Good afternoon, this is W42ST Lifestyle Editor Sarah Beling with “Make Way For The Weekend” — your curated guide to the best of New York events in one convenient newsletter!
The Tony Awards are this Sunday, and Theater Twitter (and my various group chats) will inevitably be set afire with predictably strong opinions. And while I could bore you by getting into the epic upset of Wicked vs Avenue Q in 2004 (it caused a major schism in my high school friend group) and into the weeds of why the Broadway League needs to recognize ensemble members and understudies, I think what it all comes down to is — everyone’s definition of award-winning is very, very different. One person’s Per Se is another’s Papa John’s. One person’s Met is another person’s Madame Tussauds. One person’s Grand Central is another person’s Penn Station, etc. The glory of living here is that for every New Yorker there are just as many opinions about what’s worth doing.
So what should you do this weekend? What events are worth leaving your apartment and braving the ever-fickle mistress of the MTA? Not to be too much of a diplomat, but, again — the answer is different for everyone. In that vein, this week we hope to bring you a relative smorgasbord of options ranging from walkable, Hell’s Kitchen-based events to activities that yes — require a subway or ferry ride — but will hopefully prove worth the trip. Try a few and decide for yourself!
🎭 i bet everyone here will be singing at the tv together
Want to attend a Tony Awards viewing party but have no desire to hear your friend’s girlfriend constantly remind you that she was in consideration for this show? Why not try an exclusively good vibes Green Room 42 viewing party this Sunday hosted by Broadway Sessions’ Ben Cameron? “Bringing the Broadway community right to you like a friendly neighbor dropping off brownies,” Broadway veteran Cameron and a passionate crew of theater folk are the perfect crew to cheer/sing along with while enjoying tasty Green Room 42 cocktails.
🎨 to all the gallerinas i’ve loved before
A show entirely composed of works by the artists-in-residence of NXTHVN (which, btw, looks amazing, too bad I cannot draw), Sean Kelly gallery hosts a new exhibition entitled Undercurrents opening tonight at the Hell’s Kitchen space (we got a sneak peek and it looks fab!). Exploring “the nuanced relationship between materiality, human longing, and collective memory,” this evening’s artist-attended opening reception is followed by a curator-led brunch time walkthrough this Saturday!
🌈 rainbow high(line)
PRIDE comes to the High Line tonight! In collaboration with The Generations Project, drag artist Castrata hosts a celebration focused on intergenerational LGBTQIA+ storytelling about the Chelsea neighborhood featuring appearances from the Edie Windsor SAGE Center!
🎶 and all that jazz
Having an epic, all-day hang in Central Park (wear sunscreen!!)? Cap it off with a completely free concert this Saturday featuring Grammy Award-winning, Miles Davis quintet alum Herbie Hancock with Keyon Harrold in Association with Blue Note Jazz Festival! Can’t make this one? Luckily there are plenty more (free and benefit) concerts through Summerstage this season!!
🎭 the prince of broadway
Forgive me. I simply have to geek out over this insane performer list at Irish Rep’s gala celebrating legendary Broadway producer Harold Prince this Monday. Len Cariou👀?! Glenn Close👀👀?! Joel Grey 👀👀👀?! Chita Rivera👀👀👀?! A FULL ORCHESTRA?!!! Forget those $250 student rush tickets to the Tonys (+ $6 booking fee) 🙄 and head here instead.
🌈 spread pride it’s the brooklyn way
Park Slope is home to a marathon PRIDE day this Saturday beginning with a sold-out 5K (but you can still cheer the runners from the sidelines with a bagel in hand!!), a free family-fun zone and all-day festival (featuring performances from the New York City Gay Men’s chorus and more), and concluding with the annual Twilight PRIDE Parade!!
🏳️🌈 easier to get to than fire island
Much-loved nightclub-meets-concert venue elsewhere hosts Bubble T, a lively PRIDE dance and performance party this Friday and designated safe space for Queer and trans AAPI+ folks and allies. Bonus: it’s hosted by SNL and Fire Island star Bowen Yang!!
🧀 insert cheesy pun here
Apologies in advance to my friends who are lactose-intolerant and those who are lactose-intolerant-in-denial (hello to my husband) but as a cheese fiend i have to shout out the Cheesemonger Invitational happening this Sunday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. $74 will get you all the cheese you can eat and a front row seat to a cheesemonger vs cheesemonger battle described as “1,000 people chanting ‘Moo Baa Maa’ and celebrating a perfectly cut quarter pound of cheese as if the US Women’s Soccer team just scored a goal.”
🌹 kiss from a rose
The cobblestone streets of the Meatpacking District transform into the flower markets of London this weekend at the L.E.A.F. Festival of Flowers — stop by the large-scale floral arrangements, pop-up boutiques, and PRIDE-worthy double rainbow! Just don’t forget to take that Zyrtec, babes!
🖼 go the extra mile
A born TJ Maxxinista (thank you, Mom), I live for a deal — why go to just one museum when you can check out the whole strip at the Museum Mile Festival Tuesday evening. Enjoy a car-free 5th Avenue and completely free admission to the Met, the Guggenheim, Cooper Hewitt, el Museo del Barrio, City Museum of New York and more!
🎺 will it actually ever be the roaring twenties?
While this decade has felt a bit more Gilead than Great Gatsby (sorry, gallows humor is my coping mechanism, fam), why not dissociate into a flapper fantasy at the 16th Annual Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island this weekend? Raise ur skirts and bob ur hair!!!
👯♀️ riverdance (heh)
Join the Hudson River Park Friends association at Pier 63 this Thursday and Friday for a stunning sunset dance festival featuring Dorrance Dance, the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, and Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE!
❓Quick Question
What is the best place to get an Aperol Spritz in this town? Sometimes I want to pretend I’m in Italy!!
⚠️ Omg I forgot to tell you
There’s an Uptown Night Market tonight!
Tribeca too far? The NYC Independent Film Festival is right around the corner at the Producer’s Club this weekend!
Gov Ball is this weekend at Citi Field!
🏆 Have an award winning weekend, y’all! Call me beep me if you want to reach me! (sarah@w42st.com)
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