CURRENT & UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS
A Seasonal Press Calendar

Publicity photos for most shows are available for free download.

Closed productions have been removed from this list.
If you need info or photos for a production which has closed, please email us.

"Feathers of Fire" is the most elaborate shadow theater experience ever created, and this recording, captured on an actual theater stage, transforms it into a video-on-demand production for all ages. The story is adapted from Shahnameh (the Persian Book of Kings) and tells the action-packed tale of two star-crossed lovers of old Persia. Zaul, an outcast albino boy, is brought up by a bird-goddess and grows up into a wise ruler. He enters into a forbidden love with Rudabeh, a princess who is the granddaughter of the dreaded Serpent King. Their young, impetuous romance survives many precarious adventures before they finally receive blessings for their union. When they ultimately have a child, it is Rostam, "the Hercules of Iran." Aspects of the story are reminiscent of "Romeo and Juliet," "Rapunzel," "The Firebird" and "Jungle Book."

The piece is created and directed by Hamid Rahmanian, a 2014 Guggenheim fellowship-winning filmmaker/visual artist living in Brooklyn. It is endorsed by Francis Ford Coppola, who called the production "Fantastic! One of the greatest epics of all time and my favorite Shahnameh brought to life in a spectacular fashion by Hamid Rahmanian with shadow puppets design and cinematic wizardry."

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/feathers.htm

FILM: "USED AND BORROWED TIME"
Post production has completed in Estonia for "Used and Borrowed Time," written and directed by Sophia Romma. The idyllic love of a youthful interracial couple rises above the hatred of a vengeful white supremacist family in segregationist Alabama during the 1960s. This experimental avant-garde piece, a psychological drama phantasma, has been released to festivals, where it has won numerous awards. It pays homage to the French New Wave films of Goddard, Truffaut and Agnès Varda.

COMPLETE INFO: http://usedandborrowedtime.com

VIDEO ON DEMAND
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY & NEW YIDDISH REP PRODUCTION OF "THE DYBBUK"
"The Dybbuk" is arguably the most well-known play in the Yiddish theater lexicon. It was premiered on December 9, 1920 by the Vilna Troupe at the Eizeum theater in Warsaw. Its success catapulted that company onto the International stage. It has since been translated into 27 languages and performed worldwide. From December 9-13, New Yiddish Rep celebrated the play's 100th birthday with a live performance streamed from Theater For The New City. A recording of the production has now been released for the general public to view on Vimeo.

MORE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/Dybbuk.htm

EVERY SATURDAY
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
"OPEN 'THO SHUT"
On Saturdays from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM, Theater for the New City (TNC), 155 First Ave., presents "Open 'Tho Shut," a weekly series of free, live walk-by performances in which acts will be staged live in the theater's set shop for audiences of socially distanced passers-by, who watch through an open garage door on East Tenth Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. The shop was renamed "The Chop Shop Theater" for this series. It is outfitted with an elaborate set by Mark Marcante and Litza Colon, full stage lighting by Alexander Bartenieff and a four-mic sound system.

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/chop_shop.htm

FEBRUARY 13, 20 AND 27
NEW FEDERAL THEATRE CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH
READINGS SERIES
On Saturdays from February 13 to 27, 2021 New York's New Federal Theatre (NFT) will present "New Federal Theatre Celebrates Black History Month," a retrospective readings series in which three rarely-done yet noteworthy plays, all previously produced by NFT, will be recreated by accomplished actors and directors. These plays illuminate burning issues of their time and are newly instructive today. The plays are: "When the Chickens Come Home to Roost" by Laurence Holder (February 13 @ 7:00 PM,  streaming until February 15 @ midnight), "The Meeeting" by Jeff Stetson (February 20 @ 7:00 PM; February 21 @ 7:00 PM and February 22 @ 7:00 PM) and "Widows" by Mfundi Vundla (February 27 @ 7:00 PM, streaming until March 1 @ midnight).

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/NFT_Black_Hist.htm

FEBRUARY 20
AVAILABLE ON-DEMAND UNTIL MARCH 7
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS POW-WOW AND DANCE CONCERT
Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, will present its 46th annual Thunderbird American Dancers Pow Wow and Dance Concert live streamed from the theater on February 20, 2021 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. This "virtual Pow-Wow" will be accessible via the theater's website, www.theaterforthenewcity.net, and available there on demand until March 7, 2021. There will be dances, stories and traditional music from Native Peoples of the Northeast, Southwest and Great Plains regions. The event, emceed by Bessie-winner Louis Mofsie (Hopi/Winnebago), 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. Admission is only $5 and additional donations will be gratefully accepted. The event is recommended for all ages. To purchase tickets, go to www.theaterforthenewcity.net.

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/Pow-Wow.htm

MARCH 27
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY (ONLINE)
RADIO PERFORMANCE OF "HER TENNESSEE WALTZ" BY TOBY ARMOUR, DIRECTED BY GEORGE FERENCZ
For Women's History Month, "Her Tennessee Waltz," a radio play by Tony Armour, will be presented by Theater for the New City March 27, which is World Theater Day. The play follows Carrie Chapman Catt as she leads the final effort to ratify the 19th Amendment. The performance is directed by George Ferencz and accessible from the theater's website, www.theatreforthenewcity.net. Admission is free but donations will be gratefully accepted. Susan B. Anthony had spent a lifetime fighting for a woman's right to vote. Dying in 1906, she never saw the end of the struggle. The battle continues under her chosen successor, Carrie Chapman Catt. In 1920, the 19th Amendment--giving women the right to vote--is coming before a special session of the Tennessee legislature. If Tennessee, the 36th state, ratifies it, the Amendment will become law of the land after 87 years of struggle. The suspense is hair-raising as the play shows us--up close and historically--how near the country came to never allowing women to vote.

SEPTEMBER, 2021
THEATER 80 ST. MARKS
NEGRO ENSEMBLE COMPANY PRESENTS "GRANDMA'S QUILT"
Run resumes for a production that was suspended when theaters went dark in March, 2020. In this solo play by Karen A. Brown, an elderly poor, unpretentious Black woman in rural Arkansas is sewing a quilt as the final act of her life. Each scrap of material is a prism into a chapter of her family's past. As she reflects on each period, she transforms into younger versions of herself to lead us through the history that she intends to pass on to her granddaughter. Grandma’s strength is her humanity and ability to survive; to hope, to love, and to just carry on. Her quilt is significant, her story universal and her message inspirational. One actress portrays the old woman at six points in her life as well as the granddaughter. Performed by the author, who is is Executive Artistic Director of The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. Directed by Anthony J. Hamilton.

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