CONTENTS: September 2, 2026: Now Playing Upcoming Film Footlights View this page in a web browser

 

NOW PLAYING

THROUGH SEPTEMBER 13
IN PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS & CLOSED-OFF STREETS THROUGHOUT THE FIVE BOROUGHS
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY'S STREET THEATER TOUR,
"THE ROOT OF IT ALL: A DENTIST'S TALE"

Snatching of a kid by ICE from Dentist's office ignites a protest. Mayor Zohran Mamdani (played by Arun Saini) attends. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

"The Root of it All: a Dentist's Tale" is a brand-new comic Street Theater 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 by Crystal Field, Artistic Director of Theater for the New City. Musical score composed and arranged by Peter Dizozza. It's 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, with complex social issues often presented through children's allegories, with children and neighborhood people as the heroes.

 

 

THROUGH SEPTEMBER 13
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
DREAM UP FESTIVAL

(L) "Shangri-La-La, a comic musical about Siegfried & Roy." (C) Josh Shellman and Snezhana Chernyavskaya in "Wilhelm Reich Unleashed: A Comedy about Cosmic Orgone Energy, Flying Saucers, and Magic Sex Boxes." (R ) Robin Hirsch, writer/performer of "Pleasant Dreams."

Theater for the New City (TNC), under the direction of Crystal Field, is currently presenting its 14th Dream Up Festival, an annual festival of new theatrical and performance works. The festival is curated by TNC Literary Manager Michael Scott-Price. It presents new work by emerging and established artists, with an emphasis on experimental and nontraditional performance. This year's lineup includes 23 productions comprising 18 world premieres, one special engagement, one workshop, and three shows with previous production histories. See the lineup on the festival website.

 

 

THROUGH SEPTEMBER 13
GURAL THEATRE AT THE A.R.T. THEATRES, 502 W. 53RD STREET
SMOKING MIRROR THEATRE COMPANY IN
"A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM"

L-R: Caroline Feduccia (Cobweb), Roslind Joyce (Peaseblossom), Abdullah Nasser (Bottom), Ruby Rich (Titania), Samuel Andrews (Mote), Catherin Desciak (Mustardseed). Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

Smoking Mirror Theatre Company, an emerging Shakespeare troupe, is making its late summer Shakespeare productions at A.R.T.'s Gural Theatre a regular annual event, having previously mounted "The Tempest" (2025) and "The Life and Death of King John" (2026) there. This year, co-directors John Gordon and Ruby Rich are staging "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Shakespeare's most enchanted comedy, with wily minimalism. No elaborate scenery. No theatrical excess. Just fourteen actors, Shakespeare's language, and the audience's imagination.

 

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UPCOMING

SEPTEMBER 16 TO OCTOBER 25
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
"TAKING IT TO THE STREETS," AN ARCHIVAL EXHIBIT OF THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY'S FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF STREET THEATER HISTORY

Theater for the New City (TNC), the historic Off-Broadway Venue that has produced new and avant-garde theater since 1971, is hosting a special exhibit to celebrate 55 years of its Summer Street Theater, an annual production of a new musical with book and lyrics by TNC Co-Founder and Executive Artistic Director Crystal Field. The composers of TNC's Street Theater over the years are David Tice, Mark Hardwick, Joseph Vernon Banks and Peter Dizozza. The exhibit will feature photos, recordings, posters, print materials, costumes, props, and other memorabilia, highlighting the people, productions and cultural impact of the Summer Street Theater throughout the decades. The opening is set for Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 6:00 PM in TNC’s gallery located at 155 1st Ave, New York, NY, 10003. Video screenings of selected productions continue Sundays through October 25. It's all curated by Briana Bartenieff.

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 17 TO OCTOBER 4
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
"OBIT" BY REBECCA CHACE

Carolyn Holding (L) plays an advance-obituary writer for the New York Times who comes to interview an aging college president, played by Richard Topol (R). Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

"Obit" by Rebecca Chace is a female revenge thriller set in the dystopian future. Maya Hawthorne, an “advance” obituary writer for the New York Times, arrives at the house of an aging college president, Philip Stern, on the campus of Briarwood College to interview him for his obituary. It is deep winter, the college is shut down, wolves and feral dogs roam the grounds. To many, President Stern represents the best of liberal arts values. He is also an art monster who hopes this interview will solidify his legacy with a glowing obituary in the Times. Maya Hawthorne wants answers from the man who ruined her life years earlier. It's a play of interrogation, professional power, and control of a person’s legacy that explores whether revenge can ever produce truth. You can come to this show for the revenge, stay for the suspense, and leave arguing about justice.

 

 

SEPTEMBER 18 TO OCTOBER 4
THEATRE ROW, THEATRE #5
"SHELTER INN PLACE"

Front row (L-R): Haley Zale, Mike Roche. Behind (L-R): Alyssa Simon, Aaron Lamm, Martin Revere. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

Ego Actus Theatre Company presents a raucous family comedy, "Shelter Inn Place" by Henry Feldman, directed by Joan Kane. As a powerful hurricane bears down on a coastal bed-and-breakfast, a harried innkeeper finds himself trapped with his suicidal father, his lovestruck son, his ex-wife, and a celebrity therapist, forcing everyone to confront the emotional storms they have been avoiding.

Playwright Henry Feldman drew inspiration from personal experience. During Hurricane Ike in 2008, he and his wife spent two weeks without power after the storm struck Houston. At the same time, he was caring for an aging father while his college-age twins demanded attention from afar. "All this got put in my mind's blender," Feldman says, "and out came this play." It received a developmental production at The Players Theater on MacDougal Street in January, 2026 with reviewers praising its blend of humor and heart. The production was then titled "Shelter in Place." After re-writes, an extra "n" has been added to the title, making it "Shelter Inn Place."

 

 

OCTOBER 31
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
VILLAGE HALLOWEEN COSTUME BALL

(Center) Lissa Mira leads scream contest. Photo by Lee Wexler. (Right) Costume judging at 2002 Village Halloween Costume Ball. (L-R): H.M. Koutoukas, Tom O'Horgan, Crystal Field. Photo by Akiko.

To celebrate the spookiest night of the year with art, music, and community spirit, Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will host its annual Village Halloween Costume Ball. A large outdoor festivity will be held from 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM outside the Theater on East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues (or if it rains, in a big tent), featuring performances and a costume competition for kids. The celebration moves inside from 7:00 PM to midnight with nonstop performances, ballroom dancing, an aerial dance concert, and dining in a pop-up restaurant (The Witch's Cauldron) where for $4, guests can savor gourmet dishes donated by local restaurants. The evening culminates in a costume judging with prizes from 11:00 PM to midnight. Admission is free for the outdoor program and $20 for the indoor festivities. Costumes or formal wear are requested.

 

 

DECEMBER 3 TO 6
LA MAMA E.T.C.
"EN MER AVEC LOUISE BOURGEOIS" BY MICHELLE BESHAW

French-American artist Louise Bourgeois is famous for her monumental spider sculptures, raw explorations of childhood trauma, and deep psychological art that bridged modernism and contemporary installation. Her eight-decade career tackled themes of memory, sexuality, and abandonment through unconventional materials. In this haunting found-object bioplay, discarded things reveal fragments of the memories and obsessions that animated Louise Bourgeois’s work well into her 90s.

Presented by La MaMa as the culminating event of its La MaMa Puppet Series 2026. Conceived, written and directed by Michelle Beshaw, performed by Michelle Beshaw and Deborah Beshaw-Farrell. The Beshaw sisters are stalwarts of Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre.

 

 

 

DECEMBER 24 TO JANUARY 10
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
CZECHOSLOVAK-AMERICAN MARIONETTE THEATRE IN "A CHRISTMAS CAROL, OY! HANNUKAH, MERRY KWANZAA, HAPPY RAMADAN"
Ring out the old year with a joyful burst of multicultural mischief as Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre performs its beloved holiday mashup, "A Christmas Carol, Oy! Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa," a Dickens remix adapted, directed and reinvented by Vit Horejs. It features over 30 exquisitely carved puppets by Milos Kasal including a quartet of Rockettes in Slovak, Moravian and Ruthenian folk costumes and holiday songs in Czech, English, Hebrew, Slovak, Spanish and Swahili.

Photo by Jonathan Slaff

Into Dickens' familiar story is woven a surprising and delightful blend of English, Jewish, African, American and Czech winter rituals and customs, all performed by over three dozen marionettes ranging in size from four to twenty-four inches, as well as found objects and toys.  Mr. Horejs operates the whole cast of puppets, backed up by a live chorus: an "a capella monumentale" choir of Katarina Vizina and Valois Mickens. The piece is still set in Old London, but with Czech accents.  Imagine that the familiar tale was told to you not by an English serial novelist, but by your Czech grandmother.

 

 

 

FEBRUARY 5 TO 14, 2027
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS' POW-WOW AND DANCE CONCERT

Photo by Jonathan Slaff

Thunderbird American Indian Dancers Pow Wow and Dance Concert will include dances, stories and traditional music from 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. TNC donates all proceeds from the event to college scholarship funds for Native American students. A Pow-Wow is more than just a spectator event: it is a joyous reunion for native peoples nationwide and an opportunity for the non-Indian community to voyage into the philosophy and beauty of Native culture. Throughout the performance, all elements are explained in depth through detailed introductions by the troupe's Director and Emcee Louis Mofsie (from the Hopi and Winnebago tribes).

 

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FOOTLIGHTS

SEPTEMBER 9-12
THEATRE ROW, 410 WEST 42ND STREET
"44 LIGHTS," AN EVENING OF REMEMBRANCE
WITH THE CAST OF THE 9/11 MUSICAL "44 LIGHTS"

Twenty-five years later, the light still shines.

After witnessing the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and losing over 30 friends, neighbors and co-workers in the attacks, commodities broker Tim Tuttle discovered something surprising: the healing power of music. Though he had never written music before, the night of 9/11 compelled him to put his grief into song. One song became many, eventually leading to the creation of an annual memorial concert named "Music from Ground Zero."

Last season, Tuttle distilled the experience into a musical theater work for eleven actors and six musicians, titling it "44 Lights." It followed characters based on Tuttle and his circle of friends as they navigate grief, honor the fallen, and discover the power of art to bring people together. The musical was produced last November at The Chain Theatre. This concert is performed by the cast of that production.

The title refers to the 44 halogen lamps which are projected to the sky annually in remembrance of the victims, symbolizing the enduring light of memory and community.

 

 

FROM PUPPETS TO POMLAZKAS
On August 9, Vít Horejš broke his own record in braiding a pomlázka -- a willow whip used in Czech Springtime fertility ceremonies. In under three hours, Horejš braided 82 willow twigs into a monstrous braid festooned with traditional colorful ribons, far surpassing his own record of 28 twigs which was set in 1963, coinciding with the first steps of what was to become known as "Prague Spring." READ THIS ARTICLE for pictures.

Vít Horejš amid trunks of fallen willow tree that contributed branches he wove into a ceremonial whip. Photo by John Erskine.

Vit Horejs will perform "Czech & Slovak Tales With Strings" at a benefit to restore El Bohio Community Center on Monday, September 28 (from 7:00 to 9:00 PM) at Theater for the New City. The El Bohio building is the former PS 64 at 605 E 9th Street, where once upon a time his Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre had its studio.

 

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT WILL TAKE A PRODUCTION TO THE PHOENIX FESTIVAL: LIVE ARTS IN NYACK FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

(Left) Andy Rowell as Touchstone. (Center) Lia Bonfilio as Rosalind. (Right) Adama Joy Sall as Amiens (c) with Dave Marantz as Jacques (guitar) and Emmanuel Elpenord and Carly Grissom as Lords of Arden. Photos by Lee Wexler.

Last season, The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot took its production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack, a three-week festival of world-class theatre, music, dance, and one-of-a-kind performances. This season, they've been invited back. The gritty company presented "As You Like It" July 16 to August 1, 2026 with "energy, humor, and a distinctive New York spirit" (Walter Murphy, Irish Central) in the Parking Lot of Lower East Side Prep, 145 Stanton Street. That production will be re-created Sunday, October 11 at 3:00 PM on the grounds of Nyack's Ross Hand Mansion, 122 South Franklin Street. Bring a blanket or lawn chair to sit on.

 

 

VOCALIST ETHAN MATHIAS SETS FALL SCHEDULE
Seventeen year-old multi-award winner Ethan Mathias, a rare young voice in Cabaret, introduced his second cabaret evening, "Wait 'Til You See What's Next," July 9 at The Green Room 42, 570 Tenth Ave. The evening was developed in collaboration with Musical Director Michael Lavine and is directed by Eric Michael Gillett. Ethan will reprise the evening at the Green Room 42 on November 15 at 1:00 PM and December 8 at 7:00 PM. Reviewers have noted both the richness of his voice and an interpretive sensibility that is uncommon in performers at this stage.

This fall, he will also appear in "Elysian Fields," a new musical, October 13 to November 1 at ATA; an event for the Flutie Foundation at end of September; "The Lineup" with Susie Mosher at The Green Room 42 on October 27; a "Bells are Ringing" 70th anniversary concert with Michael Lavine at 54 Below on October 7; and a three-song set in "Winter Rhythms" at Urban Stages on December 9. All this is wrapped aound his college studies at Manhattan School of Music.

 

 

KEN JAWOROWSKI IS CEMENTING A PLACE IN THE NOIR GENRE
NY Times editor/drama critic Ken Jaworowski is an Edgar Award nominee. His novel "What About the Bodies" was released in paperback on Sept. 1. Read its NYT review. He'll be the guest speaker at this year's Mercer County Library System Book Festival at 11:00 AM on Saturday, Sept. 26.

His third novel, "The Beautiful Burn," will be released on March 9, 2027. This thriller will be his final one set in the rough-and-tumble town of Locksburg, PA. Three ordinary people must each face the past they fled--or risk watching their dreams burn.

 

 

FESTIVAL HONORS FOR SCREENWRITER BOB McANDREW
Last month, screenwriter Bob McAndrew raked in two honors for his work. His "Filthy Stinkin'' Rich" was awarded Best Feature Script by the MEI International Film Festival.

His "When The Rain Came" was named a Second Rounder in the Comedy Teleplay Pilot category of the 2026 Austin Film Festival Script Competition. That distinction places the work among the top 25% of this year’s entries and is a recognition of its strong storytelling and craft.

Mr. McAndrew, a former head of the talent programs at 20th Century Fox and Paramount, teaches a master class in acting for film in Manhattan on Tuesday nights.

 

 

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