New Year's Eve shows: Cabaret, variety and burlesque performances
Let cabaret acts, aerialists, Burly-Q artists, comedians and more jaw-dropping performers entertain you at these New Year's Eve shows.
Mon Dec 24 2012
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Photograph: Syd London
New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
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Photograph: Grace Chu
New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
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Photograph: Andy Kropa / Getty Images
New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
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New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
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Photograph: Francine Daveta
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New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
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Photograph: Ves Pitts
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Photograph: Yaniv Schulman
New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
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New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
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New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
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New Year's Eve shows in NYC: Time Out's top picks
Showstopping performances await you if you choose to spend the diminishing hours of 2012 at one of these New Year's Eve shows. We recommend seeing diva Patti LuPone appearing at the intimate 54 Below, the winner of our New York's best award for Best place to Broadway stars up close. Or for something a little more racy, join drag king Murray Hill for his downtown-style extravaganza in Williamsburg.
RECOMMENDED: New Year's Eve in New York guide
Bootlegger's Ball: An Ars Nova New Year's Eve Spectacular
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
The Off Broadway theater complex Ars Nova offers two floors of live music, burlesque and circus acts—plus food and booze, natch—in an evening of debauched revelry.
Bushwig presents N-Y-E
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
The queens of Bushwig are back at Secret Project Robot to celebrate the arrival of 2013 in gender-bent style. Revelers will enjoy cheap booze, dancing, performances, games, a photo booth, and many more strange and curious delights throughout the evening.
- Secret Project Robot 389 Melrose St, between Flushing and Knickerbocker Aves
- Until Mon Dec 31
The Fab Faux
- Price band: 3/4
The Fab Faux, Manhattan's premier Beatles tribute band, gets the sound down pretty well, which is not surprising given its members' considerable chops: Bassist Will Lee has played with all four real Beatles and currently plays with Paul Shaffer on Letterman. This week the band plays five—five!—holiday shows in the run-up to New Year's; NYE has the Fabs playing orchestral Beatles and Rubber Soul in full.
- City Winery 155 Varick St, at Vandam St
- Until Mon Dec 31
Floating Kabarette: A 1920s Paris New Year's Eve
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
Galapagos's weekly variety show sees out 2012 with a best-of-the-year blowout. Host Bastard Keith introduces an eyeful of burlesque dancers including Mr. Gorgeous, Go-Go Harder and Madame Rosebud, and aerial performers such as Harvest Moon, Jason Mejias and Lisa Natoli. Tickets include a legit open bar until 1am—if the venue normally stocks it, you can drink it. Once the show's over, take to the stage yourself for dancing into the wee hours. Parties of four or more should act swiftly to reserve one of the sweet red-leather island booths in the lake. (Yes, lake.)
- Galapagos Art Space 16 Main St, at Water St
- Mon Dec 31 - Tue Jan 1
Joe Battaglia and the New York Big Band: New Year's Eve Gala
- Price band: 4/4
Escape those tweetbooking whippersnappers with dinner and dancing in the expansive Art Deco grandeur of the Edison Ballroom. Every ticket includes a four-course meal and the chance to put your knowledge of actual dance steps (steps that have names, dammit) to good use while Joe Battaglia and his brassy crew dole out swing classics. Book a table on the mezzanine for a cheaper ticket.
- Edison Ballroom 240 W 47th St, between Broadway and Eighth Ave
- Mon Dec 31 - Tue Jan 1
Marilyn Maye
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
Marilyn Maye’s stellar past includes a string of classy RCA albums in the ’60s and a nearly unequaled number of Tonight Show appearances, but this husky-voiced, earthy belter has never sounded better than she does now at the age of 84. Her New Year’s Eve performance at the Met Room is being billed as “The Biggest Party EVER!,” which is pretty damned impressive for an octogenarian. The 10:40pm show includes hors d’oeuvres and an open bar.
- Metropolitan Room 34 W 22nd St, between Fifth and Sixth Aves
- Until Mon Dec 31
Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
This is your last chance to see a show at standards-bearer Michael Feinstein’s eponymous supper club—at least in its current incarnation at Loews Regency. Feinstein marks the end of both 2012 and of his 14-year-old Upper East Side cabaret spot in the company of Broadway star Christine Ebersole, who can really knock out a number. Admission includes a three-course dinner and copious amounts of champagne. (Ebersole warms up the joint with a 7pm solo set priced at $175–$300, with a $40 minimum.)
- Feinstein's at Loews Regency 540 Park Ave, at 61st St
- Until Mon Dec 31
Murderfist’s New Year
- Critics choice
- Free
No-holds-barred sketch troupe Murderfist presents performances from James Adomian, Mike Lawrence, Nick Turner, Micah Sherman, Andrew Short and Amber Nelson. After the laughs, there's a champagne toast at midnight and a musical performance from Skulk, the Hulking at 1am.
- The Creek and the Cave 10-93 Jackson Ave, at 49th Ave
- Until Mon Dec 31
Murray Hill’s New Year’s Eve Extravaganza
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
NYC's favorite drag king has moved his annual pageant to Williamsburg with an A-grade lineup in tow. Burly-Q beauty Dirty Martini, star of Gayby and Silence! The Musical Jenn Harris, whirlwind performance artist (formerly one third of Our Hit Parade) Neal Medlyn, bispecies acrobatic burlesque duo Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey, and singer Sophia Urista entertain the audience, until the big countdown to the dollar-store balloon drop and a rousing sing-along to "New York, New York." The fun continues with a deejayed dance party and the opportunity to corner one of the performers for a smooch.
- Knitting Factory 361 Metropolitan Ave, at Havemeyer St
- Until Mon Dec 31
Natalie Douglas: New Year's Eve
- Price band: 3/4
Award-winning chanteuse Natalie Douglas returns to the Duplex for her annual two-part New Year’s cabaret show with accompanist Mark Hartman. (Both sets include a champagne toast.)
- The Duplex 61 Christopher St , at Seventh Ave South
- Until Mon Dec 31
New Year's Eve at Duane Park
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
This is your last chance to see out a year in Duane Park's current opulent digs (it moves to the former Bowery Poetry Club in February). Book a table for an evening of titillating performances from Gal Friday, Amber Ray and Peekaboo Pointe and the musical stylings of ex-American Idol crooner Aaron Marcellus. Each of the two shows includes a three-course Southern-style meal and plenty of bubbly.
- Duane Park 157 Duane St, between Hudson St and West Broadway
- Until Mon Dec 31
New Year's Eve with Cheri Oteri
- Price band: 3/4
Twitchy, broad character actor Cheri Oteri had her heyday on SNL hamming it up with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, playing roles from Judge Judy to the lady that said "simmer down now" 12 times in 3 minutes. She recently cropped up in NYC in the cast of NEWSical the Musical, but she'll go solo in these NYE shows. The ticket price includes a glass of Veuve Clicquot and two additional drinks.
- Laughing Devil Comedy Club 47-38 Vernon Blvd, between 47th Rd and 48th Ave, 11101
- Until Mon Dec 31
New Year's Eve with Judah Friedlander
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
If you’re a fan of 30 Rock, you’ll be happy to know that the character Friedlander plays, Frank, isn’t that far off from Friedlander’s stand-up act, in which the comic wears his trademark world champion hat and plays the schlub who boasts his own superiority. This pair of NYE shows also features Todd Barry and Yannis Pappas.
New Year’s Eve with Pete Correale
- Price band: 2/4
Correale has been hitting clubs for years, developing his voice as an accessible middle American who takes on topics like drinking and married life. All of this is readily apparent on his hour-long Comedy Central special, The Things We Do for Love.
- Gotham Comedy Club 208 W 23rd St, between Seventh and Eighth Aves
- Until Mon Dec 31
New Year's Eve Spectacular
- Price band: 3/4
- Critics choice
For those who want to be in Times Square but would rather laugh than freeze, Carolines is the way to go. The evening's comics are a crew of great, young voices Joe DeRosa, Mark Normand, Dan Soder, Nate Bargatze and Vince August. After the late show, watch the ball drop on the big screen before a DJ turns the place into a dance club.
- Carolines on Broadway 1626 Broadway, between 49th and 50th Sts
- Until Mon Dec 31
Patti LuPone: Far Away Places
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
Spend your New Year's Eve with Broadway’s greatest living diva, backed by a five-piece orchestra at the sumptuously appointed 54 Below. Detractors may sling mud at her Long Island–Sicilian earthiness, but LuPone's voice and the evident joy she takes in using it make such objections moot. This reprise of her triumphant show that opened the venue in June (a set that combines musical theater, contemporary pop and old-school cabaret tunes) will also feature the requisite Auld Lang Syne faves. The hefty ticket price includes a three-course meal and a champagne toast—oh, and lifelong bragging rights.
The Royal Huntsman's Ball
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
The home of Sleep No More hosts a year-ending soiree, spread thoughout several rooms of the sprawling venue, with live entertainment and theatrical performances inspired by the immersive show. Here's one aspect not inspired by the show: a full open bar! "Glamorous attire" is recommended.
- McKittrick Hotel 530 W 27th St, between Tenth and Eleventh Aves
- Until Mon Dec 31
Sandra Bernhard: New Year's Eve
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
The Divine Sandra is a mouthy actor, comedian and singer whose best work gives pop culture a big, sloppy kiss, while simultaneously biting it on the lip and drawing blood. The acerbic actor-comedian-singer returns with her band, the Rebellious Jezebels, to Joe’s Pub for her sixth annual New Year's Eve bash, to further intertwine sentimentality, caustic wit, wistfulness and sarcasm—and to start 2013 with a swift kick in the rear.
- Joe's Pub at the Public Theater 425 Lafayette St, between Astor Pl and E 4th St
- Until Mon Dec 31
Steve Tyrell: This Time of Year
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
Best known for his whiskey-voiced, wedding-singer renditions of standards in the Father of the Bride films, Steve Tyrell brings his mix of Texas and Vegas back to the Carlyle. To mark the last hours of 2012, he’ll be performing selections from his holiday album, This Time of Year. Expect Christmas classics, plus Dec 31 stalwart “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” (Answer: Chilling out with Steve, of course.) A glass of champagne is on the house with your ticket to the 5:30pm show; the 9pm performance includes that plus a four-course dinner and an autographed CD.
- Café Carlyle (in the Carlyle Hotel) 35 E 76th St, at Madison Ave
- Until Mon Dec 31
Stormqueer
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Dan Fishback and Jessica Halem host this New Year's Eve-ning of queer performance, with appearances by Erin Markey, Glenn Marla, Shane Shane, Max Steele, Kit Yan and Becky Eklund. Neocabaret diva Molly Pope performs at midnight while you enjoy a gratis champagne toast.
- Dixon Place 161A Chrystie St, between Delancey and Rivington Sts
- Until Mon Dec 31
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