Entertainment / Art / Nature

+ = Especially recommended

Great music in NYC
Carnegie Hall  
+ 5/3: Bavarian Radio SO – Thomas Ades  
+ 5/8: The Orchestra Now -  Bacewicz

New York Philharmonic (in the fabulous new David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center)
+ 5/3 &4: Shostakovich Cello Concerto #1; Berlioz  

Metropolitan Opera  
5/3: Carmen (stunning new production)  
5/4: John Adams’s El Nino; Madame Butterfly
5/5: Kevin Puts’s The Hours     
5/7: John Adams’s El Nino
5/8:Madame Butterfly
Check timeout.com/newyork for additional & updated listings. 

Broadway bests (check listings for updates on openings/closings: cheaper tickets day of performance
sometimes available on TKTS app or at TKTS booth in Times Square, W47 & B’way) 
+ Some Like It Hot – 2023 Tony Awards: Best Actor J. Harrison Ghee; Costumes, Choreography  
+ Kimberly Akimbo – 2023 Tony Awards Best Actress: Best Musical, Book, Score 
+ Life of Pi  – 2023 Tony Awards: Scenic Design, Sound, Lighting   
Other picks: & Juliet, Wicked, The Lion King, Sweeney Todd, Book of Mormon, Hamilton, Hadestown, Chicago, Six: The Musical

Dance
+ Lincoln Center: ABT Spring Season
Joyce Theater (Chelsea) – ABT Studio; Gibney Company 
Other dance performances & venues – see timeout.com/newyork

Walking & Biking & Nature
+ Walk the Highline and eat at Chelsea Market or Hudson Yards (numerous food stalls inside both).  
+ Central Park (great for walking, running, nature, biking…) 
+ Little Island (West Side H’way & W13) Heatherwick Studio’s new & fun island in the Hudson.
+ The new North Walk & bike path on the GWB, from Manhattan to NJ – wonderfully designed
Rent a Citi bike with the citibike app (extra charges after 30 minutes) & abide by traffic regs!  The
best routes are in Central Park and the west side path along the Hudson River from the GWB down & around Battery Park; the East River parkway has also been extended.
Walk or bike the Brooklyn Bridge to/from Brooklyn to try Grimaldi's Pizza.

Museums/Galleries/Gardens/Zoos

(selected – there are many more!)

+ Private Art Galleries – most convenient to the meeting are the superb galleries in west Chelsea
(west of 10 Ave from 19-28 streets), with opening parties some Thursday evenings; the best include Pace, Gagosian, Zwirner, Hauser & Worth, Dia, and Miles McEnery.   
Also in Chelsea is ArtBridge (empowers local artists: see Clinical Perspectives 25)

+ MoMA (open late Th until 8:30, free Fri 4-8)
Käthe Kollwitz

+ Metropolitan Museum of Art (pay what you wish Fri & Sat nights until 9)
Harlem Renaissance
Petrit Halilaj Rooftop exhibit  

+ New-York Historical Society & DiMenna Children’s History Museum (pay what you wish Fri 6-8), 2nd oldest museum in the US with illuminating Tiffany Lamps Gallery
NY before NY

+ Whitney Museum (Meatpacking District, free Fri nights until 10)
Whitney Biennial (blockbuster exhibit)

+ Guggenheim Museum (open late Sat until 7:45)

+ Jewish Museum (open late Th until 8)

+ Frick Madison - closed for re-installation   

+ Morgan Library & Museum (free Fri nights 7-9) – Morgan’s former mansion with manuscript treasures and stellar exhibitions
Walton Ford: Birds & Beasts of the Studio

+ American Museum of Natural History – the bold new addition is a must 
Neue Galerie, mansion with 20th century German & Austrian art (e.g., Klimt)
Klimt Landscapes  

New Museum (pay what you wish Th 7-9)

Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay & Lesbian Art (SoHo)
The Plural of He and I’m a Thousand Different People

International Center of Photography (open late Th until 9)
ICP's survey of the work of David Seidner (1957–1999) reintroduces this important and rarely exhibited artist of the 1980s and 1990s whose work has largely faded from view since his passing from AIDS-related illnesses in 1999. Primarily drawn from Seidner's archive, which has been a part of ICP’s collection since 2001, highlights include David Seidner’s early fine art photography and fragmented portrait studies, vibrant fashion and editorial photography, images of groundbreaking dancers and choreographers, portraits of well-known contemporary artists and their studios, and works from his final project, abstracted studies of orchids.   Closes Monday May 6th.

Hispanic Society of America (Washington Heights)

National Museum of the American Indian (Bowling Green, Battery Park)

Museum of Jewish Heritage (Battery Park)

Tenement Museum (Orchard & Delancey)

Museum of Art & Design (Columbus Circle, pay what you wish Th 6-9, open late Fri until 9)

The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fort Tryon Park) for the Unicorn Tapestries

Museum of the City of NY

Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum (pay what you wish Sat 6-9)

Museum of Sex

American Folk Art Museum  

+ 9/11 Memorial & Museum (World Trade Center)

One World Observatory - great views from the highest observation deck in NY

The Edge at Hudson Yards – A new outdoor observation platform with a glass floor area

Central Park Zoo

In Queens:
Queens Museum (Flushing Meadows Corona Park) 

Museum of the Moving Image (Astoria)

PS-1, MoMA (Long Island City)

Noguchi Museum (Long Island City)

Socrates Sculpture Park (Long Island City)

In Brooklyn:
Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park

In the Bronx:
Bronx Museum of Art (Grand Concourse)

Bronx Zoo

NY Botanical Garden

Comedy Shows

Comedy Cellar (West Village)

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. UCB West has some of the best improv in the country, and the Eastside club has exceptional stand up. 

LGBTQ+ Bars and Clubs

(just a few listed)(do not leave drinks unattended)

Hell’s Kitchen
Flaming Saddles – fun drag shows
The Ritz – shows, dancing, mixed crowd, often packed   
Balcon Salon – swanky new bar
Vers – queer bar
Fairytale Lounge – horse and drag  
Hardware – dancing
Adonis – male strippers
Rise – drag shows
Boxers HC 
Hush - where Therapy Bar used to be
Industry Bar – industrial with “watch your wallets” signs

West Village
Stonewall – pay tribute to gay pride, also now a national monument, packed dance floor. Right outside on Christopher Street is the Stonewall National Monument, small but powerful!
Julius’ – historic, where queers rebelled against the Mafia controlling gay bars, Mattachine nights  
The Duplex – piano/cabaret bar with entertainment, outdoor patio 
The Monster – piano bar on main floor, dancing downstairs
Pieces – younger dance bar
Cubbyhole – lesbian/dyke hangout
Henrietta Hudson – lesbian pool & dancing  
Marie's Crisis –  the only (?) showtune sing-along piano bar in the world, smaller
intimate crowd weeknights, packed on weekends, a must do if you are a musical theatre lover; Thomas Paine lived here for that extra historical touch  
The Duplex

East Village
Club Cumming – Alan Cumming’s small East Village club with great shows & DJs, especially
Bright Light Bright Light  
The Cock – legendary basement, late crowd  
Boiler Room – basic, cheap drinks
Phoenix Bar – younger crowd  

Chelsea
Eagle NYC – multilevel leather & dance bar with outdoor deck, guest DJs
Barracuda Bar – classic Chelsea bar with fun shows
REBAR Chelsea – typical Chelsea bar
Gym Sportsbar – lives up to it’s name
Boxers NYC

Upper East Side
Townhouse of NY – piano bar; older crowd with younger admirers
Lips Drag Queen Show Palace – dinner & drag

Manhattan Valley
Suite

Harlem
Alibi Lounge
Lambda Lounge

Park Slope
Ginger’s Bar – lesbian warmth

Williamsburg
The Exley – artsy bar
Metropolitan – often packed

Restaurants/Food

Key: $ = cheap; $$ = moderate; $$$ = expensive; $$$$ = extremely expensive
* = number of Michelin stars

Note that many restaurants have shorter hours now, and many others have closed since COVID. 

Restaurants close to Javits & APA hotels:

• Walk to MoMA and have lunch or dinner at The Modern Bar $$ which is less expensive than the Modern Restaurant** $$$.  The bar area is better than the fancy expensive restaurant; there is also MoMA’s Terrace Café for lunch only
• Le Bernardin*** $$$$ (see Tip-Top below); very high end seafood, has a vegetarian option
• Aldo Sohm Wine Bar – small plates; managed by Le Bernardin. $$  
• Benoit - Alain Ducasse’s French bistro, known for roasted chicken. $$$  
• Brasserie Cognac 48th - French bistro; simple, good food. $$$  
• Toloache - modern Mexican, very loud and crowded. $$$  
• Mercado Little Spain by world-famous Chef José Andrés, who is active solving hunger world-wide (Hudson Yards)
• Milos Wine Bar – wonderful & large selections of Greek wines & small plates. $$
• Milos – excellent high-end Greek with great view of the Hudson. $$$ (Hudson Yards)
• Wagamama – From the UK, fast & simple Asian cuisine. $$ (several locations)
• Pret a Manger – From London, lunch with sandwiches, soups $ (several locations) 

The Tip-Top of the Top Restaurants in NYC (all $$$$ & reservations way in advance)

• Eleven Madison Park*** – The best of the best in NYC; a several-hour, fully vegan tasting menu experience; unique & gorgeous presentations, watching the waiters’ choreographed service is a delight. Limited menu at bar available. $$$$ (Madison Square Park)  
• per se*** – Thomas Keller (French Laundry) in his super-refined NYC post; fabulous & fabulously expensive; reserve 2 months ahead or hope for cancellations. $$$$ (The Shops at Columbus Circle)  
• Le Bernardin*** – superstar chef Erik Ripert’s seafood temple with a good vegetarian option; make reservations at least 6-8 weeks in advance - very expensive but you will have a superior dining experience. $$$$  
• Daniel** – Exquisite French from celebrity chef Daniel Boulud; a separate vegetarian tasting menu is always available and is superb. $$$$  
• Jean-Georges** – JG Vongerichten’s signature restaurant; one of the best NY dining experiences. $$$$ (Columbus Circle)
• Bar Masa*** – Some say this is the best sushi in the Americas, by Masayoshi Takayama. $$$$ (The Shops at Columbus Circle)
• Gem Wine – famous young Chef Flynn’s casual/charming place for exquisite/fun cuisine & great wines $$$$  

Moderate to High-End Restaurants

• Nougatine - the bar area of Jean-Georges*** - excellent food and less expensive. $$$ (Trump International Hotel & Tower, Columbus Circle)
• Charlie Palmer at the Knick – the bar area is very expensive, but very good. $$$
• Boulud Sud - a Daniel Boulud restaurant, Mediterranean focus with small plates and tapas style entrees. $$$  
• Leopard at des Artistes - north Italian; beautiful; the murals have been restored; wonderful ambiance. $$$  
• Becco: Lidia Bastianich’s place; great all-you-can-eat pasta deal, convenient in theatre district. $$$  
• abc Kitchen - JG Vongerichten’s food right from the Greenmarket. $$$  

Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurants (some of the best restaurants in town will do an OK vegetarian plate, but these places are the best)

• Eleven Madison Park*** Superb, elegant, super $$$$ (see Tip-Top above)
• Daniel** $$$$ (see Tip-Top above)
• Hangawi – gracious & beautiful Korean vegan specialties; rare teas, excellent porridges.  $$$
• Franchia – excellent Korean vegan food, great bibimbap. $$  
• Superiority Burger – prize-winning superior veg burgers & sides, try everything; in new digs. $
• Vatan Indian – delightful prix-fixe dining in a village setting. $$  
• Avant Garden – creative and trendy vegetarian with good wines by the glass. $$  
• Lady Bird – Southern vegan, very popular. $$
• dirt candy – wildly popular, trendy & fun vegetarian food; always a scene; reserve far ahead. $$$  
• Bodai – the best of the Chinese vegan & Kosher places; have the soup dumplings. $ (Mulberry & Bayard, not the one by a similar name on Mott)
• Candle – post-COVID reincarnation of a beloved vegan place, moved from the UES. $$$
• Blossom – high-end vegan standard. $$$  
• abcV – Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s vegan dishes right from the Greenmarket. $$$ (E19 & B’way and newly at the South Street Seaport Tin Building)
• Planta Queen – super-good upscale vegan chain from Canada, boisterous & fun. $$

Pizza (OK, we are risking a fight – no one agrees on the best pizza in town, but here are some greats)

• Kesté Pizza e Vino – Neapolitan pizza with 24-hour raised dough. $$  
• Una Pizza Napoletana – highly-rated Neapolitan pizza  
• Scarr’s Pizza – the newest favorite w/ Insta slices, long lines at peak times  
• Others will swear by John’s, Joe’s, Patsy’s, Lombardi’s, Grimaldi's, et al., all quite good. There are also cheap slices in some of the take-out shops around mid-town & Hell’s Kitchen – you get what you pay for.   

Cheap Eats (all $)

• Food carts all around town for easy eats – most are mediocre, some quite tasty. One of the best is NY Dosas, in Washington Square Park. $
• Ivan Ramen – highly acclaimed ramen by the Jewish guy who learned the craft living in Japan; with vegetarian versions. $

The Best Food Courts

• Eataly – extravagant food venue with multiple stations for different foods - pizza, seafood, pasta, vegetables, cheese & wines, gelato, plus a roof top garden. $$$ (3 locations, best is 5 Ave & W23)
• Hudson Yards – Many eateries, many are very good – the best and most fun is Mercado Little Spain by world-famous Chef José Andrés, who is active solving hunger world-wide. $$ Miznon has a location here too. 
• Chelsea Market – numerous food stalls inside, some very good, very touristy; Israeli chef Eyal Shan’s Miznon is a fav. $ (in the old Nabisco factory and home of the Food Channel)

Desserts Only (& worth it!)

• ChikaLicious Dessert Bar – a must; 3-course prix fixe dessert menu created before your eyes by Chika Tillman (sit at the counter & always have the wine pairings). No reservations; be prepared to wait outside for a spot. $$  
• Serendipity 3 – yes, it serves food but only go for dessert, and you must get their frozen hot chocolate! An old Andy Warhol hang-out – you may sense his ghost. Often mobbed with tweenie girls, no matter.  $$
• Dominique Ansel Bakery – line up outside by 7AM for any hope of getting a famously infamous delicious Cronut, max 2 per person. $$
• Dominique Ansel Workshop – very creative desserts & some savory dishes too. But no Cronuts here. $$
• Ladurée – the ultimate French macarons, imported from France daily. $$  
• La Maison du Chocolat – exquisite French chocolates. $$  
• Milk Bar - a David Chang (Momofuku) dessert place; iconic cereal ice cream & crack pie. $  
• Cones – remarkable ice creams; try the corn or mate if available. $
• Venchi Chocogelateria – Italian gelato & chocolates with natural ingredients. $

Cultural Events

New York City has a plethora of cultural events occurring when AGLP is in town for the APA so it is difficult to know what to choose.  Below is a list of theater/music performances with an emphasis on dance and opera that sound engaging to me and may also have LGBTQ content.   These are not official AGLP outings but ones that I am planning to go to, so please buy your own tickets, and let me know if you are going so we can coordinate interval drinks or a bite to eat.  email is howardcrubin@icloud.com.

Howard Rubin, MD  

Thursday May 2nd.  7:30-10:15 pm 
(A suggestion, but I am not planning to attend).  
Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Terence Blanchard is the first opera written by a black composer performed at the MET opera.  It is about sexual identity, based on the memoir by bisexual NY Times columnist Charles Blow. Metropolitan Opera | Fire Shut Up In My Bones (metopera.org)
Tickets may be available at TKTS.

Friday May 3rd  8:00 pm  
New York City Ballet is the premiere ballet company in the United States. 
A program of mixed ballets, old (Balanchine) and new (Justin Peck and Amy Hall Garner, a black choreographer in her NYCB premiere).  
Classic NYCB I | New York City Ballet (nycballet.com) 
Tickets may be available at TKTS

Saturday May 4th  1:00 to 3:00 PM  
El Nino by John Adams, Metropolitan Opera  Nativity Oratorio-Opera is being conducted by Marin Alsop, perhaps the most famous out lesbian conductor.  Gay, Black baritone Davone Tines stars. Metropolitan Opera | El Niño (metopera.org)  may have tickets at TKTS lincoln center

8:00-9:40PM: Orlando adapted by  Sara Ruhl from Virginia Woolf's novel, which was dedicated to her lover Vita Sackville-West, starring LGBT actors Taylor Mac and Lisa Kron.  

https://signaturetheatre.org/show/orlando/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlZixBhCoARIsAIC745BHTIxur56a5w-rYKqfjsBwoEUnV5giqTKXVzT9SDb3oUIW-j55ZOUaAnosEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Sunday May 5th 3:00-6:00 PM:
The Hours by Kevin Puts, based on the novel (and film)  by Michael Cunningham, The opera  depicts three generations of women who are struggling with their sense of identity, as well as their sexuality, either as lesbians or bisexuals.  There will be an APA session on Wed May 8 about the novel/film/opera.  
 Metropolitan Opera | The Hours (metopera.org)  

 7:00 to 8:30 PM
 Here There are Blueberries by gay playwright Moises Kaufman, most well known as the author of the Laramie Project, a play about Matthew Shephard.  Based on real events, Here There Are Blueberries tells the story of a discovery of Nazi era  historical photographs—what they reveal about the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and our own humanity.
https://www.nytw.org/show/here-there-are-blueberries/

Tuesday May 7th 7:00-8:30pm 
Illinoise (Musical/Dance theater piece) Gay composer Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed 2005 concept album Illinois explore wide-ranging narratives about blossoming queerness and self-exploration is expanded upon through a mix of live music and impressionistic choreography. Directed and choreographed by Justin Peck from the NYC Ballet.  https://illinoiseonstage.com/

Wednesday May 8th  7:30-9:30pm
 New York City Ballet, Mixed Program II.  Two classic ballets by gay choreographer Jerome Robbins, and two new ones, one by Pam Tanowitz to music by lesbian composer Caroline Shaw, and another by Justin Peck set to gay composer Sufjan Stevens. Classic NYCB II | New York City Ballet (nycballet.com)  

Other plays to consider:

Mother Play by lesbian writer Paula Vogel, A play about a mother (Jessica Lange) and her LGBT  children played by Jim Parsons and Celia Keenan-Bolger.   Highly recommended.   This run is almost sold out during the APA , so the tickets are very expensive.  

Lempicka, a new musical about the bisexual artist.  

Merrily We Roll Along, musical by gay playwright Stephen Sondheim.  Starring Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe. Tickets also very  expensive and there's limited availability.  

MJ the Musical, about Michael Jackson, choreography and direction by gay, former NYC Ballet star Christopher Wheeldon 

Sweeney Todd, a revival of the musical by Stephen Sondheim 

Appropriate, by gay Black playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, explores the secrets in a White American home.   

Cabaret, the musical by gay composer/writers Kander and Ebb  based on the writings of gay writer Christopher Isherwood. It is being revived this well received  production  from London

Metropolitan Opera performances of interest for AGLP during APA meetting

El Nino by John Adams on Sat May 4th 1:00-3:30pm.

 Nativity Oratorio-Opera is being conducted by Marin Alsop, perhaps the most famous out lesbian conductor, making her MET Opera Debut.  Gay Black baritone Davone Tines stars.  Includes text by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and incorporates music by Hildegard von Bingen. Metropolitan Opera | El Niño (metopera.org)  

The Hours by Kevin Puts  on Sun May 5 th 3:00-6:00pm.

 Adaptation of the novel (& film) by Michael Cunningham.   The opera  depicts three generations of women who are struggling with their sense of identity, as well as their sexuality, either as lesbians or bisexuals.  Stars Renee Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, Kelli O'hara, and gay baritone, Dan Brown.  Libretto by Greg Pierce who also wrote the opera adaptation of Fellow Travelers.  APA session on Wed May 8 about the novel, film, opera.   Metropolitan Opera | The Hours (metopera.org)

Thursday May 2nd:

If you are in town early, try to catch the first opera written by a black composer performed at the MET opera, Fire Shut up in my Bones, about sexual identity, based on the memoir by bisexual  NY Times columnist Charles Blow. Metropolitan Opera | Fire Shut Up In My Bones (metopera.org)

You can always purchase full priced tickets at the MET box office or online, but there may be cheaper tickets available through the MET rush program at $25.  (you must by signed in to the MET website exactly 4 hours before curtain on matinees, noon on evenings performances due to limited availability)  Metropolitan Opera | Rush Tickets (metopera.org).  There may also be availability  through discount programs like Todaytix.comor TKTS (at their booth near Lincoln center, you can buy matinees the evening before the performances.) 

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