Fog and Filthy Air, a new drama at Theater for the New City

Inspired by real life events and written by Tom Diriwachter about family, fog, and a road trip gone horribly wrong, Jonathan Weber directs a cast of three, including Steve Gamble, Bob Homeyer, and Kate A. McGrath*. Following a desperate phone call, Tim arrives by bus at the Hound Dog Motel, a by-the-hour hellhole outside Memphis, Tennessee, with the purpose of rescuing his parents from a 1996 road trip to Graceland gone horribly wrong. As the mystery of how they became stranded unravels, Father tells of hitting a fog bank, leading to his having an emotional breakdown. Stuck in a purgatory overseen by a black velvet painting of Elvis, Fog and Filthy Air is an intense drama that finds humor in the worst of circumstances. Ultimately, it is a love story.

“Fog and Filthy Air interlaces the universal themes of family, dreams and death to tell a love story for the ages,” says playwright Tom Diriwachter. “While stranded in a purgatory, the family must deal with their past while learning that the people you rely on, will inevitably come to rely on you.”

Performances for Fog and Filthy Air are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm.

Ticket Prices are $20 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors.

For More Information, visit: TheaterForTheNewCity.net.

Direct ticketing link: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35441/production/1226226

The runtime is 90 minutes, no intermission.

Fog and Filthy Air is presented by Theater for the New City. Set Designer: Mark Marcante; Lighting Designer: Alexander Bartenieff; Production Stage Manager: Sara Gierc; Publicity: Paul Siebold, OFF OFF PR. Photos and Graphic Design by Peter Welch.

Tom Diriwachter (playwright) - Fog and Filthy Air is Tom’s eighth full-length play produced in Manhattan, and fourth at Theater for the New City. In addition, he has had numerous one-acts produced at various theaters and festivals in New York and Los Angeles, including the Strawberry Festival, the Turnip Festival, Love Creek, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and West Coast Ensemble. He has been a featured artist in the LES Festival for the past decade. His play Great Kills starred Joe Pantoliano. Asterisk, his play about the baseball steroid crisis, was archived by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. Recently, he completed his first novel, Good Money After Bad.

Jonathan Weber (director) - As Director, credits include: Great Kills (featuring Emmy Award-winner Joe Pantoliano), A Healthy House, Age Out, Guaranteed to Never Lose Suction, Shock Therapy, Bear!, The Professor and the Whore, and The Irish Goodbye, all by Tom Diriwachter; Thelonious!, and Two Alone/Too Together by Peter Welch; two plays by Oliver Thrun and six by Walter Corwin. He was Assistant Director for TNC’s award-winning Summer Street Theater tour for 11 years, under the direction of Crystal Field. Jonathan is Managing Director for Theater for the New City. He has held this position since 2018 and previously from 2009 through 2014. His association with Theater for the New City goes back to 2002. He is a long-time member of the planning committees for TNC’s Love N’ Courage Benefit and the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this Memorial Day weekend. He served as Managing Director for TACT/The Actors Company Theater from 2015 through 2018. He’s also Sharon’s husband, Madeline’s father and a member of SDC. 

Meet the Cast

Steve Gamble (Tim) originally from Charlotte, NC, is a graduate of The University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he earned a BA in Film Studies with a minor in Theater. Now based in New York, NY, Steve is thrilled to collaborate once again with Director Jonathan Weber and writer Tom Diriwachter, their first being on A Healthy House in 2022. With experience spanning both stage and screen, Steve has brought depth and versatility to a variety of supporting and lead roles.

Bob Homeyer (Father) has been working as a writer and actor in New York for the past 15 years.  He has appeared in two prior productions written by Tom Diriwachter and directed by Jonathan Weber; Age Out (2010) and Great Kills (2015), in addition to several of Tom's one acts for the Lower East Side Festival. Other credits include Christopher Marlowe's Julius Caesar (also co-writer and director), Three of a Kind with Two Wild Cards (also writer and director), Sign in the Six O'Clock Sky, Grand Theft Musical, Three Mile Limit, An American Worker, Rebecca Bonnie Bob, and Creditors.  Follow Bob on Instagram at @bobhomeyer.

Kate A. McGrath* (Mother) - Film credits include Julia in “Clandestine” (Best Supporting Actress Award winner, Houston Broadcast Film Critics Award - David LaRosa, Director); Maryann in “DEALeR” (Screenwriting nomination, 2nd Annual Golden Door International Film Festival - Nick DeMatteo, Director); Bird in “Requiem” (David LaRosa, Director); Connie MacStevenson in “The Tale of Nicky Newarkˆ (David LaRosa, Director); Nina in “Lock-Load-Love” (David LaRosa, Director); Jess in “Running Time” (JR Timmons, Director), Kate in “Superstar Talent” (Lenny Marcus, Director). Stage Credits include CATAPULT! at Theater for the New City, Life Without Parole at Manhattan Rep, Weep for the Virgins at Irish Repertory Theatre, Guaranteed Never to Lose Suction and Stops (Along the Road) at Theater for a New City, The Blue Room with Black Nexxus in conjunction with Susan Batson, No Way Out with Impetuous Theatre Group, Sustaining at Manhattan Theatre Source, MotherLove at Creative Artists Lab and The Last Resort at Chashama Theatre. Screenwriting credits include “Clandestine” (2016), “The Basement” (as part of “Requiem”, 2013) and “DEALeR” (2012).  

*Member, Actors’ Equity Association