Symphony Space announced its 2023-2024 season, bringing artists, writers, and myriad communities together for one-night-only, only-at-Symphony Space events that celebrate the magic and sanctuary found only in the arts.
Musicians will explore new sides of their work and their influences, and many will also pay tribute to other legendary performers. Additionally, other events will bridge the worlds of literature and performance with artists and authors propelling words from the page onto the stage. In this new season, Symphony Space gives audiences opportunities to experience bespoke events with leading artists in an intimate, one-of-a-kind venue.
Symphony Space
Symphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts center where bold programming, presented in a uniquely warm and welcoming environment, forges indelible relationships between artists and audiences.
Their fundamental mission is to connect art, ideas, and community through their performances and their commitment to literacy and education through the arts. Known for an array of ground-breaking programs, including Selected Shorts, their immersive Wall to Wall concerts, and their innovative Global Arts education initiative, Symphony Space presents a full slate of original, affordable (and free) programming within New York City and in communities throughout the country through tours, public radio broadcasts, podcasts, and virtual events.
One of the most beautiful things about Symphony Space is we offer performance, literature, and music and embrace our identity as an organization of broad communities. That has been the DNA of who we are since the very beginning, when we were founded on marathon, day-long programming: ‘throw open the doors and invite the community in.’ This season, we’re excited for so many captivating artists in so many disciplines to bring their worlds into Symphony Space.
Executive Director Kathy Landau
Events held at Symphony Space typically fall under one of three main categories: music, literature onstage, and film.
Music
This season’s musical offerings traverse a spectrum of genres in thrilling and unique live performances. One example in the upcoming season is Black Opry, a home for Black artists working in country, Americana, blues, and folk music. The groundbreaking collective will be in residence from Nov. 9-11. Spring 2024’s resident musician is the legendary Nona Hendryx, whose performances span genres and disciplines, mirroring her multifaceted and ever-evolving six-decade career. Her residency concludes with a special celebration of Betty Davis on May 16, initially explored by Nona at Symphony Space’s Wall to Wall Women of Soul in April 2023.
The season also features two major events celebrating vibrant, world-changing musical legacies. Symphony Space will host a special celebration of the 85th Anniversary of the influential, music history-making record label Blue Note Records, featuring The Blue Note Quintet, led by six-time GRAMMY Award-nominee Gerald Clayton, with Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins, Kendrick Scott, and Matt Brewer. Later in the season, Prince gets Symphony Space’s Wall-to-Wall treatment in a free all-day marathon celebration of his electrifying artistry.
In numerous concerts throughout the season, audiences can witness both rip-roaring and intimate live acts. They will also have the opportunity to see multiple Grammy Award winners, including Sam Bush and the band Cha Wa. Additionally, Symphony Space’s dynamic concert series Revelry returns after a pandemic hiatus. The Revelry series features local, national, and international artists across musical genres in an intimate venue where interactions between artists and audiences are part of the fun.
Literature Onstage
Selected Shorts is Symphony Space’s best-known series. It was conceived over 35 years ago with a simple premise: take great stories by well-known and emerging writers and have exceptional actors perform them live. It continues in Fall 2023, beginning with a sesquicentennial celebration of Willa Cather, hosted by influential documentarian Ken Burns, a longtime Cather fan. Another event includes acclaimed author Min Jin Lee, editor of The Best American Short Stories 2023, hosting a Selected Shorts event curated from the much-anticipated anthology. One of the most groundbreaking and beloved contemporary genre-crossing authors, Neil Gaiman, will also host an evening celebrating Ray Bradbury.
While Selected Shorts brings literature into the sphere of performance, special literary events this season celebrate beloved performers who have turned to the page to tell their stories. This programming features evenings with five accomplished performers introducing their new memoirs, including Leslie Jones and Seth Meyers discussing Leslie F*cking Jones and icon of the stage and screen Sir Patrick Stewart on Making It So: a Memoir.
Another exciting event is comedy legend Keegan-Michael Key and writer and producer Elle Key discussing their book The History of Sketch Comedy, which stems from their Webby Award-winning podcast.
Film
Symphony Space transports theater and art lovers to some of the most talked-about plays and exhibitions from around the world through its film programming. The NT Live presentations feature exquisitely recorded performances from London’s prestigious National Theatre. NT Live productions scheduled to screen this season include the Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of King Lear starring Sir Ian McKellen.
The Exhibition on Screen film series takes audiences behind the scenes at the most acclaimed museums and galleries to see how the blockbuster exhibitions come together, with curator interviews, close-ups, and context that goes far beyond the wall text of a typical art gallery. Exhibitions on Screen will include Leonardo: The Works, which details every single attributed painting from the 500th anniversary of his death.
Additionally, other films at Symphony Space further reflect the institution’s passion for Broadway, music, and literature. During the fall, Symphony Space invites audiences to join the fun for sing-along screenings of 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, 1982’s Annie, and 1954’s White Christmas. As part of the Thalia Film series, Symphony Space will screen François Truffaut’s adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451, a complement to the Selected Shorts event dedicated to the author earlier in the fall.
Comedy fans will also delight in the return of Symphony Space’s comedy series that promises to incite heated debate among A-list performers, Uptown Showdown.
See the list of Fall 2023-Spring 2024 programming to date below. Many programs offer livestreaming options, and discounted tickets for those under 30. Visit here for further details on tickets, programs, and accessibility options, and stay tuned for additional program announcements as the season unfolds.
Symphony Space Fall 2023-2024 Programming
September 2023
NT Live – The Best of Enemies | Tuesday, September 5, 1 pm
Maria Bamford, Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult | Tuesday, September 5, 7pm
Sing Along – Bohemian Rhapsody | Tuesday, September 12, 7pm
Exhibition On Screen – Degas: Passion for Perfection | Wednesday, September 13, 1pm
Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Song of the Cell | Thursday, September 14, 7pm
Leslie Jones, Leslie F*cking Jones | Tuesday, September 19, 7pm
NT Live – Life of Pi | Wednesday, September 20, 7pm
Thalia Book Club – Ann Patchett, Tom Lake | Thursday, September 21, 7pm
Amanda Gorman, Something Someday | Tuesday, September 26, 5pm
Selected Shorts – Ken Burns Presents Willa Cather’s America | Wednesday, September 27, 7pm
October 2023
Patrick Stewart, Making It So | Monday, October 2, 8pm
Keegan-Michael Key & Elle Key, The History of Sketch Comedy | Tuesday, October 3, 8pm
Exhibition On Screen – Leonardo: The Works | Thursday, October 5, 1pm
Sarah Cooper, Foolish: Tales of Assimilation, Determination, and Humiliation | Thursday, October 5, 7pm
Roxane Gay, Opinions | Tuesday, October 10, 7pm
Uptown Showdown – A Comedy Debate Series: Humans vs. AI | Thursday, October 12, 7pm
Selected Shorts – The Best American Short Stories 2023 with Host Min Jin Lee | Wednesday, October 18, 7pm
Sing-Along – Annie | Saturday, October 21, 11am
Sam Bush | Friday, October 27, 8pm
NT Live – King Lear | Tuesday, October 31, 1pm
NT Live – Frankenstein | Tuesday, October 31, 7pm
November 2023
Selected Shorts – A Celebration of Ray Bradbury with Host Neil Gaiman | Wednesday, November 1, 7pm
Thalia Book Club – James McBride, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store | Thursday, November 2, 7pm
Andrew Rannells, Uncle of the Year | Monday, November 6, 8pm
Black Opry in Residence
- Chris Pierce | Thursday, November 9, 7:30pm
- Kaia Kater | Friday, November 10, 7:30pm
- Elizabeth Lubin | Saturday, November 11, 7:30pm
Exhibition On Screen – Munch | Tuesday, November 14, 1pm
Thalia Book Club – Sigrid Nunez, The Vulnerables | Tuesday, November 14, 7pm
Revelry – Jerron ‘Blind Boy’ Paxton & Dennis Lichtman | Friday, November 17, 7:30pm
Thalia Film – Fahrenheit 451 | Tuesday, November 21, 7pm
Uptown Showdown – A Comedy Debate Series: Brains vs. Brawn | Thursday, November 30, 7pm
December 2023
Revelry – Soule Monde | Friday, December 1, 7:30pm
Selected Shorts – Roz Chast, While You Were Sleeping | Wednesday, December 6, 7pm
Revelry – Mile Twelve | Friday, December 8, 7:30pm
Exhibition On Screen – Manet | Tuesday, December 12, 1pm
Sing-Along – White Christmas | Tuesday, December 12, 7pm
Revelry – Stephane Wrembel | Thursday, December 14, 7:30pm
2024 Schedule
Thalia Book Club – E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India 100th Anniversary | Tuesday, January 16, 7pm
Revelry – Cillian Vallely & Kevin Crawford | Friday, January 19, 7:30pm
Revelry – Queen Esther | Thursday, January 25, 7:30pm
Revelry – Hazmat Modine | Friday, January 26, 7:30pm
Blue Note 85th Anniversary Celebration | Friday, February 23, 8pm
Revelry – JigJam | Thursday, March 21, 7:30pm
Wall to Wall Prince | Saturday, May 4, 3-11pm
Nona Hendryx in Residence
- A Celebration of Betty Davis Music | Thursday, May 16, 8pm
Additional Nona Hendryx Residency Shows:
- Thursday, March 14, 7:30pm
- Thursday, April 18, 7:30pm
- Thursday, May 9, 7:30pm
Cha Wa | Friday, June 21, 8pm
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