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!
Last week I very belatedly caught up with the rest of the world and saw the truly phenomenal Everything Everywhere All at Once. In addition to making me laugh, cry profusely and ponder the meaning of life (still not sure????), I was reminded of the ways that by living here, we all inhabit our very own multiverse. When you approach an old apartment building and are suddenly struck with the person you were eight lives ago. When you longingly roam a block you hope you can afford in the next life. When you visit a landmark and feel the presence and weight of all the lives that passed through it before you. New York really is everything, everywhere, all at once.
And if you haven’t seen the movie yet — this was (hopefully) a fairly spoiler-free endorsement to see it and seek out any art that will make you laugh, cry and think. Happy weekend!
❓Quick Question
In addition to the obvious (Mr Softee), where is your favorite summer ice cream place??
🎭 the lullaby of broadway(con)
It’s fairly shocking to me that BroadwayCon, happening this weekend in Midtown, is only a few years old. Where was this magical meeting of musical theater minds when I was a lonely middle schooler wearing out my original cast recording CD collection?! Anyway, I’m happy to say that there is now a full-scale convention for the theater geek in all of us, featuring star-studded panels of performers and creatives pulling back the curtain on everything you’d ever wanted to know about the Main Stem.
🎭 the dinner party
New York Times Critic’s pick Epiphany, now playing at Lincoln Center, revolves around a wild, wandering, holiday party full of haughty academics, existential questions, references to James Joyce’s The Dead and what happens when “there might not be enough wine, or goose, or time to fend off the long-neglected questions that now haunt their souls.” I’m intrigued!!!
🎶 jazz under the stars
Bryant Park’s excellent picnic performances continue with their Carnegie Hall series, this time featuring The Baylor Project playing this Friday on the main stage. The four-time Grammy nominated artists — vocalist Jean Baylor and drummer Marcus Baylor — treat the audience to an evening of blues, jazz, gospel and soul at this free evening of top-notch songs.
🎶 the golden buzzer
If you’ve been practicing your karaoke standards from home (it’s really hard to remember all the lyrics to It’s All Coming Back to Me Now, ok?!), now is the time to take the show on the road at the Dalton’s Got Talent Karaoke Competition, beginning this Sunday at 10pm and running through the grand finale September 4. Hosted by Playhouse 46’s and Off-Broadway mainstay Jennifer Pluff and Ian Plowers (the couple actually met at Dalton’s!!), sign up for the chance to perform for industry greats like Christine Pedi, Lulu Picart and a mystery TBA judge as well as win $3K. Money makes the world go ‘round but eternal karaoke glory is forever, IMO.
🗝 iykyk
In a moment that makes me feel way cooler than I actually am, I’m here to offer you an exclusive chance to check out multi-hyphenate performer Ry Armstrong’s (recently seen on The Gilded Age) private cabaret Gender Jungle at Soho House this Friday. To reserve a limited-space slot, use the modern day speakeasy password — DM Armstrong on Instagram!
🎳 happy bowlday
If it seems like I live to shoutout Brooklyn Bowl, you’re right — I promise that I’m not sponsored, I do genuinely believe it to be the platonic ideal for a night out. Competitive activity for those restless souls who don’t like to sit? Check. Tasty food and drinks? Check. Semi-intimate concert venue? Check. Nightly dance floor with regular DJ sets by Questlove? Check. If you too are a BB enthusiast, be sure to stop by their 13th birthday party celebrations this weekend featuring groove trio Soulive!
🎶 hello brooklyn
Feeling defeated (uh, I am)? Head over to Prospect Park’s Celebrate Brooklyn festival this Friday to enjoy a free and inspiring concert by rapper and activist Vic Mensa and poet Aja Monet for a night “celebrating the power of art to make sustainable change”!
🎭 stress watching
Comedian Alex Edelman manages the nearly impossible — creating an equally uproarious and unsettling night of theater in his one man show, Just for Us, a memoir-esque tale playing now at Ars Nova downtown that veers from family recollections to his experience as a Jewish man going undercover at a New York City White Nationalists meeting. It’s a tightrope act that only a performer and writer as skilled as Edelman can manage.
🎶 central k-pop
Stans, stand up!! Summerstage presents a free showcase of some of the peninsula’s most popular pop stars and groups at KOREA GAYOJE: Brave Girls / Golden Child / AleXa, playing this Sunday in Central Park. Be sure to arrive early at this first-come, first serve show!
🎭 as we see it in our dreams
Known for their innovative interpretations of theatrical classics (see: Gatz their eight-hour retelling of The Great Gatsby) Elevator Repair Service takes on Chekhov with their newest adaptation Seagull starting performances Tuesday at the NYU Skirball Center, where a loopy, meta lens on the seminal drama lets “actors become characters becoming actors becoming characters and truth is twisted into lies and, ultimately, into a truthful rendering of the text.” Let’s go!!
🎭 i wish to go to the festival
Starting this week, downtown venue New Ohio Theatre presents their 29th annual ICE Factory festival of exciting new works, many of which have gone on to award-winning remounts. This year’s entries include modern Moliere fantasia Trash Body Monkey House, stirring treatise on medical racism THE WEAVER (part II): PARADIGM, journey of family ties and Cuban mythology Isla, Spanish-language drama ACHERON: THE RIVER OF TRAGEDY, dance theater exploration of the Larry Nassar scandal BODY THROUGH WHICH THE DREAM FLOWS, political satire THE STRANGE CASE OF CITIZEN DE LA CRUZ and operatic monologue SALT.
🔥 hot tip
Ummmm maybe you’ve noticed that things seem even pricier than usual — ye olde inflation is alive and well and even us heart-hardened New Yorkers are feeling the sting. Fear not! You can get great entertainment for less at any of the aforementioned spots AND at one of the West Side’s many Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, comedy and concert venues in our comprehensive local NOT Broadway list. Many of these venues offer extremely reasonable ticket prices and provide a great night out with room in the budget for after-show cocktails!
🤦🏼♀️ corrections corner
I sent you all on a wild goose chase when I mistakenly noted the Grand Bazaar Independence Day brunch as falling on Independence Day — turns out it was actually on the regular Sunday schedule! I owe everyone a tchotchke!!!!
⚠️ Omg I forgot to tell you
Remember it’s Vinyl Night at Bella Abzug park tonight!
Enjoy a guided nature walk at Hudson River Park Sunday morning
Always wanted to check out Smorgasboard on your lunch break? Did you know that there’s a tertiary location by the Oculus on Fridays? NOW YOU KNOW!
That’s it for now! Call me beep me if you want to reach me! (sarah@w42st.com)