Crystal Field

The Annual Summer Street Theater Tour is a free operetta-for-the-streets that tours 13 locations in all 5 boroughs of New York City. Begun in the early 1970s and embodying the grassroots ideals of that decade, Street Theater aims to raise social awareness in the communities it performs in, creating civic dialogue that inspires a better understanding of the world beyond the communities' geographic boundaries. Written and Directed by Crystal Field, TNC's Street Theater features a company of 50 and performs on Weekends in Parks, Playgrounds, Closed-off streets and the like.

The theater officially opened in March 1971. Its initial two seasons included plays by Richard Foreman, Charles Ludlam, Miguel Piñero and Jean-Claude van Itallie. Theater for the New City also began its Annual Summer Street Theater, and founded the Village Halloween Parade with Puppeteer Ralph Lee. The Parade won an Obie Award under TNC administration, but a Desire to be much more commercially viable than TNC's anti-establishment spirit would allow caused Ralph Lee to form his own Parade Committee and split from TNC in 1973. TNC subsequently inaugurated its Village Halloween Costume Ball, which it still holds to this day.

In 1977, the theater moved from the West Village to the East Village, converting a former Tabernacle Baptist church at 156 2nd Avenue, near East 10th Street, into a cultural complex with a rehearsal room and three theaters named after Joe Cino, Charles Stanley and James Waring. Notable productions in the late 1970s and 1980s include the American premiere of two of Heiner Muller’s plays, Hamletmachine in 1984 and Quartett in 1985; and Buried Child by Sam Shepard in 1978. The Theater for the New City production of Buried Child moved Off-Broadway to the Theatre de Lys and in 1979, and became the first Off-Off-Broadway play to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Responding to the homeless Problem of the late 1980s and government cutbacks in the arts, TNC created an after school Arts-in-Education program for shelter children in 1990. Budget cuts also forced the theater to reluctantly raise its admission prices from $4 to $5–$7 in 1993 ($7 was then the price of a movie ticket) and then to $10 in 1994. The current cap on ticket prices is $20. Other major changes in this period include the resignation of George Bartenieff in 1992. Crystal Field remains as Executive Artistic Director.

The Seward and Joyce Johnson Theater was the first theater to finish renovation in 1991. Funding for the theater was provided by Sculptor John Seward Johnson II of the Johnson and Johnson family, and his wife Joyce. Johnson designed and created the silver archway into the theater. One of the largest theaters Off-Off-Broadway, and the only space that can be used as a 99-seat Off-Off-Broadway theater or be transformed into a 240-seat Off-Broadway theater, the Johnson Theater opened in 1991 with Grandchild of Kings by Hal Prince. The theater is used for large-scale productions, including the annual Bread & Puppet nativity during the holiday season and an annual pow-wow coordinated by the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers.

The Community Festival Program consists of two free annual events, the Village Halloween Costume Ball and the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts. The Halloween Ball showcases over 450 artists and performers at a multi-level theatrical event, with performances that spill out onto the street. The Lower East Side Festival of the Arts is a free three-day weekend long extravaganza celebrating the cultural and artistic diversity of the Lower East Side. This event has grown tenfold since its inception in 1996, and is currently attended by over 3,000 people annually.

The Cabaret Theater was renovated along with TNC's basement in 1999 and at 65 seats is TNC's smallest theater. An ersatz-Black Box type space, one-person plays and late-night cabarets often use this space, which as The Womb Room during the Annual Halloween Ball, showcases work by new performance artists and Musicians.

The renovation of Theater for the New City came at a great cost to its relationship with the community in 2000 when Mayor Rudolph Giuliani sold the air rights above the theater (which the City had retained) to a developer. TNC was at that time in default of a loan borrowed against a pledged grant from the Manhattan Borough President's Office, which never materialized. The City put a lien against TNC in 1997 and unable to find a major donor to pay off the $519,634 lien, TNC was forced to agree to the construction of a 12-story tower above their space in order to have the lien forgiven. The Faustian deal was somewhat sweetened by giving TNC an extension on their mortgage and allowing the theater to have one seat on the condo board. Being vastly taller than the 6-story tenement buildings prevalent in the Lower East Side, the condo tower was seen as a threat to the character of the neighborhood and construction in 2000 occurred amidst great protest. The tower became even more of a controversy when the developer hired non-union workers to build the tower.

The Community Space Theater was the last theater to be renovated in 2001. It has 91 seats and a sprung wood dance floor. Initially, this space consisted of risers and a stage concealed from the lobby by a heavy black curtain. During the renovation of 2001, an outer wall was added, and a formal dressing room was created as well.

In 2004, TNC began holding an annual Valentine's Day Benefit. The Love N' Courage Benefit is held on a Monday night, near Valentine's Day. Beginning in 2007, this benefit is held at The National Arts Club. The event, presented in a pageant style, is meant as a fundraiser for TNC, and has honored friends of TNC, patrons of the arts, and, in 2006, the City of New Orleans. TNC donated a portion of the proceeds raised from this Benefit to Southern Rep, a theater company in New Orleans whose space was destroyed in the floods resulting from Hurricane Katrina. This event often features a star-studded lineup of performers; it has been hosted by Charles Busch and Julie Halston, and performers have included Kitty Carlisle Hart, Elaine Stritch, Patricia Neal, Tammy Grimes, F. Murray Abraham, Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson. The 2008 benefit honored Playwright Edward Albee and included performances by Elaine Stritch, Marian Seldes, Basil Twist and Bill Irwin. The 2009 benefit honored Elaine Stritch and in 2010, Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson were honored. In 2012, TNC honored the 100th birthday of Bel Kaufman. The benefit in 2013 will honor Charles Busch.

TNC is featured in the 2007 Academy Award nominated film The Savages.

Theater for the New City's annual summer performance festival known as Dream Up Festival started in 2010. The festival is dedicated to new works and performances run in August and September. Theater for the New City is looking for the best writing and or most original concepts to present to New York City.

TNC announced in January 2013 that the mortgage on their space at 155 1st Avenue, which had begun in 1987 at $717,000, had been retired, 5 years ahead of schedule, thanks to a two-year "Burn The Mortgage" campaign that included widespread support from individual donors and independent foundations. This ensures TNC will remain a permanent fixture on the landscape of Theater in New York City.

The Cino Theater is named after Joe Cino and is the third space in TNC's history to bear Cino’s name. A long and shallow theater with 74 seats, the Cino Theater is TNC's most modifiable space, and has been at times arranged as a thrust stage and an arena stage.