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January in New York City can be quite slow, which is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it’s great to slow down after a busy 2023 and catch up on those fun winter activities we so dearly love. On the other hand, the lack of constant entertainment, especially outside, can make it feel like our wheels are spinning.
That’s why when we turn the calendar page to January, we’re looking forward to the year ahead of us. As experts of things to do in New York City, Time Out New York editors have already plotted out the best openings we want to attend this spring.
We have put together our respective lists of what’s coming, and from those, we’ve pulled 10 openings in 2024 that we’re most excited about in NYC.
RECOMMENDED: Let me tell you—these are the best quirky NYC events to bookmark for 2024
Art
‘Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys’
Opens February 10
Talented NYC-native couple Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz have amassed an impressive visual art collection. You’ll be able to see their collection at the Brooklyn Museum in a new exhibit called "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.” It contains more than 100 major artworks by important Black American, African, and African diasporic artists including Gordon Parks, Kehinde Wiley, Hassan Hajjaj, Barkley L. Hendricks, Lorna Simpson, and Amy Sherald. Aren’t you curious to check out their collection? We are!
The Whitney Biennial
Opens March 20
Already, it’s time again for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Biennial. When it opens in March this year, it’ll showcase an assessment of contemporary art from a huge contingent of the nation’s artists under the theme, “Even Better Than The Real Thing.” Here’s what we saw at the last Biennial in 2022. The best part? You’ll be able to see it for free on Friday nights under its new programming.
‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’
Opens May 10
The Met’s annual Costume Institute exhibition that inspired the yearly Met Gala is typically a must-see every year—2024 is no different. This exhibition will showcase 250 garments and accessories from four centuries, all surrounded by natural iconography through the use of cutting-edge tools, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and computer-generated imagery to traditional formats of x-rays, video animation, light projection, and soundscapes. The Met says it will “serve as a metaphor for the fragility and ephemerality of fashion and a vehicle to examine the cyclical themes of rebirth and renewal.” It sounds whimsical and we can’t wait to see how celebrities interpret it (or not) at the Gala!
‘Wonderland: Curious Nature’
May 18
If there ever was a place in NYC that could give off Alice in Wonderland vibes, we have no doubt it’d be the New York Botanical Garden. This spring, it’ll put on a garden-wide exhibition that shows off “horticultural and contemporary art installations that evoke the spirit of exploration and uncanny nature of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland,” per NYBG. Give us a “drink me” potion, we’re there!
Broadway
Hell's Kitchen
March 28
Alicia Keys’ new coming-of-age musical, loosely inspired by the pop singer-songwriter’s personal history, is headed to Broadway after first running at The Public Theater. The show includes new material as well as hits from the Keys catalog with newcomer Maleah Joi Moon at the center of a large cast that also includes Shoshana Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kecia Lewis, Chris Lee, Lamont Walker II, Mariand Torres and Crystal Monee Hall.
The Notebook
February 10
We’re all curious how they’ll do the rain scene. The Notebook, based on the Nicholas Sparks bestselling novel, is getting the stage treatment. After a Chicago opening, it turns to Broadway with original music by indie singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and playwright Bekah Brunstetter.
The Wiz
March 29
We’re off to see the wizard once more and with feeling! Directed by Schele Williams (who is also co-directing The Notebook this season), the Wiz revival stars Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, and Kyle Ramar Freeman, Phillip Johnson Richardson and Avery Wilson as her travel companions; Deborah Cox and Melody A. Betts as the witches, and improv wizard Wayne Brady as the Wiz. JaQuel Knight, who worked on “Single Ladies,” is the choreographer, and comedian Amber Ruffin adds new material.
Food and Drink
Chez Fifi
Upper East Side
Projected opening date: April/May
The group behind Sushi Noz is trying its hand at French fare this spring, which it will serve across two floors of a neighborhood townhouse, seating just 40, showcasing rich hues, plush banquettes, vintage chandeliers and a fireplace to evoke Paris in the 1930s.
Bánh by Lauren
Two Bridges
Projected opening date: Spring
Lauren Tran’s Vietnamese-American and French Pastry operation is getting its brick-and-mortar shop in Manhattan.
San Sabino
West Village
Projected opening date: Soon
The team behind Don Angie is adding San Sabino to its roster with even more Italian-American items, this time with a focus on seafood.