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!
I’ll be the first to admit it — as the season changes and temperatures drop, I love to put on a comfy sweater, heat up a nice mug of hot chocolate…and spend a little too much time online. Maybe it’s a preemptive shift towards winter hibernation, maybe it’s because I need to engage with the World Wide Web as part of my job, or maybe…it’s because an innocent search for an explainer on the latest internet scandal leads to hours of midnight Googling of old feuds between niche early-aughts New York media personalities. I’m sorry, I love a rabbit hole!!!!!
Anyway, this is my personal declaration of accountability (and hey, maybe you’re in the same boat???) to shut the laptop, go outside, smell the fresh, crisp New York fall air and engage with real-live humans and the many juicy dramas (onstage and off) that the city provides offline.
Cue AIM chat room sign off! Catch me outside!!!!
❓Quick Question
What New York activity gets you to leave the house????
🎭 something good is happening in oz
Stand-up comedian, actor and iHeart radio podcast host Tim Murray is a notorious scene stealer, known for fully running away with episodes of HBO’s The Other Two and many viral videos. Now, he takes a thesis-level study of Broadway’s Wicked and a love of supernatural queens into Tim Murray is…WITCHES! playing The Green Room 42 next Tuesday October 4 and Wednesday October 5. Featuring original comedic songs, characters and stories celebrating the best TV and movie witches across time, Murray will even be joined by former Wicked stars Julia Murney and Jenna Leigh Green. No wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring us down!!! (🎶aAhaAhAhhhhh!🎶)
🛍 garage-free garage sale!!
In a scavenging mood? Head to the W44th Street Better Block Association’s Annual Garage Sale, happening this Saturday from 9am to 5pm on W44th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue. There will be dozens of stallholders selling hidden treasures and ephemera, including HK favorite Domus whose donated items are being sold to raise money for Nova Hope for Haiti!
🎭 your weekly log line appreciation!!!!
Two new works hit The Chain Theatre this weekend — first up is Fastened to the Moon, “a ‘wild, thought-provoking ride’ set in the early 70s on the West Coast of Florida, featuring noble astronauts, diligent lawmen, a drug-smuggling sociopath and an innocent young woman who may soon be arrested — or perhaps murdered.” Also playing is Love, Sex and Real Estate the “hilarious story of a dysfunctional family’s search for the perfect brownstone while dealing with adultery, divorce, jealousy, modern art, teenage angst — and ice dancing!” Tell me more about the noble astronauts and the ice dancing!!!!
🎶 he’s the boss
I admit that I was skeptical heading into the Nederlander Theatre to see Tony Danza in Honeymoon in Vegas — here’s another TV star casting blah blah blah…but I was totally wrong, and Danza was every bit a charming, tap-dancing Broadway crooner. He’s taking songs from Vegas as well as Great American Songbook Standards & Stories uptown to 54 Below this Friday and Saturday!
🍿 a boy’s best friend is his mother
I’m certain that I’ve already repeatedly noted my low tolerance for scary movies, but I did recently watch Psycho for the first time — it really holds up y’all, that shit is unsettling!! Although I think that in a digital age Norman Bates would have been caught sooner (I know, spoiler!!!). Anyway, it’s playing at the Rooftop Cinema Club Midtown on Sunday. Cue the score…
🎭 we’re running up that hill!!!!!!!!
OK full disclosure, I doubt that there is a legally sanctioned version of the Kate Bush classic, but you should still stop by Stranger Sings: The Parody Musical! now playing at Playhouse 46 at St Luke’s. Travel back to 1983 and join the whole Hawkins gang as they battle The Upside Down and “maybe, just maybe… get justice for everyone’s favorite missing ginger, Barb Holland.”
🎭 light the lights
If you’ve used up your theater ticket budget for the week (reminder: rent is due on Saturday 👀), why not enjoy the free performances at the Times Square Alliance Curtain Up Festival, a three-day theatrical experience kicking off Friday. Enjoy songs by performers from A Strange Loop, Wicked, Waitress, Book of Mormon, Company, and more! Bonus: the event is being kicked off by the inimitable Norm Lewis and Amy’s Bread fan and Broadway superstar Kerry Butler!
🎶 dance ‘til ur dead
Like many elder millennials, Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs still has a dance floor death grip on me. The indie rock band plays Forest Hills Stadium this Saturday with openers Japanese Breakfast and The Linda Lindas!
🎶 let’s go girls
Didn’t catch the Linda Lindas at Forest Hills? Head to the Music Hall of Williamsburg this Sunday to see the pre-teen punk rock sensations known for their definitive hit of 2020, Racist Sexist, Boy!!!
🍺 prost!
October is upon us, and so is Oktoberfest in New York! Stop by the Watermark at Pier 15 through October 31 for brews, brats, games and music. Lederhosen encouraged!!
🏰 look out, medieval times
Bring your steed uptown to the Fort Tryon Medieval Festival this Sunday for a veritable Renaissance fair of “authentic period music, dance, magic and minstrels, as well as jugglers and jesters” and horseback jousting! Look both ways when you cross.
🎭 some like a preview
Based on the Marilyn Monroe MGM movie, the musical adaptation of Some Like It Hot is one of the most talked-about premieres of the upcoming Broadway season. Catch an exclusive sneak peek into the development journey at the Guggenheim Works & Progress series this Sunday, where creators Amber Ruffin, Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman and music director/conductor Darryl Archibald will discuss the road to opening.
🎤 comedy tonight
Known for his sold-out Sondheimia concert at Carnegie Hall, starring in the original Off-Broadway premiere of A Strange Loop and for a truly iconic guest star role on Abbott Elementary, Larry Owens Live! comes to The Bell House Friday night for a night of show-stopping musical comedy and special guests like Julio Torres, Nico Carney, Adam Pally, Reggie Conquest, Karen Chee, Charade, Josh Kight, Celeste Rose and Shayna Blass.
🔥 Hot tip
Special thanks to eagle-eyed Amelia who alerted me that the Hermès store on the Upper East Side is offering free bagels and coffee through Friday to celebrate its new flagship on E63rd and Madison. As she so aptly put it: “Can’t afford the bags, might as well get a free bagel.” Amen!!!
⚠️ Omg I forgot to tell you
Kate Berlant’s much-acclaimed, sold-out solo show does have a standby ticket option
The Killers play Madison Square Garden this weekend
Bougie activewear brand Outdoor Voices is having a sample sale next Tuesday
That’s it for now! Call me beep me if you want to reach me! (sarah@w42st.com)
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