THE ROOT OF IT ALL to Tour All Five NYC Boroughs in Free Street Theater Production
Theater for the New City's Crystal Field directs the comic musical, with score by Peter Dizozza.
Theater for the New City's Street Theater Company will open its 2026 annual tour Saturday, August 1 with “The Root of it all: A Dentist's Tale,” a comic musical in which a neighborhood dentist and a brigade of unlikely heroes battle cavities of fear, hatred, and injustice after an ICE raid. Book, lyrics and direction are by Crystal Field, Artistic Director of Theater for the New City (TNC). The musical score is composed and arranged by Peter Dizozza. Free performances will tour parks, playgrounds and closed-off streets throughout the five boroughs through September 13.
TNC's Street Theater has impacted generations of audiences, encouraging the younger generation to make a difference in their own neighborhoods. Productions have celebrated the diversity of our heritage, the strength of our citizens, and the optimistic hope for a successful road to their future. In this year's play, a neighborhood dentist operates a free weekend clinic that serves children from immigrant families. When several young patients suddenly stop coming for their checkups, he fears something is terribly wrong. His suspicions are confirmed when an ICE agent storms into the clinic to seize a child in the middle of an appointment. Mistaking the dentist's dental drill for a weapon, the agent shouts, "Drop the gun!" The bewildered dentist protests, "The gum! The gum!" before being knocked unconscious.
In a fantastical dream, the dentist enters a surreal world where dancing teeth, an activist Tooth Fairy, and a chorus of very "patient" patients battle the moral decay threatening America's ideals. With ICE agents emerging from giant cavities as symbols of fear and division, the dentist envisions a quest to "root out" hatred instead of people. A brigade of unlikely heroes invokes the nation's immigrant heritage--from its earliest settlers to generations of newcomers--celebrating America's diversity, compassion, and shared humanity. The historic wisdom of the United States promises a future in which the cavities of war are filled with hope and the promise of cooperation and peace. The community awakens from its nightmare inspired and unites to protect its neighbors and secure the child's release, reminding us that healing a nation, like caring for a smile, begins by getting to the root of it all.
The production will be staged with an elaborate assemblage of trap doors, giant puppets, smoke machines, masks, original choreography and a huge (9' x 12') running screen or "cranky" providing continuous moving scenery behind the actors. The company of 22 actors, ten crew members, two stage managers, three assistant directors and five live musicians (led by the composer at the keyboard) will share the challenge of performing outside and holding a large, non-captive audience. The music will vary in style from Bossa Nova to Hip Hop to Musical Comedy to classical Cantata. The play is a bouncy joyride through the undulations of the body politic, with astute commentary couched in satire, song and slapstick.
TNC's free Street Theater productions are delightfully suited for family audiences, since complex social issues are often presented through children's allegories, with children and neighborhood people as the heroes. Michael David Gordon heads the cast of 22 as the Dentist. The five-piece band is led by composer Peter Dizozza.
Saturday, August 1
Manhattan: Outside Theater for the New City at E. 10th St. & First Ave. at 2:00 PM
Sunday, August 2
Bronx: St. Mary's Park at 147th St. & St. Ann's Ave. at 2:00 PM
Saturday, August 8
Staten Island: Tappen Park, Bay St. betw. 77th & 78th Sts. at 2:00 PM
Sunday, August 9
Manhattan: Central Park Bandshell, 72nd Street Crosswalk at 2:00 PM
Friday, August 14
Brooklyn: Coney Island Boardwalk at W. 21st Street at 5:00 PM
Saturday, August 15
Manhattan: St. Marks Church at E. 10th St. & Second Ave. at 2:00 PM
Sunday, August 16
Manhattan: Jackie Robinson Park at W. 147th St. & Bradhurst Ave. at 2:00 PM
Saturday, August 22
Manhattan: Washington Square Park at 2:00 PM
Sunday, August 23
Queens: Travers Park at 34th Ave. betw. 77th & 78th Sts. at 2:00 PM
Saturday, August 30
Brooklyn: Sunset Park at 6th Ave. & 44th St. at 2:00 PM
Sunday, August 31
Brooklyn: Fort Greene Park, Myrtle Avenue & St. Edwards Street at 2:00 PM
Saturday, September 12
Manhattan: Sol Bloom Playground, W. 91st Street btwn. Columbus & Central Park West at 2:00 PM
Sunday, September 13
Manhattan: Tompkins Square Park at E. 7th St. & Ave. A at 2:00 PM
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