Theater for the New City’s award-winning Street Theater Company will open its 2024 annual tour Saturday, August 3 with “The Socialization of a Social Worker or The Fight for Social Justice,” a rip-roaring original musical which tells a story of a humanitarian case worker learning to overcome despair and find strength for today’s challenges through people power. Book, lyrics and direction are by Crystal Field, Artistic Director of Theater for the New City (TNC). The musical score is composed and arranged by Peter Dizzoza. Free performances will tour parks, playgrounds and closed-off streets throughout the five boroughs through September 15.

In the play a social worker, transferred to a New York City hospital, burns with hope that he will help make things better for the growing immigrant population which is being cast upon New York. But he is surrounded by red tape in every direction. He is tempted to give up when he meets a bunch of New York City activists who are campaigning for the future of homeless children. They show him that even among the homeless population there is power for change, but that no one can do it alone, and that the power to instill change lies within our neighborhoods. They lead him through an odyssey of homeless life in the subways, the horror and terror of the January 6 insurrection, the heroism of the DC Police, and the causes of women’s rights, abortion and affordable housing. He learns that politicians are not perfect, even the good ones, and that they can be swayed by collective people power. Ultimately, he learns that change is driven by civil society mobilization. This means that every day is a new day and that everyone must vote when election time comes, learn the lessons of January 6, and not succumb to the hatred and resentment.

The production will be staged with an elaborate assemblage of trap doors, giant puppets, smoke machines, masks, original choreography and a huge (9′ x 12′) running screen or “cranky” providing continuous moving scenery behind the actors. The company of 22 actors, ten crew members, two stage managers, three assistant directors and five live musicians (led by the composer at the keyboard) will share the challenge of performing outside and holding a large, non-captive audience. The music will vary in style from Bossa Nova to Hip Hop to Musical Comedy to classical Cantata. The play is a bouncy joyride through the undulations of the body politic, with astute commentary couched in satire, song and slapstick.

TNC’s free Street Theater productions are delightfully suited for family audiences, since complex social issues are often presented through children’s allegories, with children and neighborhood people as the heroes.