Exciting Adventures Await: Unforgettable January Activities in NYC 2025!

‘Grandiloquent’

Running until Feb. 8 at Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, Manhattan; lortel.org.

Language play can be enjoyable, humorous, and even pun-filled. However, Gary Gulman elevates it to a different stratum with a sharpness that minimal stand-ups can rival. Anyone who witnessed his 2016 appearance on “Conan,” where he envisioned a documentary about the origins of state abbreviations, can confirm this.

Gulman’s self-awareness and understanding of the surrounding world are notably unmatched, as demonstrated in his specials “The Great Depresh,” released in 2019, and “Born on 3rd Base,”, from 2023. In his new Off Broadway production, “Grandiloquent,” he brings together his talents to create a kind of Rosetta Stone that reveals what drives him as both a comic and an individual. Over 75 minutes, he examines his passion for language, investigates his connections with friends, family, and acquaintances, and analyzes the underlying anxieties.

To purchase tickets starting at $58, and to see showtimes for this five-week engagement, check out the theater’s website. SEAN L. McCARTHY

Pop & Rock

Pahua

On Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. at Public Records, 233 Butler Street, Brooklyn; publicrecords.nyc.

Throughout her career, singer and producer Paulina Sotomayor has satisfied a diverse, culturally rich musical craving. The Mexico City-born artist learned to sing in the regional Mexican style of mariachi and performed with the folk-rock collective Jefes del Desierto. Subsequently, she collaborated with her brother Raul, a producer and percussionist, to develop electronic dance music influenced by the syncopated beats of Colombian cumbia and Peruvian chicha. Now, performing independently as Pahua, Sotomayor fuses her inspirations into richly layered folktronica, blending airy woodwinds and complex percussion with pulsating, dancefloor-ready rhythms.

During Friday’s performance, organized by the nonprofit World Music Institute, Pahua will perform alongside Willy Soul, founder of the globally conscious, funk-centric party series Funky Seshwa. Tickets are priced at $30.90 on dice.fm. OLIVIA HORN

Jazz

Winter Jazzfest

From Jan. 9-15 at various venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn; winterjazzfest.com.

In its 21st edition, Brice Rosenbloom’s Winter Jazzfest has evolved into a citywide display and celebration that mirrors the boundless nature of the music itself. Put simply, it’s impossible to experience everything, especially during the intense marathon nights in Manhattan on Friday and Brooklyn on Saturday.

One ticket grants access to numerous sets across various clubs, with abundant enjoyment available both evenings. On Friday, Nublu features the British tuba virtuoso Theon Cross (10:45 p.m.), Performance Space hosts the vocalist Michael Mayo (7:30 p.m.) along with bassist and bandleader Linda May Han Oh (11 p.m.), and City Winery showcases favorites like Jenny Scheinman (5:15 p.m.) and Orrin Evans’s Captain Black Big Band (10:15 p.m.). On Saturday, Loove Labs in Williamsburg features leading figures from the experimental downtown scene, such as Darius Jones (9:15 p.m.) and the Matthew Shipp Trio (10:30 p.m.). Close by at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, you can enjoy crossover delights like Arooj Aftab (9 p.m.) and Makaya McCraven (midnight).

Marathon passes are available for $85 per night and start at $155 for both evenings. You can obtain them, along with individual tickets for the festival’s other events, on Winter Jazzfest’s website, where additional details about all performances can be found. ALAN SCHERSTUHL

‘Winter Wonder: The Northern Lights Express at Rockefeller Center’

Through Jan. 19 at HERO, 610 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan; hero-nyc.com.

Numerous families visiting Rockefeller Center recently have been looking skyward — the towering 74-foot-tall Christmas tree is on display until Saturday. Yet, the venue also offers holiday wonders underneath their feet.

HERO, an event venue located on the center’s lower level, is showcasing…“Winter Wonder,” an interactive artistic space that conjures an expedition to the Arctic.

Available Tuesdays to Fridays from noon until 8 p.m., and on weekends from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., “Winter Wonder” provides ticket holders passages on the Northern Lights Express, a journey styled like an opulent train carriage, where panoramic views depict dynamic visuals of wintry terrains. Adventurers may alight to stroll through enchanting spots such as the sparkling Wishing Woods and the Ice Caves, whose cozy corners include auditory folklore, animated depictions, and replicas of polar wildlife.

Youngsters can indulge in the Snow Bounce chamber or dive into a mound of artificial snowballs within the Northern Lights area, where representations of the aurora borealis float above.

The exhibit’s Gingerbread Workshop encourages children to beautify complimentary wooden ornaments or Hanukkah dreidels, also featuring Snowflake Saturdays and Sundays, complete with face painting and storytelling from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Timed admissions commence at $19.96 on weekdays and $28.81 on weekends; children aged 2 and under enter free. Online bookings are recommended. LAUREL GRAEBER

Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia

Jan. 10-11 at 7:30 p.m. at Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, Manhattan; japansociety.org.

Japan Society’s brief yet consistently sharp and often surprising Contemporary Dance Festival is an excellent way to kick off the year in the dance realm. Since 1997, it has served as a significant launching pad for numerous East Asian artists, and the current itinerary carries on that goal with a roster that highlights a duo of U.S. debuts and a reprise of a recent company introduction.

The Taiwanese choreographer I-Ling Liu, formerly a dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, showcases the duet “… and, or …,” investigating the diverse dimensions of relationships and their limits. The South Korean dance artist Dae-ho Lee, in collaboration with the group C.Sense, presents “Trivial Perfection,” a quartet that constructs itself like a mosaic, gradually evolving into a grand composition that merges contemporary dance, hip-hop, and martial arts.

Ruri Mito from Japan presents “Where we were born”; performed by eight dancers from Mito’s ensemble, it portrays the endless intricacy of the body. Each evening in the theater lobby at 7:05 p.m., Mito expands her exploration of the symbolic layers of the human form with a 15-minute solo that is complimentary and accessible to everyone.

Tickets are priced at $43 on Japan Society’s website. BRIAN SCHAEFER

Film

A.I. From ‘Metropolis’ to ‘Ex Machina’

Jan. 3-23 at Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, Manhattan; filmforum.org.

The Film Forum collection A.I. From “Metropolis” to “Ex Machina” is subtitled “… or How the Movies Have Been Cautioning Us for Nearly 100 Years.” Indeed, in Fritz Lang’s 1927 “Metropolis” (showing on Jan. 20), the revolutionary robot mimicking Maria (both characters portrayed by Brigitte Helm) revealed early how circuitry could mislead the public. Conversely, what resonates in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I.” (screening Thursday and Jan. 23), made in 2001, is the poignant desire of David (Haley Joel Osment), a being entirely made of circuits, to become human.

Did you know that a movie featuring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn begins by expressing gratitude toward I.B.M. for its support? In Walter Lang’s “Desk Set” (on Tuesday and Wednesday), from 1957, Tracy portrays an engineer aiming to incorporate a computer into the research department where Hepburn’s character works. He soon realizes that she is quite adept at calculations as well. The screenplay was penned by Phoebe and Henry Ephron (parents of Nora and her siblings). BEN KENIGSBERG

Final Opportunity

‘Stereophonic’

Through Jan. 12 at the Golden Theater, Manhattan; stereophonicplay.com. Duration: 3 hours 10 minutes.

David Adjmi’s captivating rock drama, featuring music by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire, was the standout selection during its Off Broadway stint at Playwrights Horizons. It has since garnered five Tony Awards, including best play and best direction. Set during the mid-1970s in a pair of California recording studios, it follows a British-American band on the verge of stardom through a prolonged, intricate process fueled by drugs and passion in creating their new album. Clocking in at just over three hours, the play is nearly epic in length, yet every second of Daniel Aukin’s meticulously crafted production, which transferred with its stellar original cast, is worthwhile. Read the review.

Critic’s Selection

‘Oh, Mary’

Through June 28 at the Lyceum Theater, Manhattan; ohmaryplay.com. Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes.

Embodying the extravagantly outrageous and unreservedly queer atmosphere of Charles Ludlam and his Ridiculous Theatrical Company, this comedic play by Cole Escola (“Difficult People”) initially emerged as a bubbly Off Broadway success. Escola stars as a tipsy, theatrically inclined Mary Todd Lincoln — a wild card largely overlooked by her spouse (Conrad Ricamora), the president, who is preoccupied with various romantic escapades and the annoying Civil War. Read the review.

Critic’s Selection

‘Hell’s Kitchen’

At the Shubert Theater, Manhattan; hellskitchen.com. Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Alicia Keys’s personal journey serves as the cornerstone for this jukebox musical, which garnered two Tonys. Filled with Keys’s tracks, such as “Girl on Fire,” “Fallin’,” and “Empire State of Mind,” it narrates the life of a 17-year-old girl (Maleah Joi Moon, the recipient of best actress) in the Hell’s Kitchen district of Manhattan, evolving into a creator. Directed by Michael Greif, the production features a script by Kristoffer Diaz and choreography by Camille A. Brown. Read the review.

‘The Outsiders’

At the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, Manhattan; outsidersmusical.com. Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes.

Musical rival factions that aren’t the Sharks and the Jets? Here, they are the Greasers and the Socs, fueled by socioeconomic rivalry just like in S.E. Hinton’s 1967 young adult novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film. Set in a reinterpretation of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where characters possess names like Ponyboy and Sodapop, this new rendition includes the stormy showdown you’ve heard discussed. It secured four Tonys, including best musical and best direction, under Danya Taymor. Written by Adam Rapp with Justin Levine, it encompasses music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) alongside Levine. Read the review.

Critic’s Selection

‘Egon Schiele: Living Landscapes’

Until Jan. 13 at Neue Galerie, 1048 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan; neuegalerie.org.

This powerful, profoundly captivating exhibition of about 60 pieces introduces us to a long-sheltered aspect of Schiele’s career. In an era when the Austro-Hungarian empire was nearing its end, he embraced landscapes as a means to reforge a crumbling reality. It’s significant that he imagined his vistas in distinctly defined horizontal segments that provide sky, earth, and the Danube River with an enduring, marble-like firmness. The impending world did not resemble Cézanne’s idyllic representations of bathers or Matisse’s depictions of sunlit hotel lounges in Nice. It failed to uphold the modernist conviction that artists could forge a new existence and regard historical transformation as a marker of advancement. The emerging world was bleak, relentlessly so, and Schiele merits acknowledgment for refusing to feign otherwise. Read the review.

Critic’s Selection

‘Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies’

Until Jan. 19 at Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway; brooklynmuseum.org.

This comprehensive and inspiring retrospective, which charts Elizabeth Catlett’s extraordinary life and work, highlights her radical activism prominently. Other perspectives exist to portray the artist and activist — for instance, that she was not acknowledged sufficiently by the mainstream art community — but the facilitators delve into the essence, placing emphasis without euphemism on her objectives as she perceived them. Through her creations, we encounter uplifted eyes and clenched fists, mothers holding children, depictions of figures such as Sojourner Truth or Frederick Douglass; yet we also witness sharp angles, volumetric differences, and haunting negative spaces. Read the review.

‘Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350’

Until Jan. 26 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan; metmuseum.org.

This stunning glow-in-the-dark exhibition is a visual spectacle of pure 24-karat splendor and a multi-layered academic triumph. For both reasons, we’ll be fortunate if the season presents anything comparable. It is also unique in other respects. As a significant survey of early Italian religious art, it represents a type of exhibition we previously experienced routinely at our prominent museums, but now encounter infrequently. Read the review.