Highlights of New York events in January 2026

Ian McKellen will appear in An Ark, a mixed‑reality theater piece by Simon Stephens, at the Shed at Hudson Yards from Jan. 9 to March 1. The 47‑minute production has been described as a "radically intimate reimagining of live theater" and incorporates mixed‑reality glasses. Other January offerings include Winter Jazzfest (Jan.

8–13), with drummer Marcus Gilmore among the headliners and festival shows across Manhattan and Brooklyn; BroadwayCon (Jan. 23–25), with most events at Palladium Times Square and additional programming and a marketplace at the New York Westin; and UO’s Big Small Business Tour (Jan.

12–16), pop‑up comedy at enduring Manhattan restaurants such as Barney Greengrass and Veselka, for which the first round of tickets sold out and a wait list is available. MoMA PS1 is free to visit this month and is showing Vaginal Davis’s "Magnificent Product" through March 2, and MoMA’s film series "To Save and Project" runs Jan.

8–Feb. 2 with newly preserved titles on the program. Festival and performance highlights include the Under the Radar festival (Jan. 7–25), which presents Mario Banushi’s adults‑only dance‑theater piece Mami at NYU Skirball (Jan. 7–10), and the Prototype festival (Jan. 7–18), which features a restaging of What to Wear with a guest appearance by St.

Key Topics

Culture, Ian Mckellen, An Ark, The Shed, Winter Jazzfest, Broadwaycon