Theater for the New City Premieres VERZET AMSTERDAM [RESISTANCE AMSTERDAM]

Verzet Amsterdam [Resistance Amsterdam] dramatizes the true story of artists in World War II occupied Amsterdam who band together to resist fascism and protect Jews from deportation and death. Written by Barbara Kahn. Directed by Robert Gonzales Jr. and Barbara Kahn. Set and light design by Mark Marcante. Costume design by Everett Clark. Sound design by Joy Linscheid. Vintage prop design by Lytza Colon. Featuring Steve Barkman, Benjamin Cardona, Robert Gonzales Jr., Carl Ellis Grant, Jared Johnston, Anya Krawcheck, Christopher Lowe, Paolo Solis, Steph Van Vlack. April 5-22, 2018. Theater for the New City 155 1st Ave (9th & 10th Sts.)

Thus-Sat. @8pm, Sun @3pm. Reservations: 212-254-1109. Advance tkts: www.theaterforthenewcity.net.

Verzet Amsterdam, with its relevance to today's global threats, presents the valiant Dutch artists who fought against fascism in occupied Amsterdam. They came from differing artistic careers, races, religions and sexual identities. When their first efforts faced exposure, they decided on a more drastic and decisive action. Cellist Frieda Belinfante, poet Willi Arondeus, composer Jan Van Gilse, sculptor Gerrit Van Der Veen and museum curator Willem Sandberg risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbors.

"I only wish that my life will have been a life worth living..." Frieda Belinfante

"People will know that homosexuals are not cowards." Willem "Willi" Arondeus.

Partial funding for the production is provided by The Puffin Foundation and private donations.

Photo: Steph Van Vlack and Anya Krawcheck; Robert Gonzales Jr and Steph Van Vlack; Paolo Solis

Photo credit: Joe Bly

Barbara Kahn. Theater for the New City has been the primary New York City home for Barbara's plays since 1994. Her plays have been produced in the U.S., France and Germany. She has directed in New York, Paris, and at the National Theatre in London. Among her many awards: the Torch of Hope Award for lifetime achievement in non-profit theatre, following past recipients Terrence McNally, August Wilson, Horton Foote and A.R. Gurney; the joint Robert Chesley Playwriting Award/Wurlitzer Foundation Residency in Taos, NM; and a 2017 Acker Award. With Jackie S. Freeman, she co-authored the lyrics to "Actions are the Music of the Free," music by Jennifer Giering, performed at the United Nations Tribute to Dame Nita Barrow. A "short list of prominent post-1970's playwrights who identify as Jewish and who have written about Jews includes Jon Robin Baitz, Richard Greenburg, Alan Havis, Barbara Kahn, Tony Kushner, Barbara Lebow, Jennifer Maisel, Karen Malpede, David Mamet, Emily Mann, Donald Margulies, Elizabeth Swados, Jeffrey Sweet, Alfred Uhry, and Wendy Wasserstein." (You Should See Yourself: Jewish Identity in Postmodern American Culture. Vincent Brook. Rutgers University Press.) Member: The Dramatists Guild, AEA and SAG/AFTRA. www.barbara-kahn.com

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY (TNC) is a Pulitzer Prize winning community cultural center that is known for its high artistic standards and widespread community service. One of New York's most prolific theatrical organizations, TNC produces 20-30 premieres of new American plays per year, at least 10 of which are by emerging and young playwrights. Many influential theater artists of the last quarter century have found TNC's Resident Theater Program instrumental to their careers, among them Sam Shepard, Moises Kaufman, Richard Foreman, Charles Busch, Maria Irene Fornes, Miguel Piñero and Academy Award Winners Tim Robbins and Adrien Brody. TNC also presents plays by multi-ethnic/multi-disciplinary theater companies who have no permanent home. Among the well-known companies that have been presented by TNC are Mabou Mines, The Living Theater, Bread and Puppet Theater, the San Francisco Mime Troupe and the Ma-Yi Theater Company, which won an OBIEAward for its 1996 TNC production, FLIPZOIDS. TNC also produced the Yangtze Repertory Company's 1997 production of BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, which was the only play ever produced in America by Gao Xingjian before he won the 2000 Nobel Prize for Literature. TNC seeks to develop theater audiences and inspire future theater artists from the often-overlooked low-income minority communities of New York City by producing minority writers from around the world and by bringing the community into theater and theater into the community through its many free Festivals. TNC productions have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and over 40 OBIE Awards for excellence in every theatrical discipline. TNC is also the only Theatrical Organization to have won the Mayor's Stop the Violence award. www.theaterforthenewcity.net

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