SPARK In The City Event Picks: Nov. 8–18, 2025

Christmas Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes. Photo by Angela LaGreca

The best performance, art, film, comedy, and talk events in New York City.

New York Comedy Festival
Nov. 7–16
The biggest and longest-running comedy festival from Caroline Hirsch of Carolines Comedy Club highlights top-tier and emerging comedy talent. Over 100 shows and 200 comedians perform across all five boroughs.
nycomedyfestival.com

Hannah Berner ‘None of My Business Tour’. Photo courtesy of New York Comedy Festival

Highlights:

  • Hannah Berner (Carnegie Hall, Nov. 8)
  • Margaret Cho (Nov. 15, Town Hall)
  • Strangers with Candy reunion (Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris; Nov. 8, Town Hall)
  • The Basement Yard: From the Basement to the World Tour (Nov. 13, Madison Square Garden)
  • Louis C.K. (Nov. 14–16, Beacon Theatre)
  • Hersterical: One Big Fabulous Comedy Party (with host Cristina Cote and guests, Nov. 11, Broadway Comedy Club)
  • No Pressure!!!! with Liz Glazer (Nov. 13, West Side Comedy Club)
Louis C.K. ‘Ridiculous’. Photo courtesy of New York Comedy Festival

Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes
Various times, through Jan. 4, 2026
Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas (50th St.), NYC
rockettes.com
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the world-famous Rockettes in this beloved holiday tradition at Radio City Music Hall. Don’t miss it!

Christmas Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes. Photo by Angela LaGreca

Sotheby’s Highlights / Auction from the Leonard Lauder Collection
Opens Nov. 8 to the public. Mon–Sat, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun, 1–5 p.m.
Sotheby’s, 945 Madison Ave., NYC
sothebys.com
Auction dates: Nov. 18–19
An evening and day auction of cosmetics magnate Leonard Lauder’s art collection, valued at over $400 million. The sale includes works by Calder, Van Gogh, Matisse, Munch, and never-before-available Gustav Klimt pieces.
Evening auction: Nov. 18, 6 p.m.
Day auction: Nov. 19.

Gustav Klimt, ‘Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer’ 1914-1916.. Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s New York

DOC NYC: Festival for Documentaries
Nov. 12–20 in person; online through Nov. 30
docnyc.net
The festival showcases over 200 films, including:

  • Whistle (U.S. premiere; about the Masters of Musical Whistling festival)
  • The Pink Pill: Sex, Drugs & Who Has Control (on the FDA’s struggle to approve a pill for female desire)
  • The Alec Baldwin Case (examining celebrity spectacle and public vitriol surrounding the actor’s prosecution)
  • Grossinger’s (a nostalgic look at the rise and fall of the Borscht Belt)
    Also features panels on AI, the future of funding, and film distribution.

Tom Freston in Conversation with Jon Stewart: Unplugged
Sunday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m.
92nd Street Y, NYC
An intimate conversation with Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, about his new memoir Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu.

Tom Freston in Conversation with Jon Stewart. Photo courtesy of 92nd St Y

‘All About Eve’ Benefit Reading with Scarlett Johansson and J. Smith-Cameron
Monday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.
The Center at West Park, 263 W. 86th St., NYC
centeratwestpark.org
A staged reading in support of CWP and the preservation of West Park, featuring an A-list cast including Alec Baldwin, Charles Busch, and Marc Shaiman (on piano).

Staged reading to benefit The Center at West Park. Photo courtesy of The CWP

An Evening with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Heather Cox Richardson
‘History Has Its Eyes on Us’
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m.
Tickets available in person and via virtual playback ($50).
secure.actblue.com
In-person location in New York City will be emailed to ticket holders. Presented by the Latino Victory Project.
Questions: info@onwardtogether.org

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Heather Cox Richardson, Lin-Manuel Miranda. PHoto courtesy of Onward Together

Women Collecting Women – Panel Discussion
Nov. 12, 6 p.m.
Presented by Berry Campbell, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and Less Than Half. A panel discussion exploring the influence and impact of women collectors advancing the legacy of women artists.
Berry Campbell Art Gallery, 524 W. 26th St., NYC
berrycampbell.com

On view: Lynne Drexler: A Painted Aria, through Nov. 15.

Lynne Drexler. ‘Multipile Moons’ [sic], 1973. Copyright The Artist. Photo courtesy of Berry Campbell Gallery

Gabriele Münter: Contours of a World
Opens Nov. 7 – April 26
Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. (at 88th St.), NYC
guggenheim.org
A major retrospective of German Expressionist Gabriele Münter — long overshadowed by her 12-year relationship with Wassily Kandinsky — finally shines a spotlight on her vivid, groundbreaking work.