To do in NYC on MLK Weekend?
January 10, 2017 2:34 PM   Subscribe

Myself and the missus are going to NYC for an anniversary weekend, arriving late Saturday and departing early evening on Tuesday. I want to make sure we have an amazing time. (Of course!) What should we do? Our likes include photography and and visual art generally, theater (but not musicals usually), classical music (especially newer stuff but old classics, too), vegetarian food, queer stuff, and museums.

Caveat: we can't spend much money. (We might do a single $100/ticket event for something really special.)

We lived in New York City in 2012-2013 and have done the really obvious stuff. The Public Theater Under the Radar Festival is exactly the kind of thing we are interested in. Many of those shows are sold out, unfortunately. (If anyone knows whether the Marga Gomez show is likely to be good, would love to hear it.) The PEN protest/reading at the NYPL sounds interesting, too. What exhibits, events or other happenings do you suggest?
posted by reren to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (14 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
You can stand on the cancellation line for the well-reviewed Daniel Craig/David Oyewolo Othello at $125/ticket. That does require spending some time standing around outside, though, which you might not consider worth it.
posted by praemunire at 2:47 PM on January 10, 2017


Can I answer an adjacent question and recommend two new since you left and super excellent vegetarian options? Superiority Burger (very casual, incredibly delicious) and Bunna Cafe (all veg Ethiopian - really wonderful). Superiority is expensive for what it is, but not that expensive in the grand scheme of NYC restaurants, Bunna is a great value.
posted by snaw at 3:10 PM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


International Center of Photography? In the past I've been really impressed by their curators. Hmmmm....actually, looking more closely looks like the Museum space will be in between exhibitions except for a student gallery that weekend, but the seem to have a new space at Mana if you're feeling adventurous. Anything that involves the PATH has to count as off-the-beaten for ex-New Yorkers, no?
posted by Diablevert at 3:13 PM on January 10, 2017


If you have any interest in old film equipment or props the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens is pretty neat.
posted by Wretch729 at 3:41 PM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Quick and easy, if the weather is bad -- check out the relatively new Javits Center 7 train stop and the three new Q train stops on upper east side, or combine the Q stops with museums up there...
posted by AJaffe at 4:01 PM on January 10, 2017


Ask Me told me to go to the Tenement Museum and they were right.
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:29 PM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Ride the three stops you can ride on the Second Avenue Subway simply because, after a hundred years, you finally actually can.

That actually puts you only a couple of blocks from Gracie Mansion, to boot, and that may be worth a look.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:34 PM on January 10, 2017


The Museum of Morbid Anatomy is cool and has interesting lectures if you're willing to trek out to Brooklyn.
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 5:19 PM on January 10, 2017


The Knockdown Center is having a Nasty Woman exhibit all weekend with music, performance, activism, comedy, and all sorts of art and good things. I vouch for the Knockdown Center itself being huge and very cool and very worth wandering around for an afternoon or an hour or two.

Also totally vouch for Bunna Cafe. That place is delicious.

The Kerry James Marshall exhibit at the Met Breuer is exactly as amazing as everyone says it is. Only up through the end of January.
posted by rdnnyc at 5:40 PM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


The Morbid Anatomy Museum has closed.
posted by plastic_animals at 5:54 PM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Sign up for theskint email for cheap fun things to do. The email comes out day before the listings.
posted by lalochezia at 6:18 PM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Seconding everything going on with the Nasty Women show. The Dreamlands exhibit currently at the Whitney has some gems in it. The Pipilotti Rist show at the New Museum is incredible but will be completely mobbed this weekend. As for theater - besides Under The Radar, there's also the Exponential Festival in Brooklyn and COIL out of PS122. Another good email list to check is NonsenseNYC, which usually comes out late Friday evening.
posted by drapatz at 9:12 PM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


I don't know about this particular Marga Gomez show, but a dear friend of mine in tech theatre worked a number of her shows over the years in SF and only had good things to say about all of them.
posted by smirkette at 6:54 AM on January 11, 2017


I'm going to second the Tenement Museum - it's really cool.
posted by Cranialtorque at 8:00 AM on January 11, 2017


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