Mark Peikert

Getting seats to the best Broadway shows usually requires quite a bit of advance planning. But what if you haven't planned, and you urgently need to see a show tomorrow or even tonight? Don't panic: There are plenty of options for last-minute tickets, especially if you’re willing to put in some legwork. It partly depends on what you're willing to pay and how much risk you're willing to take—and, of course, on plain old luck. If everything goes your way, you might even luck into cheap Broadway tickets, great seats or a chance to see hit shows that you would never have been able to get into earlier. Here is our insider guide to buying last-minute Broadway tickets. The day before the show: Enter the digital lottery Many Broadway shows—including Aladdin, The Book of Mormon and Hadestown—conduct digital lotteries for cheap tickets on the day before each performance. In most cases, you enter the lottery online, then wait until later the same day to find out by email if you've won; if you do, you'll need to reply to the ticket offer within an hour or you'll lose your chance. A few shows, such as Wicked, do their drawings on the morning of the show itself; others have drawings once a week, notably the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child $40 ticket lottery and the $10 Hamilton lottery, both of which happen on Fridays and cover the week ahead. For a full list of shows that offer lotteries, consult Broadway on a Budget or Playbill's Broadway and Off Broadway listings. The morning of the s

Ariana Grande will finally tour again next year, and fans in Los Angeles are in for something special: The Oscar-nominated Wicked star is bringing her Eternal Sunshine Tour to L.A. for five nights of arena magic—split between the Crypto.com Arena and Kia Forum—that promise to feel both intimate and gigantic.  This is her first tour since the 2019 Sweetener World Tour, and it’s in support of her seventh album, Eternal Sunshine, and its deluxe edition, Brighter Days Ahead. The tour kicks off June 6, 2026, in Oakland before Los Angeles gets a five-night run that feels like a homecoming. Is it too early to call it the highlight of the summer?

After Glen Powell led the Bob Army's invasion of your social media during his November 14 Saturday Night Live hosting duties, one might have thought the rest of the year would be at best mildly amusing. But just as the year staggers to a close, SNL goes all-out, and December's hosts and musical guests read like a fever dream of 2025's pop culture makers.  December 6 sees the return of Melissa McCarthy to Studio 8H, marking her sixth time hosting. She’ll be joined by musical guest Dijon, capping off his breakout year at Studio 8H. The vibe shifts entirely on December 13, when Josh O'Connor steps in as host. But even his considerable charms might be outshone by Lily Allen as the musical guest, performing songs from her instant break-up-classic album West End Girl. Then there is the December 20 show. Cancel the 25th because Christmas comes early when Ariana Grande returns to host and Cher commands the stage as the performer, pushing the night firmly into the "watch it live or else" category, a relative rarity these days. An actual living legend closing out the final SNL of 2025 alongside one of the biggest pop stars on the planet feels like the type of TV that used to mean sweeps week. There's no doubt that these three episodes are going to be hot tickets when it comes to being in the audience, but we have you covered. Here are some tips to get in and see all of the chaos and future memes happening in real time. RECOMMENDED: How to get 'Saturday Night Live' tickets in NYC First

Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans are about to get a rare treat as one of TV’s most beloved musical episodes comes to the stage in New York. The Season 6 episode "Once More, With Feeling," which originally aired in 2001, is getting a staged reading (with musical performances, of course) at The Rat NYC in Brooklyn on November 19 and December 9.  "Once More, With Feeling" is the episode that helped solidify the series as one of TV’s great cult shows. The premise is classic Buffy: a demon arrives in Sunnydale and forces everyone to reveal their deepest truths by breaking into song and dance. The result is part Broadway pastiche, part monster-of-the-week adventure and part devastating character study. It became an instant fan favorite and remains an audacious episode of television, one that inspired a slew of other shows to go the "very special musical episode" route, to somewhat diminishing returns. Produced by Something to Sing About Productions, the concert brings the episode’s songs to life, led by director LaRena Iocco and music director Billy Blair. The concert staging promises to tap into that legacy, bringing Buffy diehards together to revisit everything from Buffy’s anguished solo “Something to Sing About” to Spike’s swaggering “Rest in Peace,” plus fan favorites like “I’ll Never Tell” and “Walk Through the Fire.” The cast includes Andrea Janine Bernardo, Emily Enden, Carina Gravante, Margaret Hall, Danielle Kirshenblat, Myles McHale, Rachel Robins, Evan Michael Smith, Alli

Good news for the snowbird lifestyle-curious: Bostonians dreaming of a winter escape just got a new nonstop option to the Caribbean. Arajet, the fast-growing, low-cost airline based in the Dominican Republic, has announced a direct route between Logan International Airport and Santo Domingo, giving New England travelers a far easier path to sunshine, beaches and warm ocean water. The route launches on November 21 and it will operate three times a week, opening up both a new leisure connection and a key route for one of the region’s largest diaspora communities. RECOMMENDED: Boston travelers can now get adorably de-stressed via therapy dogs at Logan Airport The airline is pitching the service as an affordable gateway to the Dominican Republic, with fares starting around $170 each way. Even with the usual low-cost carrier add-ons for bags and seat selection, that price represents one of the more accessible ways to reach the Caribbean from Boston, especially during the winter, when fares often spike. Three flights a week will offer enough flexibility for long weekends or full weeklong vacations. Founded in 2022, Arajet has been steadily increasing direct routes across the U.S. this year, expanding its nonstop service to Chicago, Miami, Newark, Orlando and San Juan. And once in the Dominican Republic, travelers have more options than just the capital. Arajet connects onward to more than 20 destinations across the Caribbean and Latin America, including hotspots like Aruba, Cartage

It's amazing what a few billion dollars in prospective tourist money can do when it comes to repairing and improving infrastructure! With the walking dollar signs set to arrive in 2028 for the Summer Olympics, LAX has looked around and realized that it has a traffic problem. To that end, the Los Angeles International Airport board recently approved the final phase of its roadway-improvement plan, part of a larger $30 billion overhaul. The aim is to streamline rides in and out of the terminal zones by rebuilding roadways, creating new ramps, rerouting vehicles and separating airport traffic from public roads, such as Sepulveda and Century boulevards. In a wild fit of optimism, the $1.5 billion plan is set to reach completion two months before the start of the Olympics. The centerpiece is a redesigned “horseshoe” loop, that U-shaped stretch of road where cars, rideshares, shuttles and hotel vans all converge in exhaust, honking horns and gridlock. That all stays. It's the exits and entrances that will shift. Airport officials say the proposed redesign will steer drivers around the airport hotels rather than shoving everyone onto the overcrowded skyway ramp. Right now, traffic from Lincoln and Sepulveda boulevards forces eight lanes of cars into a single ramp. To relieve that, the agency will carve into its own right-of-way to add two new off-ramps for airport access, plus three “through lanes” that let drivers cruise straight toward Imperial Highway and the 105 without merging

Kurt Cobain’s most famous guitar—as in, the one from the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video—is headed for auction in New York next spring. But before it goes to the highest bidder, fans can get up close to the teal left-handed 1969 Fender Competition Mustang that helped redefine rock music. Christie’s announced that the guitar that Cobain used on both Nevermind and In Utero will go on public exhibition before hitting the auction block in March 2026, part of the sale of the late business man Jim Irsay’s sprawling and famously eclectic collection. RECOMMENDED: An exhibit of late actor Gene Hackman’s works is happening in NYC Irsay’s holdings, amassed over decades and considered one of the most significant private collections of music history in the world, include guitars and artifacts associated with a staggering list of icons: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, David Gilmour and dozens more. Guitar World even described it as “The Greatest Guitar Collection on Earth.” The upcoming auction will also include pieces from Elton John, Ringo Starr, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Jim Morrison, offering a tour through the last century of music. Cobain’s guitar is expected to fetch between $2.5 and $5 million. Purchased from Voltage Guitars in Los Angeles around 1990 or 1991, Cobain played the instrument in the studio on both Nirvana’s breakout album and its rawer sophomore work. It

Sting will be an Englishman in New York once more next summer when his 2014 Broadway musical, The Last Ship, gets a nine-performance run at the Metropolitan Opera House from June 9 through June 14. The Grammy-winning frontman of The Police turned musical theatre songwriter will reprise his role as Jackie White in the musical, about life in the working-class seaside town of Wallsend. Directed by Joe Mantello, the show premiered on Broadway in 2014 at the Neil Simon Theatre. It closed in January of the following year, after earning Tony nominations for Sting's score and Rob Mathes’ orchestrations. As Time Out wrote in a review back then, "Sting’s rich, lyrically confident score is a genuine revelation: beautiful numbers that hint at influences from Rodgers & Hammerstein, Kurt Weill and Anglo-Celtic folk, but are still in his brooding, cagey voice. When the men weld sheets of steel while singing these anthems to drink, love, work or the sea, sparks fly everywhere." The Met run will come at the end of an international tour in Amsterdam, Paris and Brisbane, which is set to star Sting, Declan Bennett, Lauren Samuels and Annette McLaughlin.  “I grew up in the shadow of a shipyard, watching thousands of men walk past my front door every morning to work there, and imagining that would be my destiny too," Sting said in a statement. "I dreamed of escaping—and I succeeded, traveling far and earning my living on some the world’s greatest stages—including the Metropolitan Opera House in

Earlier this week, one of the most iconic restaurants in Chicago, Alinea, lost one of its three Michelin stars. Alinea's chef Grant Achatz announced the news in an Instagram post, writing, "We were disappointed to learn of our @michelinguide demotion to two stars. For 20 years, Alinea has been devoted to pushing creativity, rigor, and the pursuit of perfection in our craft. That commitment remains as unwavering today as it was on day one and will continue until the back door of 1723 locks for the last time." RECOMMENDED: Every Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago for 2025 The ­Michelin guide confirmed the demotion ahead of its 2025 Northeast Cities awards, pointing out that Masa in New York and The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia also dropped from three to two stars this year.  “The Michelin Guide maintains its role of providing fair and qualitative recommendations to consumers, with its team of expert Inspectors, following its global methodology,” the company said in an official statement. “It fully acknowledges the impact of its decisions on the establishments it honors. The Guide’s recommendations are far from fixed and are reassessed each year following anonymous and independent visits conducted by its Inspectors. These evaluations are based on the Guide’s methodology and five criteria, which ensure absolute consistency and uncompromising standards applied uniformly across the globe for the past 125 years.” *]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports

New Yorkers love a historic landmark, and College Point’s Poppenhusen Institute has always been one of those gems that locals know is special. Now, the 1868 structure—already listed on the National Register of Historic Places and protected as a city landmark—has emerged from a $6.2 million restoration. The city unveiled the completed restoration at a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week, marking the latest milestone in an ongoing, multi-phase effort to preserve one of Queens’ most significant cultural hubs. Photograph: Courtesy of NYC Department of Design and Construction The project, overseen by the NYC Department of Design and Construction for the Department of Cultural Affairs, came in a full $1 million under budget, which in New York might be the biggest historical achievement of all. The work focused on renovating all 97 exterior windows while repairing the brownstone sills and masonry elements that had weathered decades of water damage. The goal was to make the building more efficient and functional without sacrificing the character that makes it, as the Institute’s executive director Susan K. Brustmann put it in an official statement, “a bright jewel in the crown of Queens.” Restoration is nothing new for the Poppenhusen. The city completed a $2.9 million accessibility upgrade in 2018 that finally gave the building an elevator, ADA-compliant entry and a unisex accessible restroom. A future façade restoration is already in planning. Each step adds to the overall mission

Miami has no shortage of bars where you can watch a game, but PLAY Sporting Lounge is about to level up the entire concept. The 12,000-square-foot hybrid of restaurant, nightlife spot, arcade and full-blown simulator playground is finally opening its flagship location at 3450 NW 83rd Avenue, Suite 145, this December, and it’s aiming bigger than your typical sports bar. Think chef-driven seafood towers instead of sad nachos, craft cocktails instead of light beer in plastic cups and private sports simulator suites where you can play everything from golf to zombie dodgeball.  RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in Miami to book right now PLAY is the brainchild of founders Terry Lee and Adam Flierl. Their first iteration of the concept, PLA Sports Bar at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, turned into an unexpected hit despite opening on the eve of COVID shutdowns. That prototype helped shape what the Doral flagship will offer: a space that treats food, drinks and games with equal seriousness and cool vibes. Photograph: Courtesy of PLAY Sporting Lounge The Doral outpost is nearly three times larger than the original. There’s a sprawling indoor/outdoor bar pouring cocktails like Bramble Bliss and the lychee caipirinha, digital dart lanes, a patio with backyard games and 60 TVs, making NFL Sunday feel like a sensory experiment. The simulator suites are fully customizable and even offer the choice to stream movies on site if you want to turn your night out into a private screenin

Boston may get its fair share of winter weather, but nothing this season will be as dazzling as the storm blowing into the Emerson Colonial Theatre on December 27, when the Grand Kyiv Ballet returns with The Snow Queen for one night only. The company last came to town with Swan Lake back in February, earning the kind of rapturous audience response that usually only greets returning pop stars, not classical ballet troupes. This time around, they’re bringing something even more transportive along with them: a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, filtered through Ukrainian artistry and rendered on stage with plenty of wintry grandeur. RECOMMENDED: This Boston hotel is turning one of its rooms into an exact replica of the 'Goodnight Moon' room Part of the draw is the story itself, one of Andersen’s most enduring tales: when a shard from an enchanted mirror slips into Kai's eye and turns his heart cold, he becomes a perfect target for the Snow Queen, who spirits him away to her frigid kingdom. Gerda follows him through forests, storms and a menagerie of magical beings ranging from robbers to trolls to a thoroughly mischievous Snowman. The company’s version enacts that adventure to the music of Grieg, Massenet, Mozart and Vivaldi, led by principal dancers Viktor Tomashek and Alisa Kuzmenko. But this Boston engagement carries more weight than a purely seasonal outing. Part of the tour’s proceeds will go toward restoring Ukraine’s Main Ballet Academy and repairing its children’s dormi

As Miley Cyrus sings in her hit "Flowers:" "I can buy myself flowers." And buy flowers we will at Cj Hendry's new brick-and-mortar Flower Shop, now open at 172 Prince Street in Soho. After two years of sold-out Flower Market pop-ups, where fans lined up for city blocks to snag one of Hendry’s felt, soft, sculptural blooms, this marks the artist’s first physical shop. Unlike those fleeting installations, Flower Shop gives New Yorkers the chance to experience her work anytime, no RSVP or waiting list required. RECOMMENDED: Incredible immersive experiences to do in NYC right now The space reimagines the traditional florist from the ground up. Inside, guests will find walls lined with velvety stems in every color and shape, all crafted with Hendry’s signature attention to detail. The flowers may be fake, but their emotional resonance is real. And look for a new exclusive plush flower to drop every day, offering up a reason to return over and over. Maybe this is your new daily latte? Photograph: Courtesy of Cj Hendry Studio “Flowers are one of those universal things—people buy them for every occasion, from celebrations to apologies,” Hendry said in an official statement. “But the sad part is they’re gone in a few days. Flower Shop flips that idea on its head. These flowers never die, which makes them funny, a little cheeky, and—hopefully—the most fun gift you’ll ever give.” Open from 10am to 6pm, seven days a week, Flower Shop is perfectly timed for the holiday season rush. Each

Metro riders beware: LA Metro is reviving its TAP-to-exit initiative at both ends of the red line beginning Monday, November 17. That means that all riders will have to scan their TAP cards to exit the turnstiles at North Hollywood and Union Station, and anyone who didn't pay to board will have to pay to leave. (And possibly, allegedly, face a fine.) Right now, TAP-to-exit is only in effect at the E Line’s Downtown Santa Monica Station but, next week, the North Hollywood and Union Station stops along the B Line will resume the program as well. Additionally, LA Metro announced that it will institute the procedure at the A Line’s Pomona North Station. Initially launched at the North Hollywood station in May 2024, the system was reportedly behind a 90% decrease in loitering at the station and a 12% decrease in crime at that stop, with 90% of surveyed riders saying that it made the station cleaner, while 86% felt safer. Union Station instituted the practice on February 18, 2025, but in April 2025, the Los Angeles Fire Department demanded that LA Metro cease the program amid concerns about potential bottlenecks because there was no system in place to unlock the turnstiles during an emergency. Once the program ground to a halt, LA Metro reported that crime at the North Hollywood stop increased by 67% and at Union Station by a whopping 116%. Metro also reported that it lost almost $35,000 in fares at both stations. Now, it seems, LA Metro has sufficiently addressed the LAFD's concer