Things to do on a Sunday in New York

Tom and Betsy Salamon’s unique adventure—part interactive theater, part scavenger hunt, part walking tour—draws participants into an amusing web of puzzles and intrigue. You can choose between the three-hour New York tour, which takes participants through various neighborhoods of lower Manhattan, or the two-hour Village tour, which travels through quirky Greenwich Village on Saturdays. Groups of as many as 11 are booked every half hour. 

Discover the true stories behind the muses of some of the Met’s most fabulous artworks, including nude models in ancient Greece, Venetian poets and courtesans, and the true identity of John Singer Sargent’s Madame X.

Can you imagine how grim our world would be without the influence of Jim Henson? For those of us who learned comedy, whimsy and even literacy from Sesame Street and the Muppet franchise, Museum of Moving Image has provided the ultimate treat: a permanent exhibition featuring more than 47 Muppet and puppet characters; 27 screens of archival footage from The Dark Crystal, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock and beyond; and stories of how the great genius and his architects brought to life some of our favorite characters.

If you've ever clocked the amount of cute boys wearing tight Batgirl t-shirts on convention floors around the country, you'd know that every comic con was gay. But, luckily, NYC hosts one of the country's finest explicitly-queer affairs. Now in its fourth year, this epic assembly of queer fandom moves from Brooklyn to Manhattan for its biggest edition yet at Sheraton Times Square. The weekend lights up on Friday night with the Ignite party at Copacabana Club. Look out for drag and burlesque divas taking on your favorite pop culture characters, and be sure to show up in a cosplay look that makes you want to dance like Adam West's Batman. As for the convention, brace yourself for two packed days of panels, performances, costumes and enough merch to satisfy you for a full calendar year; along with signings and appearances by comics favorites like Kevin Wada, Jen Bartel and Kris Anka. Start planning your costumes now: It's not as easy as you think to make a patent leather catsuit!

In 2017, NYC enjoyed its first ever bubble tea festival in Times Square, with old fans and new converts slurping down endless varieties of the delicious tapioca drink. The festival was a hit, as you can imagine: Who doesn't love gummy boba balls, sweet tea and fabulously colorful straws? Now, in true 2018 fashion, the Taiwanese Collective is going pop-up with a three-day immersive fest held in Soho. Dig into Taiwan's signature drink among giant-size, Instagram-ready installations, including massive boba pearls, a bubble teal ball pool and a tea balloon. Of course, the tasting room beckons, and packs plenty of information on the drink's history from Taiwan to just about everywhere. In the lab, you can create your own tapioca experiment. Finally, you can load your cup with as many bobas as you'd like, and nobody can tell you it's in bad taste. The festival goes down at 107 Grand Street.

Pink is perhaps the modern pop diva whose songwriting and sensibility lend themselves most naturally to theatrical reinterpretation in a cabaret setting. Among the musical-theater lights spreading the sugar at this tribute show are Annie Golden, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Krysta Rodriguez, Christine Dwyer, Amy Spanger, Lauren Patten, Kerri George, Marcy Harriell, Morgan Reilly, Erica Swindell and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School drama student Sawyer Garrity (who cowrote the song "Shine" in response to the 2018 mass shooting at her school). Benjamin Nissen produces and directs.

In the final edition of his musical stand-up show at Joe's Pub, brilliant Southern lunatic Sharp mashes up political horror, dark gay satire and the D'Angelo discography into a hysterical masterwork. Over his years at Joe's Pub, Sharp has undergone multiple throat surgeries, become a VIP on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper and forced audience members to recite Bebe Xahara Benet's "Jungle Kitty" as a new national anthem. Expect a true banger of a finale, with Blake Daniel, Sydnee Washington and Bowen Yang joining in on the insanity. 

Arch DJ of gay clubland Frankie Sharp turns the Moxy's roof into a glitter-spackled paradise every Sunday at this wild rager, which features a-list queens and pop gems—like past performers Charli XCX, Aja, Aquaria and Brita Filter—and beloved pop jams blasting late into Monday morning. 

Dig into this dope, dirty night of dancing at the Deep End every Sunday, at which you'll find a game queer crowd not ready to give up its weekend. Look out for rowdy go-go boys and unstoppable drag acts to keep the wild shenanigans going. 

Twin-brother saxophone players Peter and Will Anderson, masters of vintage jazz styles ranging from swing to hardbop, flip through four chapters of the Great American Songbook in this Symphony Space residency, devoting a week apiece to Irving Berlin (Aug 7–12), Jerome Kern (Aug 14–19), Hoagy Carmichael (Aug 21–26) and Jimmy Van Heusen (Aug 28–Sept 2). They are joined by vocalist Molly Ryan and four other musicans.

Tom and Betsy Salamon’s unique adventure—part interactive theater, part scavenger hunt, part walking tour—draws participants into an amusing web of puzzles and intrigue. You can choose between the three-hour New York tour, which takes participants through various neighborhoods of lower Manhattan, or the two-hour Village tour, which travels through quirky Greenwich Village on Saturdays. Groups of as many as 11 are booked every half hour. 

In this captivating original musical, Hello, Dolly! scene-stealer Taylor Trensch now plays the title role of a high school student thrust into social relevance after a classmate's suicide. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's score combines well-crafted lyrics with an exciting pop sound, and Steven Levenson’s book gives all the characters shaded motives. Read the full review.

Hamilton: Theater review by David Cote What is left to say? After Founding Father Alexander Hamilton’s prodigious quill scratched out 12 volumes of nation-building fiscal and military policy; after Lin-Manuel Miranda turned that titanic achievement (via Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography) into the greatest American musical in decades; after every critic in town (including me) praised the Public Theater world premiere to high heaven; and after seeing this language-drunk, rhyme-crazy dynamo a second time, I can only marvel: We've used up all the damn words. Wait, here are three stragglers, straight from the heart: I love Hamilton. I love it like I love New York, or Broadway when it gets it right. And this is so right. A sublime conjunction of radio-ready hip-hop (as well as R&B, Britpop and trad showstoppers), under-dramatized American history and Miranda’s uniquely personal focus as a first-generation Puerto Rican and inexhaustible wordsmith, Hamilton hits multilevel culture buttons, hard. No wonder the show was anointed a sensation before even opening. Assuming you don’t know the basics, ­Hamilton is a (mostly) rapped-through biomusical about an orphan immigrant from the Caribbean who came to New York, served as secretary to General Washington, fought against the redcoats, authored most of the Federalist Papers defending the Constitution, founded the Treasury and the New York Post and even made time for an extramarital affair that he damage-controlled in a scandal-stanching pamp

One of the more unlikely musicals on Broadway this season, Come from Away is the tense but humane story of an airport in Gander, Newfoundland, where 38 planes and more than 6,000 passengers were forced to land on September 11, 2001. The book, music and lyrics are by the Canadian team Irene Sankoff and David Hein. Read the full review.

Theater review by Adam Feldman. The Al Hirschfeld Theatre (Broadway). Book by Harvey Fierstein. Music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. Dir. Jerry Mitchell. With Stark Sands, Billy Porter, Annaleigh Ashford. 2hrs 20mins. One intermission. [Note: The cast of Kinky Boots has changed since this review was first published. Currently, American Idol winner David Cook plays straight man to Wayne Brady's high-heeled Lola.] The kicky crowd-pleaser Kinky Boots is the very model of a modern major musical. Adapted from a 2005 English indie film, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s fizzy pop tuner tells of Charlie (the capable Sands) and his Northampton footwear factory, Price & Son—a family business in danger of closing down. Hope arrives in the unlikely form of Lola (Porter), a self-possessed drag queen with ideas for a niche product line: knee-high, skin-tight, stiletto-heeled sheaths of ostentatious color, strong enough for a man who’s made up like a woman. (Gay style and consumer dollars to the rescue! The shoe must go on!) Directed with verve by Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots feels familiar at every step, down to its messages about individuality, community, pride and acceptance; it could have been cobbled together from parts of The Full Monty, Billy Elliot and Fierstein’s La Cage aux Folles, and it culminates in a feel-good finale so similar to Hairspray’s (which Mitchell choreographed) that it might as well be called “You Can’t Stop the Boot.” Yet the musical holds up for the same reason

[Note: The review below is for a 2014 version of this show, which was then titled The Imbible. A revised version now plays at New World Stages. A different, brunch-theater edition, titled Day Drinking, plays on weekend matinees.] Remember Bill Nye the Science Guy? Great! Now imagine him as a bartender who is deeply interested in the history of ethanol alcohol, really likes wigs and costumes, and just joined a coed barbershop quartet. That description of Anthony Caporale’s The Imbible: A Spirited History of Drinking may sound far-out, but the show is both educational and entertaining. (It's also a fine showcase for a cappella classics arranged by Josh Ehrlich and performed by a gifted ensemble that includes the show's director, soprano Nicole DiMattei.) Mixing whimsy and information, Caporale makes the story of our relationship with alcohol remarkably compelling. And the show's lessons—on subjects like the drinks served at Prohibition-era speakeasies, the origin of the gin and tonic, and the difference between a cocktail and a mixed drink—can be washed down with complimentary, thematically appropriate beverages. As Caporale says, “Trust me, I get funnier with every sip.” That makes the show a must-see for anyone who enjoys free booze, which is probably nearly everyone.—Amelia Bienstock  

If theater is your religion and the Broadway musical your sect, you've been woefully faith-challenged of late. Venturesome, boundary-pushing works such as Spring Awakening, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Next to Normal closed too soon. American Idiot was shamefully ignored at the Tonys and will be gone in three weeks. Meanwhile, that airborne infection Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark dominates headlines and rakes in millions, without even opening. Celebrities and corporate brands sell poor material, innovation gets shown the door, and crap floats to the top. It's enough to turn you heretic, to sing along with The Book of Mormon's Ugandan villagers: "Fuck you God in the ass, mouth and cunt-a, fuck you in the eye." Such deeply penetrating lyrics offer a smidgen of the manifold scato-theological joys to be had at this viciously hilarious treat crafted by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, of South Park fame, and composer-lyricist Robert Lopez, who cowrote Avenue Q. As you laugh your head off at perky Latter-day Saints tap-dancing while fiercely repressing gay tendencies deep in the African bush, you will be transported back ten years, when The Producers and Urinetown resurrected American musical comedy, imbuing time-tested conventions with metatheatrical irreverence and a healthy dose of bad-taste humor. Brimming with cheerful obscenity, sharp satire and catchy tunes, The Book of Mormon is a sick mystic revelation, the most exuberantly entertaining Broadway musical in years. The high

Theater review by Adam FeldmanThe secret of Dolly Levi’s success is revealed at the top of Hello, Dolly!’s unstoppable title song. The number is usually recalled as a paean to the star, sung by the adoring waiters of the ritzy Harmonia Gardens Restaurant as she descends a staircase in triumph and a bright red dress. But it begins, tellingly, with Dolly singing to them: “Hello, Harry / Well, hello, Louie…” It’s been years since her last visit, but she remembers them all and greets them by name. No wonder they love her. She makes them feel loved.In the musical’s blissful Broadway revival, the same thing happens between Bette Midler and the audience. Midler fans out her performer’s wares with expert self-assurance—she delivers her jokes at a steady vaudevillian clip, like Mae West in a hurry—but she also seems like she couldn’t live without us. And the part of Dolly, a matchmaker in late-19th-century New York, is exquisitely suited to Midler’s enormous warmth, savvy and drive. (She cuts her schmaltz with zest.) It’s hard to imagine a better match of actor and role: It is, in a word, perfection.Adapted by Michael Stewart from a Thornton Wilder comedy, Hello, Dolly! may be a vehicle for its star, but this revival treats it like a vintage Rolls-Royce. From the rousing overture on, everything about the production, directed with joyful aplomb by Jerry Zaks, gleams with old-fashioned charm. David Hyde Pierce brings droll dignity and adorable flashes of cartoon clowning to his performa

School of Rock: Theater review by David CoteEver see the pitch-perfect 2003 Jack Black comedy School of Rock? Then you know what to expect from the musical version: fake substitute teacher Dewey Finn frenetically inspiring his charges to release their inner Jimi Hendrix; uptight preppy tweens learning classic riffs; and the band’s pivotal, make-or-break gig, with their overbearing parents watching in horror. We expect cute kids in uniform, a spastic Dewey and face-melting riffs—along with heart-tugging family stuff. It worked for the movie, and wow, does it work on Broadway, a double jolt of adrenaline and sugar to inspire the most helicoptered of tots to play hooky and go shred an ax. For those about to love School of Rock: We salute you. What a relief to see that an unlikely creative team—Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, veteran composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater (Leap of Faith)—successfully execute such a smart transfer of film to stage. This is one tight, well-built show: underscoring the emotional arcs (Dewey as both surrogate kid and parent; the students’ yearning to be heard); gently juicing the romantic subplot between Dewey and buttoned-up school principal Rosalie Mullins (sweetly starchy Sierra Boggess); and knowing when to get out of the way and let the kids jam. School of Rock has absorbed the diverse lessons of Rent, Spring Awakening and Matilda and passes them on to a new generation.You’d have to have zero sense of humor about pop to no

2018 review by Adam Feldman Derek DelGaudio’s highly original stage show, which concludes its long run in August, is in a class of its own. The performance includes several marvelous effects and a sequence that highlights its star’s total mastery of card tricks; it is a joy to watch him shuffle through his legerdemain events. But In & Of Itself, directed by Frank Oz, has ambitions beyond wowing you; it uses its illusions in the service of a serious-minded investigation into identity. It is the most personal and emotional magic show I have ever seen—it makes people cry—and DelGaudio’s performance has only deepened during the run. To describe what he does as a magic show at all seems almost like a form of misdirection. It’s not just magic; it’s magical.   Original 2017 theater review by Raven SnookDepending on your perspective, illusionist Derek DelGaudio's solo outing is either a transcendent meditation on the malleability of identity, or a bunch of pretentious hooey. Objectively speaking, it's both—which beautifully illustrates this two-time Academy of Magical Arts Award winner's point. People (and things) are seen differently in our own mind and the eyes of other beholders. True, some folks walked out on this deliberately slow-paced show, though many more of us stayed, entranced. If you come expecting a succession of quick, flashy routines and exuberant showmanship, In & Of Itself will confound. But give yourself over to its subtler brand of magic and you should emerge

Theater review by Adam Feldman “If music be the food of love, play on,” the pining duke Orsino famously says at the start of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. What he says next is quoted much less often: “Give me excess of it that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die.” There’s no room for so gloomy a sentiment in Shakespeare in the Park’s crowded, colorful, free-wheeling musical adaptation of the play, conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and songwriter Shaina Taub. The line is cut, and Taub, who plays the accordion-toting fool Feste, instead leads the citizens of Illyria in a jubilant paean to the power of song (“Clap your hands, start to sway / ’Til your worries melt away”). And there are so many citizens to lead! A spin-off of the Public Theater's Public Works wing, the production has partnered with community groups from all five boroughs—including the Fortune Society, Children's Aid and Domestic Workers United—to fill the stage with 70 nonprofessional actors in a pageant of inclusivity. Whereas Shakespeare in the Park's first offering this summer, Othello, was conventional to the point of stuffiness, this one airs everything out and gives it a good shake. Directed by Public honcho Oskar Eustis—assuming the reins from Kwei-Armah, who steered a version of it in 2016—this Twelfth Night is as fast as it is loose: It has been trimmed to a fleet 90 minutes, including the many musical numbers. Not very much of Shakespeare's language remains, but the storytelling is lean and

Hip to Hip Theatre Company moves from park to park with this staging of Shakespeare's tragedy of being and nothingness, directed by Jason Marr and presented in rep with the company's take on All's Well That End's Well. The production roams through multiple boroughs but never plays the same spot twice in a row, so consult Hip to Hip's website for details.

Jason Pizzarello's new play traces the inhabitants of a small town through crises and reconciliations in this celebration of community and diverse public spaces. Christine Zagrobelny directs the free outdoor performances in Central Park for Everyday Inferno Theatre Company; attendance is free but $10 donations are welcome.

Theater for the New City takes its 42nd annual Street Theater Company show on the road, performing in outdoor locations throughout the five boroughs. Crystal Field and Joseph Vernon Banks's family-friendly (but corporation-hostile!) musical allegory pits a high school teacher and his students against a sinister Trumpian boss who is secretly building a machine to destroy the world.

In the two past years, Torn Out Theater has mounted two all-nude productions of Shakespeare: an all-male rendition of Hamlet and all-female production of The Tempest. Now the troupe goes coed for its let-it-all-hang-out rendition of Aphra Behn's rollicking 1677 comedy, set during Carnival in Italy.

This cultural procession down Madison Avenue to Madison Square Park is one of the city's most colorful, with saffron, white and green floats, sari-draped dancers, Bollywood stars, local politicians, and dozens of musicians playing sitars and tablas. Along the way, you'll find vendors serving dosas, samosas and regional Indian dishes. The parade runs down Madison Avenue from 38th Street to 25rd Street; the festival is on Madison between 25th and 27th Streets. 

Pink is perhaps the modern pop diva whose songwriting and sensibility lend themselves most naturally to theatrical reinterpretation in a cabaret setting. Among the musical-theater lights spreading the sugar at this tribute show are Annie Golden, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Krysta Rodriguez, Christine Dwyer, Amy Spanger, Lauren Patten, Kerri George, Marcy Harriell, Morgan Reilly, Erica Swindell and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School drama student Sawyer Garrity (who cowrote the song "Shine" in response to the 2018 mass shooting at her school). Benjamin Nissen produces and directs.

In the final edition of his musical stand-up show at Joe's Pub, brilliant Southern lunatic Sharp mashes up political horror, dark gay satire and the D'Angelo discography into a hysterical masterwork. Over his years at Joe's Pub, Sharp has undergone multiple throat surgeries, become a VIP on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper and forced audience members to recite Bebe Xahara Benet's "Jungle Kitty" as a new national anthem. Expect a true banger of a finale, with Blake Daniel, Sydnee Washington and Bowen Yang joining in on the insanity. 

This guitarist's presence assures quality: As a player, composer and bandleader, Rosenwinkel shows a thorough grasp of jazz history as well as a passion for adding new pages to the canon. Best of all, his nimble chops bear a narrative, storytelling expressivity that sounds seductive rather than overbearing.

Twin-brother saxophone players Peter and Will Anderson, masters of vintage jazz styles ranging from swing to hardbop, flip through four chapters of the Great American Songbook in this Symphony Space residency, devoting a week apiece to Irving Berlin (Aug 7–12), Jerome Kern (Aug 14–19), Hoagy Carmichael (Aug 21–26) and Jimmy Van Heusen (Aug 28–Sept 2). They are joined by vocalist Molly Ryan and four other musicans.