Come join the standby list for our Spring 2024 Urban NY trips! Arrive at the meeting time (or no more than 10 minutes earlier) for Standby. You will put your name on a list provided by the Urban NY Trip Leader, and 10 minutes after the designated meeting time any last minute cancellations or no-shows will be released to the Standby list via random draw (please note that an earlier time of arrival will NOT increase chances of selection). Standby tickets are not guaranteed for any show, however there are often at least a few available!
The trips that will be offered during the Spring 2024 semester are listed below, as well as meeting times and locations. Please email urbanny@columbia.edu with any questions.
Wednesday February 14th: The Lion King (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Giraffes strut, birds swoop, gazelles leap - the entire Serengeti comes to life. And as the music soars, Pride Rock slowly rises from the stage. This is THE LION KING. A spectacular visual feast, this adaptation of Disney's much-loved film transports you to a dazzling world that explodes with glorious colors, stunning effects and enchanting music. At its heart is the powerful and moving story of Simba, and his epic journey from wide-eyed cub to his destined role as King of the Pridelands. The Lion King won six 1998 Tony Awards, and has also earned more than 70 major arts awards. Come join The Circle of Life!
Thursday February 15th : Six (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the mic to reclaim their identities out of the shadow of their infamous spouse—remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an exuberant celebration of 21st century girl power. The female cast are backed by an all-female band, the “Ladies in Waiting.” Songs from the studio album are streamed on average 300,000 times per day, making it the second highest streaming cast recording in the world.
Monday February 19th : Sleep No More (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Completed in 1939, The McKittrick Hotel was intended to be New York City’s finest and most decadent luxury hotel of its time. Six weeks before opening, and two days after the outbreak of World War II, the legendary hotel was condemned and left locked, permanently sealed from the public. Until now… EMURSIVE has brought the Grande Dame back to life. Collaborating with London’s award-winning PUNCHDRUNK, the legendary space is reinvented with SLEEP NO MORE, presenting Shakespeare’s classic Scottish tragedy through the lens of suspenseful film noir. Audiences move freely through a transporting world at their own pace, choosing their own path through the story, immersed in the most unique theatrical experience in New York.
Wednesday February 21st: Moulin Rouge (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:50 PM)
Enter a world of splendor and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur and glory! A world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment. Pop the champagne and prepare for the spectacular…Welcome to Moulin Rouge! The Musical! Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. A theatrical celebration of truth, beauty, freedom and — above all — love, Moulin Rouge! is more than a musical; it is a state of mind.
Thursday February 22nd: Hadestown (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Welcome to HADESTOWN, where a song can change your fate. This acclaimed new musical by celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and innovative director Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) is a love story for today... and always. HADESTOWN intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, HADESTOWN is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.
Tuesday February 27th: Carmina Burana (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:50 PM)
Internationally renowned conductor Tito Muñoz makes his Carnegie Hall debut with Carmina Burana. In his return to the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the native New Yorker leads the Westminster Symphonic Choir and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City in a thrilling performance of Carl Orff’s most famous work. Carmina Burana takes the raucous, primal spirit of its medieval poetry text source and turns it into a bombastic, downright theatrical experience. All-star trio of soloists Ying Fang, Nicholas Phan, and Norman Garrett sing the roles of young lovers, a disgraced abbot, and even a sorrowful swan roasting on a spit. Children’s voices embody playful cupids, while robust choruses praise goddesses and lament the fickle nature of fate. With such a mighty crowd of musical forces behind it, this larger-than-life performance is not to be missed.
Wednesday February 28th: Hamilton (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
A wildly inventive new musical about the scrappy young immigrant who forever changed America: Alexander Hamilton. Tony and Grammy Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda’s iconic musical about the unlikely founding father determined to make his mark on a new nation as hungry and ambitious as he is. From bastard orphan to Washington's right hand man, rebel to war hero, loving husband caught in the country's first sex scandal to Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy, Hamilton is an exploration of a political mastermind. Attend this revolutionary tale of America's fiery past told through the sounds of the ever-changing nation we've become.
Thursday February 29th: Emigre at the NY Phil (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:20 PM)
Germany, 1938. Kristallnacht. To survive the pending threat, two brothers are sent halfway around the world, to Shanghai. Otto cherishes his heritage, while Josef seeks a new path, and falls in love with Lina, a Chinese woman recovering from the loss of her mother in the Nanjing Massacre. From there flows Émigré, a semi-staged oratorio that tells a sweeping tale of love and loss, set to music by film and concert composer Aaron Zigman. Lyrics by Grammy-winning librettist Mark Campbell, with additional lyrics by Brock Walsh.
Tuesday March 5th: Turnadot (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Franco Zeffirelli’s dazzling vision of mythic China retakes the stage, with soprano Elena Pankratova making her Met debut as the legendary—and lethal—title princess, opposite tenor SeokJong Baek as the valiant prince who puts his life on the line to win her love. Later in the spring, a pair of audience favorites, soprano Christine Goerke and tenor Roberto Alagna, assume the starring roles. Sopranos Gabriella Reyes, Aleksandra Kurzak, and Olga Kulchynska alternate as Liù, with basses Vitalij Kowaljow, Peixin Chen, and Soloman Howard as Timur. Maestro Oksana Lyniv makes her Met debut leading Puccini’s rousing score, sharing conducting duties with Marco Armiliato.
Wednesday March 6th: Sweeney Todd (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
For the first time since 1980, Broadway audiences will experience Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award®–winning score as it was performed in the original production—with Jonathan Tunick’s classic 26-player orchestration on an epic scale. Tony Award–winning director Thomas Kail (Hamilton) helms the return of this musical thriller starring Tony and Grammy® nominee Josh Groban (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) as Sweeney Todd and Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park With George, Kinky Boots) as Mrs. Lovett. Tony winner Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) reunites with Kail as Music Supervisor, and Olivier Award winner Steven Hoggett (Once, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) choreographs this new production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Thursday March 7th: The Ally at the Public (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Tony Award-winning playwright Itamar Moses (The Band’s Visit) returns to The Public with the world premiere of THE ALLY, a fierce drama that gives voice to some of the most contentious and important questions of our time. When college professor Asaf (Josh Radnor) is asked by a student to sign a social justice manifesto, what seems at first like a simple choice instead embroils him in an increasingly complex web of conflicting agendas that challenge his allegiances as a progressive, a husband, an artist, an academic, an American, an atheist, and a Jew. With tensions at an all-time high, Asaf is forced to confront the age-old question: “If I am only for myself, what am I?” Directed by Drama Desk Award winner Lila Neugebauer (The Wolves), THE ALLY is a passionate, provocative, and unflinching new play about the vanishing line between the personal and the political.
Tuesday March 19th: The Book of Mormon (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Something incredible is happening 8 times a week on Broadway. It's THE BOOK OF MORMON! Winner of 9 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, this hilarious smash hit follows a mismatched pair of Mormons sent on a mission to a place that's about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get. Entertainment Weekly calls THE BOOK OF MORMON "the funniest show ever." The New York Times simply calls it "the best musical of this century."
Wednesday March 20th: The Notebook (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:50 PM)
The Notebook is a new musical based on the best selling novel that inspired the iconic film. Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart, in a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love. Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune says The Notebook is "absolutely goregous-not to be missed!" and The Chicago Sun-Times calls it "superb! A stage musical for the ages!"
Thursday March 21st: Spamalot (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Peter Marks of The Washington Post exclaims it’s “gloriously hilarious! The jokes crackle, and the production numbers sparkle. SPAMALOT is funnier than ever.” Charles Isherwood of the Wall Street Journal raves the show is “deliriously funny. SPAMALOT is blazing like a burst of summer sunshine as winter draws near, it’s pure glee.” And Jesse Green writes “it’s a blissful Broadway revival” and awards it a New York Times Critic’s Pick! Everything that makes a great knight in the theatre is here, from flying cows to killer rabbits, British royalty to French taunters, dancing girls, rubbery shrubbery, and of course, the Lady of the Lake.
Monday March 25th: Knicks Game (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:20 PM)
Come watch an exciting basketball game as the Knicks play the Detroit Pistons at the iconic Madison Square Garden.
Tuesday March 26th: Alarm Will Sound (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:20 PM)
Alarm Will Sound returns to Carnegie Hall with a concert curated by the 2023–2024 Debs Composer’s Chair Tania León—a singular artist and longtime collaborator of the ensemble. This performance highlights the breadth of Alarm Will Sound’s stylistic range and musical omnivorousness with works ranging from Tania León’s Toque, inspired by Cuban dance to Hanabi by Alarm Will Sound members Chris Thompson and Miles Brown, a piece inspired by electronic dance music and drum line. Alarm Will Sound will be joined by special guests, including Bora Yoon for her work Casual Miracles and Damon Davis for the premiere of an excerpt from his science-fiction opera Ligeia Mare. Also on the program is the NY premiere of Līlā by Texu Kim, a work supported by the Barlow Prize and written for AWS, the London Sinfonietta, the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Wednesday March 27th: Kimberly Akimbo (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Tony Award® winner Victoria Clark stars as Kim, a bright and funny Jersey teen who happens to look like a 72-year-old lady. And yet her aging disease may be the least of her problems. Forced to maneuver family secrets, borderline personalities, and possible felony charges, Kim is determined to find happiness in a world where not even time is on her side. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire and Tony Award® winner Jeanine Tesori, with direction by Outer Critics Circle Award winner Jessica Stone, and winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best New Musical, Kimberly Akimbo “feels like a miracle — the funniest and most moving experience of my entire return to theatergoing” (Peter Marks, The Washington Post).
Thursday March 28th: Back to the Future (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Great Scott! The multi-award winning Back to the Future The Musical is changing Broadway musical theatre history. When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history. Now he’s in a race against time to fix the present, escape the past and send himself... back to the future. Experience this high-voltage comedy as the iconic story is adapted for the stage by the movie’s creators Bob Gale (Back to the Future trilogy) and Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) and is directed by the Tony Award-winning John Rando. Back to the Future the Musical features original music by multi-Grammy winners Alan Silvestri (Avengers: Endgame) and Glen Ballard (Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror), alongside hit songs from the movie including The Power of Love, Johnny B. Goode, Earth Angel and Back in Time. When BACK TO THE FUTURE THE MUSICAL hits 88mph, you’re gonna see some serious… entertainment.
Tuesday April 2nd: Suffs (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Following a sold-out, extended run at The Public Theater, Suffs arrives on Broadway next spring — and not a moment too soon. From the singular mind of Shaina Taub, this “remarkable, epic new musical” (Variety), boldly explores the victories and failures of a struggle for equality that’s far from over. It’s 1913 and the women’s movement is heating up in America, anchored by the suffragists — “Suffs,” as they call themselves — and their relentless pursuit of the right to vote. Reaching across and against generational, racial, and class divides, these brilliant, flawed women entertain and inspire us with the story of their hard-won victory in an ongoing fight. So much has changed since the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment over a century ago, and yet we’re reminded sometimes we need to look back, in order to march fearlessly into the future.
Wednesday April 3rd: Uncle Vanya (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:50 PM)
Sonya and her uncle Vanya have devoted their lives to managing the family farm in isolation, but when her celebrated, ailing father and his charismatic wife move in, their lives are upended. In the heat of the summer, the wrong people fall in love, desires and resentments erupt, and the family is forced to reckon with the ghosts of their unlived lives.
Thursday April 4th: Hell’s Kitchen (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
In the mid 90’s, in an apartment high above the energy and grit of Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, 17-year-old Ali squints toward the horizon until she can just see the Hudson River. Despite the warnings of her protective mother, the symphony of the street calls to her—promising freedom, excitement, and the possibility of love. Finding herself. When a wise piano teacher helps her find her voice, Ali learns she can make the city her own. Don’t miss this exhilarating, joyful, coming-of-age story filled with that New York grit about chasing your dreams, honoring your roots, identity and finding your voice. Directed by four-time Tony Award® nominee Michael Greif, with choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown, a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristoffer Diaz, and featuring Keys’s new original songs and iconic anthems—in a story inspired by her own NY experience—HELL’S KITCHEN is the kind of Broadway musical dreams are made of.
Tuesday April 9th: Wicked (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Wicked, the Broadway sensation, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another girl, born with emerald-green skin—smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.” From the first electrifying note to the final breathtaking moment, Wicked—the untold true story of the Witches of Oz—transfixes audiences with its wildly inventive story. It will send your spirits soaring to heights you’ll never forget.
Wednesday April 10th: Little Shop of Horrors (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
The world’s most ravenous plant has returned to its acclaimed, sold-out run at the Westside Theatre! Winner of the 2020 Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is “wildly exuberant” (The Hollywood Reporter), and a New York Times Critic’s Pick. This smash-hit production stars Emmy® winner and Grammy® nominee Tammy Blanchard (“Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows”), 2022 Tony Award® nominee Rob McClure (Mrs. Doubtfire, Beetlejuice), and two-time Tony winner Christian Borle (Something Rotten!), who won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards for his performance in LITTLE SHOP. Together they bring succulent life to a show that has made millions of theatergoers laugh, scream, and give up gardening for good. Get tickets now and enjoy a taste of what we’ve all been craving: live theater!
Thursday April 11th: Cabaret (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:50 PM)
Experience this groundbreaking musical like never before. The denizens of the Kit Kat Club have created a decadent sanctuary inside Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre, where artists and performers, misfits and outsiders rule the night. Step inside their world. This is Berlin. Relax. Loosen up. Be yourself. London’s hottest ticket arrives on Broadway this Spring with Academy and Tony Award winner Eddie Redmayne reprising his Olivier Award-winning performance as the Emcee, and introducing Gayle Rankin as the Toast of Mayfair, Sally Bowles.
Tuesday April 16th: The Heart of Rock and Roll (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:50 PM)
Get amped! THE HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL — the new musical comedy inspired by the timeless hits of HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS — is coming to Broadway with a rhythm that’ll drive you wild. Step into an era when the airwaves sizzled and bands with platinum dreams rocked every dive bar.A raucous rom-com wrapped in pure musical joy, THE HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL centers on a couple of thirty-somethings who know exactly what they want from life—until they find each other. It’s going to take The Power Of Love — and a little help from their friends — to show them the way. Jam-packed with HUEY LEWIS megahits like “Working for a Living”, “Stuck with You” and “If this is It”, this shamelessly fun show will have you dancing in your seat (and all the way home). Don’t miss Broadway’s newest feel-great musical, THE HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL, where it’s Hip to be Square.
Wednesday April 17th: Fire Shut Up in my Bones (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:20 PM)
Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz.The opera takes place in and around the small and poor town of Gibsland, in northwestern Louisiana, as well as at Blow’s alma mater, Grambling State University. The time ranges from Charles’s childhood in the 1970s to his adulthood in the 1990s.
Thursday April 18th: The Who’s Tommy (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
The Who's Tommy originally opened on Broadway in 1993, with a book by Des McAnuff and Pete Townshend of The Who, music and lyrics by Townshend, and direction by McAnuff. The pair have reunited to reimagine the story, and McAnuff will return as director for the new production. Based on The Who's 1969 rock opera Tommy, the musical follows the young Tommy Walker. After witnessing his father shoot his rival, Walker is emotionally lost, and spends his time staring endlessly staring into the mirror. Then an innate knack for pinball catapults him into celebrity status.
Tuesday April 23rd: Lempicka (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
From the Tony Award®-winning director of HADESTOWN and starring Eden Espinosa, this New York Times Critic’s Pick is a sweeping musical portrait of a woman who changed art and culture forever. Spanning decades of political and personal turmoil and told through a thrilling, pop-infused score, LEMPICKA boldly explores the contradictions of a world in crisis, a woman ahead of her era, and an artist whose time has finally come.
Wednesday April 24th: All Balanchine at NYCB (meet in 515 Lerner @ 6:20 PM)
While known for his loyalty to composers from his native Russia, Balanchine also displayed a deep affection for French music, as the dances in this program illustrate. The rarely seen Bourrée Fantasque, set to the music of Chabrier, includes romping comedy in the first movement and a blazing finale for the corps de ballet. Errante, originally titled Tzigane after the name of Ravel’s rhapsodic score and last revived for the 1993 Balanchine Celebration, returns in a staging by Suzanne Farrell, for whom it was choreographed in 1975. The evening also includes two disparate dances to Bizet scores: the animated pas de deux The Steadfast Tin Soldier, with its fairy-tale characters who spring to life, and Symphony in C, one of Balanchine’s most brilliant and cherished displays of the variety of classical style.
Thursday April 25th: The Wiz (meet in 515 Lerner @ 5:50 PM)
Everybody look around, there’s reason to rejoice! The Tony Award®-winning Best Musical that took the world by storm is back. For the first time in decades, THE WIZ returns home to the American stage with an all-new Broadway-bound adaptation. The Pre-Broadway National Tour launched this past September in Baltimore, where the beloved musical premiered 50 years ago. The Wiz premiered on Broadway in 1975 and became an instant sensation, going on to win seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Ted Ross), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Dee Dee Bridgewater), Best Choreography (George Faison), and in a Broadway first, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Costume Design (Geoffrey Holder). “Ease on Down the Road” became the show’s break-out single, and “Home” has since become a bona fide classic. That original production ran for four years (first at The Majestic Theatre and later at The Broadway Theatre) – and 1,672 performances – on Broadway. A 1978 film adaptation starred Diana Ross, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne, and marked Quincy Jones’ first collaboration with Michael Jackson.