The countdown to the holidays officially begins…now! Fit in as many cultural escapades as you can before the Thanksgiving food coma sets in.
Eating + Drinking
Now Serving at the Collapsable Hole, November 2-16
This immersive, highly intimate “dinner party” in the West Village has it all: haute hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and—perhaps best of all—patriarchal revenge. Splurge for dinner guest tickets, and you’ll be dining on a full four-course feast among the mayhem onstage. —Ross Tipograph, performance expert
Aerobanquets RMX at the James Beard House, begins November 13
Eating and virtual reality sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the team behind Adda + Rahi is up for the challenge. I’m ready to dive deep into the culinary matrix with this multisensory seven-course dinner inside the esteemed James Beard House in the West Village. —Jess Bender, dining and drinking expert
Lower East Side Cider Fest at Essex Market, November 14
We’re sure you’ve already eaten plenty of apples, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t save room for some cider. More than two dozen of New York State’s best cider makers take over the historic market as part of one of my fave weeks of the year, Cider Week. —Jess Bender, dining and drinking expert
Family
First Saturdays for Families at New Museum, November 2
Finally, an excuse to play with your food! This month’s free workshop at the Nolita museum is inspired by multisensory artist Carmen Argote’s current exhibition. You can paint your own masterpieces with food-based pigments like berries, turmeric, and coffee. I plan to bring my daughter! —Molly Surno, art expert
Slava’s Snowshow in Times Square, begins November 11
Russian clown Slava Polunin returns to Broadway after 11 years on the road to reopen his beloved bag of sight gags. Clad in a baggy yellow suit and red nose, Polunin always ends his show with a spectacular blizzard. No shovels required! —David Cote, theater expert
Performance
Magic After Hours in Midtown, November 1 + 8 + 15
Urban spelunkers Atlas Obscura hunt the globe for hidden treasures and historical oddities to showcase in photos and written essays, but they also hold special events with expert guides to share their favorite discoveries. Professional magician and Brooklynite Noah Levine will host three charmed evenings at a local Obscura haunt: the oldest magic specialty outlet in New York City, Tannen’s. —John Seroff, music expert
Unsex Me Here at the Brick, November 8–23
Gender-flipped versions of Shakespeare aren’t very rare—especially off-off Broadway—but this one in Williamsburg is worth your time. Because here, downtown diva Moira Stone plays the bloody title character of Macbeth and cast members portray their characters in their own preferred gender roles. Maggie Cino directs this postapocalyptic framing of the tragedy. —David Cote, theater expert
Edutainment
Ballroom Has Something to Say at New York Live Arts, November 10
Intellectual and choreographer Bill T. Jones’s New York Live Arts in Chelsea prides itself on providing a home for the next generation of creative artists, so this celebration of the impact of ballroom dance is a perfect fit. Start out with an afternoon voguing class taught by Pose cast member Jason A. Rodriguez and scene star Pony Zion; follow that with a lecture on intersection within the queer, trans, and black communities combined with a live ballroom performance; then finish the night with a vogue fem dance-off. —John Seroff, music expert
Masters of Social Gastronomy at Caveat, November 25
Are you ride or die for pie? If you’re like me and the gastronauts behind this lip-smacking Lower East Side lecture series, the answer is: Duh! During this month’s edition, learn about the Thanksgiving staple’s sweet history and—if your stomach’s up for it—partake in a preshow pie-eating contest. —Jess Bender, dining and drinking expert
Music
Amythyst Kiah at Murmrr Theatre, November 16
The Tennessee-born Kiah is a joy on both banjo and guitar, but it’s her versatile and resonant voice—somewhere between Big Mama Thornton and Tracy Chapman—that made her one of my favorite musical finds from this year’s globalFEST. Do yourself a favor and catch her here in Prospect Heights before she drops her forthcoming LP next year, which should send her through the cultural stratosphere. —John Seroff, music expert
Salty Brine at Joe’s Pub, November 17 + 19
WSWD favorite and next-up cabaret wunderkind Brine braids his personal experiences, significant cultural events, and his love of music into a long-form, single-voice theater experience. Brine’s current show promises explorations of a Victorian diarist, his own coming-of-age story, and the complete first disc of the Smashing Pumpkins’s breakout hit, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. —John Seroff, music expert