Over six weekends in August and September, the Theater For the New City is presenting a free original musical No Brainer, or the Solution to Parasites. The artwork features an image of a man with orange hair. Guessing the main topic? No brainer! Artistic Director Crystal Field wrote the book, lyrics and directed this “roaring musical that puts a New York social worker against a dictator consumed by parasites.”
This original show has been composed and arranged by Joseph Vernon Banks. These artists are taking theater directly to the people and for free. To East 10th Street. To the Coney Island Boardwalk. To Jackie Robinson Park. My visit was to Washington Square Park. A stage is set up with backdrops lined up on the side with a band nearby. This show is staged in all five boroughs of New York City.
A social services provider has “to find housing for people where there ain’t no housing to find.” He is fighting for people – families facing eviction, children in temporary housing and immigrants struggling for citizenship. In the opening number, “Census Song” we hear from a nurse from Bensonhurst, a cab driver, a barber from Harlem and others. This is a musical for the people meant to be approachable and universal.
This musical happens to be about “a raging, somewhat drunk real estate magnate from a TV reality show.” He bellows “go back where you came from so we can reign forever.” The political lines are drawn and quartered. The underworld “keepers of the pot” warn about a “cesspool filled with the catastrophe of industry.” In this secret Hades-like area the gods cleanse a nation’s soul in a cauldron by boiling out history’s tragic missteps; namely, genocide, slavery and war. They warn “don’t drink a cup of this!”
The future leader of the world (let’s call him Donald) gulps down the bubbling brew which is full of parasites. His brain directs him to seek the highest office in the land. Our social worker accepts the challenge to save the world from this grandiose charlatan. The politics are clear and broadly funny. Even the border wall plays a part in this roasting. Will the evil despot be condemned to the cauldron of historical garbage? You know the answer.
At the end of this good-intentioned musical meant to engage every person in the crowd, the people dance! Brother-and-sisterhood once again save the day! Imagine a theater company creating a show meant to engage our citizens about current events. Imagine bringing the story to them in multiple neighborhoods throughout our city. Can there be any more exciting way to connect with the masses, tell a story and teach a few fun facts?
Here’s a lesson shared to anyone who will listen: if ICE comes to your door they have to produce a warrant. Oh and it needs to be signed by a judge. That’s not a warning to me but maybe it is very, very relevant to someone sitting in and enjoying some free entertainment. This show is professionally presented on a budget with great backdrops and a moving panorama. The work put into the visuals is enchanting and delightful.
Amidst all this fun and sarcastic frivolity, tourists and various New Yorkers walk past the performance. Some focus and take pictures. Other are oblivious. Kind of a reflection of our times. The presidential figure shouts “I tried everything. Russia, sanctions, tariffs. I’ve got to win. I need a war!” Here’s a show for those who need a laugh to heal. That this show is a free expression of artistic protest performed outside for anyone to hear makes this endeavor worth a listen. Get into the target audience’s head and really think about what the creators are sharing and teaching.
The last two performances of No Brainer, or the Solution to Parasites will be performed this weekend in Staten Island’s Corporal Thompson Park and Manhattan’s Tompkins Square Park.