UWS Weekend: Great Things To Do in (and Around) the Neighborhood

By Tracy Zwick

Opera, theater, and choral music performed by huge stars and stars of tomorrow are among your UWS options.

Let’s Weekend!

April 4th to 7th, 2025

Die Zauberflöte at The Metropolitan Opera, Friday, April 4th and Monday, April 7th at 7:30 p.m. (more showtimes through April 26th and tickets here), 30 Lincoln Center Plaza between West 62nd and 65th streets; tickets start at $35

“We find ourselves at a moment of crisis,” declares Sarastro, the high priest and just ruler of a mythical kingdom, as Act Two opens in this full-length, German-language production of Mozart’s beloved fable. The power struggle and moral reckoning in “Magic Flute” resonate unmistakably with today’s turbulent political landscape. It’s no spoiler to reveal that the mythological crisis on stage is resolved happily, with “Beauty + Wisdom” writ large at the production’s end. Our real-world challenges may prove more intractable, but culture can’t hurt. So whether you enjoyed the abbreviated English-language version of this opera over the holidays or have yet to experience this cornerstone of the canon, make your way to the Met for roughly three-and-a-half hours of exquisite music accompanied by enchanting, playful staging (including intermission).

Good Night, and Good Luck, Tuesdays to Sundays through June 8th at 7 p.m. with matinees on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays (showtimes and tickets here), Winter Garden Theater, 1634 Broadway between West 50th and 51st streets; tickets start around $176

I saw this taut, 100-minute play (no intermission) on Tuesday just ahead of its formal opening last night. The crowd was clearly there for its star, George Clooney, and keenly aware of the unsettling echoes between McCarthyism – the play’s mise-en-scène – and our current political atmosphere. That relevance makes the production feel urgent, while Clooney’s presence ensures tickets will be both scarce and pricey. The New York Times reported that “Good Night” grossed $3.3 million in one recent week, the most a nonmusical play has ever made during a single week on Broadway, and that was during previews. My date and I found the final scene, a video montage urging political engagement, to be the production’s most powerful moment.

Little Shop of Horrors at LaGuardia Arts High School, Friday April 4th and Saturday April 5th at 6:30 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m., 100 Amsterdam Avenue at West 65th Street; tickets start at $22.50

Take the whole family to this darkly comic musical about meek florist Seymour, who discovers a fast-growing plant that brings him fame and love – until he realizes it has a sinister taste for human blood. It’s part of this world-class performing arts high school’s 2025 Spring Drama Festival, where you can expect to see exciting performances by potential future stars. It wasn’t long ago that two of this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Actor, LaGuardia graduates Timothée Chalamet and Adrien Brody, were performing in the festival. At two hours and twenty minutes (with one intermission), it’s a perfect way to spend an afternoon or evening on a potentially April showers-filled weekend.

Celebrate Earth Day with a Jazz Concert at Grant’s Tomb: Monday, April 7th at 6 p.m., West 122nd Street and Riverside Drive; reserve free tickets here

Join Every Voice Choir (EVC) in celebrating Earth Day, Ella Fitzgerald’s birthday, and Jazz Appreciation Month this Monday with a free, public concert at Grant’s Tomb Plaza. If the weather’s inclement, the concert will be held indoors at the Riverside Church (91 Claremont Avenue). EVC is based at Columbia University Teachers College and works to empower children by teaching them to share their voices confidently through singing, providing choral training to all interested children.

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