14 Dec Theater for the New City to Present the Sixth Installment of “Open ‘tho Shut,” Its Walk-by Theater Series, on December 19

Downtown variety show is staged weekly in TNC’s set shop for outdoor audiences. This week, the show is a Christmas Carol sing-along, ideal for families.

On Saturday, December 19 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM, Theater for the New City (TNC), 155 First Ave., will present the sixth installment of “Open ‘Tho Shut,” its afternoon of “walk-by theater” that is staged in its set shop and visible from East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues.

The program offers a succession of free, live performances in which acts are staged in the theater’s set shop for audiences of socially distanced passers-by, who watch through an open garage door on East Tenth Street.  The shop was renamed “The Chopshop Theater” for this series.  It is outfitted with an elaborate set by Mark Marcante and Litza Colon, full stage lighting and a four-mic sound system.

The December 19 show will entirely be a participatory audience sing-along of well-known Christmas Carols.  Singing will be led by members of TNC’s Street Theater Company and accompanied by pianist Peter Dizozza.  The show is intended to recreate the family fun of the annual Tompkins Square Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, which is canceled this year due to Covid-19.  Sheet music will be distributed free to all participants.  Even though the sing-along will be outside, masks will be required and social distancing will be observed with standing placements marked in chalk on the sidewalk.

As an additional treat, Crystal Field, Artistic Director of TNC, will perform “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Singers will include Daniel Wilkes Kelly, Natasha Velez, Justin Rodriguez, Emily Pezzella, Crystal Field and Ben Harburg.  Song selections will include “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” “O Hanukkah,” “White Christmas,”  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and more.

Running time will be one hour.

“Open ‘Tho Shut” will continue throughout the winter as a weekly event.  Tents are set up to shield audience members in inclement weather.

BACKGROUND
The series was launched November 14 as part of “More Ways than Broadway’s,” a city-wide collection of safe and socially distanced pop-up performances to demonstrate small theaters’ readiness and desperate desire to physically reopen and to counteract the perception, based on formal Broadway, that legitimate theaters can’t reopen safely.  The performances were intended to demonstrate an Off-Off Broadway aesthetic that could allow smaller theaters to open safely at this time.

TNC pioneered walk-by theater in its 2020 Village Halloween Costume Ball October 31, when it reconfigured its set shop with lighting and sound to make it a venue for ten-minute plays.  The effort was named “Chopshop Theater.” Ten live performances were offered for revelers who might pass by on East Tenth Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues). They watched through an open garage door and were separated from the performers by a waist-high, see-through traffic barricade.  Standing spaces for audience members were delineated six feet apart with chalked pumpkins on the sidewalk.  Onlookers were urged to move on between performances so that the crowd would not become too large, health-wise.

TNC requires all “Open ‘Tho Shut” performers to be tested before their appearances. Temperatures are taken as they arrive to perform.  Hand sanitizer is provided and microphones are sanitized between performances.  Masks are provided to any audience members who arrive without their own.  Emcees have a separate mic.

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