Best of the City: The 17 best things Time Out New York editors saw, ate and visited in 2024

Perhaps no Mary has ever been quite so contrary as the vicious, vacuous, mono- and dipsomaniacal Mary Todd Lincoln in this gleefully demented farce, which catapulted writer-star Cole Escola from buzzy downtown comedian to queen bee of the rialto. An instant hit and celebrity magnet when it opened in the West Village last spring, Sam Pinkleton’s expertly calibrated production has been an even bigger smash on Broadway, with a zany queer sensibility that leaves audiences tickled pink.

At a time when most new Broadway musicals pitch their tents on existing intellectual property, Will Aronson and Hue Park’s enchanting sci-fi romance stands out for its originality—and its humanity, which is not what you might expect from the tale of two obsolescent androids who connect at a home for retired robots. Michael Arden directs a pitch-perfect production that stars Darren Criss and Helen J Shen. These are the droids you’re looking for.

This stunning revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s feline extravaganza saved Cats from the musical-theater junkheap and sent it on a tire ride to the heavens. Directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch brought pussy realness to the stage in a production that reimagined the show’s central cat show as a Paris Is Burning–style Ballroom competition; as performed by a fiercely talented cast, the result was clearer and deeper than this much-loved but much-mocked musical has ever been before. Its run at the Perelman Performing Arts Center is over, but here’s hoping this fabulous catwalk moves to Broadway soon.

In her penultimate year as artistic director of City’s Center’s indispensable musical-theater staged-concert series, the astute Lear de Bessonet delivered one of the best seasons in the Encores! history: a playful bounce on Once Upon a Mattress, with the delightful Sutton Foster and Michael Urie; a darkly gorgeous smear of Jelly’s Last Jam, with the superb Nicholas Christopher; and a ship-shape journey with the ensemble tragedy Titanic. The cherry on top was City Center’s gala run of the epic American musical Ragtime, in which Joshua Henry sang his way into history.

In my mind, public art is supposed to create a sense of wonder and stop you in your tracks—and that’s what “The Great Migration” did this year. As a fan of elephants, I had it on my to-do list when it was installed this summer in the Meatpacking District, but when I actually made my way over to that neighborhood this year, this work truly wowed me. Seeing 100 life-sized elephants made of natural materials, each one with a name and created by  indigenous artists from India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, was incredible to behold in our concrete jungle and worthy of an award.

We New Yorkers tend to take the subway for granted. But our public transit system is revolutionary, and “The Subway Is …” exhibit at the New York Transit Museum serves as a reminder of that fact as the subway system turns 120 years old. The show digs into the history and the future of our underground rail system with artifacts, photos, multimedia installations, old advertisements, train models and more. The exhibit highlights what's changed over the years—like the system’s rapid growth—as well as what’s stayed the same—New Yorkers need to get around fast. It’s the most fascinating exhibit of the year, not just for its curatorial strengths, but because it’s an exhibit that affects every single New Yorker.

I heard a lot of hype about “Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy.” Even so, when I stepped inside, my jaw actually dropped. Carnival rides, decorated by some of the most renowned artists of our time, lurched into motion, their dazzling lights flickering on and music tinkling through the space. Unlike other so-called immersive experiences that simply project digital art onto blank walls, this exhibition is truly enveloping. I stumbled through a Roy Lichtenstein-created glass labyrinth. I danced with strangers inside David Hockney’s “Enchanted Tree.” I watched transfixed as a Jean-Michel Basquiat-designed Ferris wheel spun over and over. It is the coolest art event to open in New York City this year—and there’s still time to see it! 

The law is a discipline that seems more suited for drama or reality TV, rather than comedy. But the Off-Broadway show Cellino v. Barnes, which follows two real-life personal injury attorneys, will have you howling at the duo’s absurd antics and brash bro-iness. Their famous jingle—“Cellino and Barnes, injury attorneys, 800-888-8888”—makes multiple appearances, of course, even including a blingy necklace emblazoned with the phone number. But what really shines in this dark comedic play is the thoughtful writing and the chemistry of the two actors, Eric William Morris and Noah Weisberg. In an 80-minute show with no intermission, this comedic duo make their case quickly. Our verdict: It’s guilty of being a hilarious success.

When the Brooklyn Paramount closed to the public in 1962 after a glorious run hosting Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and other major acts of the time, it was a huge loss for the borough’s culture. Earlier this year, the theater reopened as a concert venue, modernized and with its most important historic elements restored. The massive theater is a breathtaking work of art boasting multiple levels and hidden bars, but it has also cemented itself as a cultural powerhouse once more—even Charli xcx graced its stage for the Brooklyn leg of BRAT.

It’s not everyday that a bar stirs something in you, but when I first entered Gabriela, I felt a swell of emotions. Opened by DJ and nightlife legend Eli Escobar and named after his friend who passed during the pandemic, the energy at Gabriela is just as tender as it is lit. Beyond that, the venue offers a large dance floor with a top-tier sound system, great DJs and an upstairs with lots of comfortable couches to hang out, make out and make new friends—everything a nightlife venue should strive to be, and more.

The Bronx has always been a cradle of culture, and now, it’s entering its nightlife rebirth, thanks in part to a new party collective called Mundo. Their “bodega raves,” organized by a trio of friends who grew up there, happen inside a fully operating deli and feels like a remnant of a New York that was more free and less concerned about who’s watching. You could spend an entire night gyrating to Brazilian funk and drinking nutcrackers without once looking at your phone, offering a bold vision for a city that actually lives in the moment.

New Yorkers have a special affinity for Bill Murray (remember when he tended the bar at the opening of his son Homer's Brooklyn restaurant back in 2016?). So, when word got around that the actor was going to take part in a free pop-up play in Times Square, the masses quickly flocked to midtown Manhattan. The production, which also starred Jay O. Sanders and Taylor Schilling, was a collaboration between climate activist group Extinction Rebellion and Theater of War Productions, a company known for blending classical texts with contemporary social issues. Here is where it gets even more interesting: the pop-up was Extinction Rebellion’s unique take on the hit Broadway revival of An Enemy of the People—a play exploring themes of environmental health that the group famously interrupted in March, much to the audience's surprise.

It became the look-alike contest that sparked countless others around the country: in October, YouTuber Anthony Po plastered homemade flyers all over the city, advertising a Timothée Chalamet doppelgänger competition in Washington Square Park. The winner would take home a $50 cash prize. Things quickly escalated, with over 2,000 people descending on the downtown Manhattan park—including, to everyone’s surprise (including the organizer’s), Chalamet himself. Since then, people across the United States have organized their own versions of the happening, spotlighting famous personalities tied to their respective cities—like Jeremy Allen White in Chicago and Harry Styles in London.

Needless to say, Chalamet was the only real-life version of the subject to actually show up at the event. How New York is that?

We have to give it to our city for putting on the best solar eclipse events when the spectacular phenomenon hit on April 8. No matter what neighborhood you were in, there was somewhere to take it in with your fellow New Yorkers, from a Circle Line Cruise on the Hudson River to the observation decks on all our landmarked skyscrapers and every park in between. The real MVPs were the many libraries that handed out free eclipse glasses so everyone could experience the event. It was a moment we all had together—something bigger than ourselves to marvel at—and one we’ll remember forever.