New Musical AN AMERICAN WORKER Begins 12/26 at Theater for the New City

As American workers continue to be impacted by the dynamics of the global marketplace and downward pressure on their wages, Theater for the New City and its Executive Director Crystal Field will present AN AMERICAN WORKER, a world premiere play and lyrics by Tom Attea with music composed by Arthur Abrams. The musical drama spotlights the harsh realities of the families of steelworkers in a Pennsylvania town where the steel mill, which has been the principal employer for 75 years, announces its impending closure. The production is slated for an off-Broadway run December 26, 2014 - January 18, 2015, with the official opening on January 8, at Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue). Mark Marcante will direct the production. Choreography is by Angela Harriell. www.TheaterfortheNewCity.net

As the unionized workers strike to protect their wages and benefits, they strive to make a settlement with management, but negotiations break down and the mill must shut its doors and liquidate its assets to pay off its debts. AN AMERICAN WORKER is about the effects of the economic calamity on the workers and their families and how they cope, or fail to cope, with the disaster.

The playwright grew up in a small town in southwest Pennsylvania, near the West Virginia border. In Pennsylvania history books, his hometown, Connellsville, is referred to as "the coke capital of the world." Its livelihood depended on semi-burning coal into coke in hundreds of beehive-shaped coke ovens, which are still ensconced in the hills surrounding the town, and shipping it by rail to the steel mills in Pittsburgh. At its height, the town had about 22,000 residents, including more millionaires per capita than any other city in America. Frick and Morgan were both there. But the town was devastated when the steel ovens in Pittsburgh switched from coke to gas, and it has never fully recovered. The current population is just over 9,000, or less than half of what it once was.

The cast of AN AMERICAN WORKER features Mark Ryan Anderson, Kelsey Mathes, Matthew Angel, Elijah Black, Patti DeMatteo, Arthur Harold, Robert Homeyer, and George Morafetis.

Lighting Designer is Alexander Bartenieff, Sound Designer is Alex Santullo, Costume & Prop Designer is Lytza Colon and the Assistant Director is Danielle Hauser?.

AN AMERICAN WORKER is the 11th collaboration of playwright and lyricist Tom Attea, composer Arthur Abrams, and director Mark Marcante.

Performances of AN AMERICAN WORKER will be Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 PM and matinees are on Sundays at 3PM during the first two weeks and then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8 and Sunday at 3 through January 18.

Tickets to AN AMERICAN WORKER are $15 ($10 for seniors) and available by calling the box office at 212.254.1109, online at www.TheaterfortheNewCity.net or at the box office prior to each performance. They're also available at SmartTix. Theater for the New City is publicly funded.

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