including intermission. 

Theater for the New City (Executive Director, Crystal Field) presents the world premiere of the musical comedy Heather Smiley for President, which will begin previews on Thursday, October 1st, at the Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue at 10th Street), with an opening set for Sunday, October 11th.    The musical has a book and lyrics by Tom Attea with music composed by Arthur Abrams. The production is directed by Mark Marcante and choreographed by Angela Harriell. Heather Smiley for President will play a limited engagement through October 25th. Tickets are $15 ($10 for seniors) and can be purchased online at www.TheaterfortheNewCity.net or http://www.smarttix.com or at the box office and by calling 212-254-1109.  

'Sister's Keeper' is a play co-written by Cordelia Donovan and Terri Jones Salter and directed by Cordelia Donovan. 'Sister's Keeper' will have its world premiere tonight, September 10, through September 14 in Theater for the New City's 2015 Dream Up Festival.