Highlights this week include a double dose of drag performer Kevin Aviance celebrating Black Gay Pride Week in Harlem and on Little Island and a gender-bending tribute to Whitney Houston at Joe’s Pub.
Also, there’s a spooky movie series at Lincoln Center, a free dance festival in Battery Park and an immersive art exhibition of famed Austrian painter Gustav Klimt.
Outdoors
“Second Annual Summer Legacy Ball”
Little Island — Pier 55 in Hudson River Park at W. 13th St., Manhattan (Meatpacking District)
Fri. Aug. 15, 8:30 p.m.
The category is… “Little Island” as the 2025 Summer Legacy Ball descends onto the West Side Highway enclave for an LGBTQ+ extravaganza that creative director Qween Jean calls “a testament to Queer revolution and NYC ballroom excellence.”
Renowned drag performer Kevin Aviance headlines this year’s event featuring a runway competition of vogueing, dancing and all of the gender-bending drama of ballroom culture.
“I love ballroom, I love culture, I love our culture, I love being Black and gay and being in it and being asked to perform for it,” Aviance told The Daily News. “It’s just such a beautiful thing…and the kids have so much respect for me. And the way the ballroom has gone from where it was to where it is now, and the fact it’s still being done by the Black and Brown gay people who are holding it down and taking care of it, and making it flourish is amazing.”
The ballroom competition will include four categories — Best Dressed, Hand Performance, Realness and Performance — with each offering cash prizes to the winners.
Tony-winning trailblazer J. Harrison Ghee will serve as “Preacher” with DJ Delish, Selena Dior and Precious Basquiat working the turntables. After the ball, Brooklyn-based art and music collective Papi Juice will throw one of their signature parties at Little Island featuring top ballroom DJ Byrell the Great.
Tickets start at $25.
Film
“Scary Movies XIII”
Walter Reade Theater — 165 West 65th St., Manhattan (Upper West Side)
Through Aug. 21. Various times.
Halloween is a couple of months away, but Film at Lincoln Center is getting an early jump on spooky season with the 13th edition of its horror series.
Bryn Chainey’s British psychological horror film “Rabbit Trap,” starring Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen and Jade Croot, is among the 16 unique films programmer Madeline Whittle said “offers moviegoers the cathartic treat of experiencing world-class suspense, gore, and terror of all stripes on the big screen, while celebrating cinema’s boundless capacity to probe the creepiest corners of the human psyche.”
Other highlights include a 4K restoration of Harry Kümel’s 1971 cult classic “Daughters of Darkness — selected by drag artists The Boulet Brothers — and the canine-centered double feature spotlighting Jérôme Boivin’s “Baxter” (from 1989) and Ben Leonberg’s haunting new thriller “Good Boy.”
Tickets are are $17, discounts and packages available.
Theater
“Little Shop of Horrors”
Westside Theatre — 407 West 43rd St., Manhattan (Hell’s Kitchen)
Open ended. Various times.
The Off-Broadway revival of the beloved 1980s horror comedy musical adapted from Roger Corman’s 1960 black comedy film is still wowing audiences since opening in 2019 — one of the few New York City productions to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current cast members include “Riverdale” actor Graham Phillips as Seymour — the lowly flower shop worker who discovers that his exotic Venus flytrap plant blossoms when fed human blood — and “Dynasty” reboot star Elizabeth Gillies as his object of desire, Audrey.
Like Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold and Michelle Weeks were in the 1986 feature film version, the “urchins” — played by Savannah Lee Birdsong, Hailey Thomas and Morgan Ashley Bryant — are the true heart and soul of the Howard Ashman and Alan Menken-crafted campy romp. Drama Desk nominee Jeremy Kushnier‘s turn as the sadistic dentist also pulls no punches, while Major Attaway is a powerhouse as the voice of Audrey II.
Tickets start at $91.
Art
“Gustav Klimt: The Immersive Experience”
Hall des Lumières — 49 Chambers Street, Manhattan (Tribeca)
Through Aug. 31. Tues – Sun, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Famed Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, who helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe in the late 19th century, is the subject of the latest digital exhibition at the former Emigrant Bank located behind City Hall.
From “The Kiss” to “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” (also known as The Lady in Gold), Klimt’s legacy is exhibited in grand style with towering visuals, elegant music and emotive storytelling that reframes the artist’s visually arresting works through a living, breathing journey.
Tickets are $29, discounts available.
Music
“Classic Whitney: The Tenth Anniversary Edition”
Joe’s Pub — 425 Lafayette St., Manhattan (East Village)
Sun. Aug. 17. 6 p.m.
“Kinky Boots” star Kevin Smith Kirkwood is returning to Joe’s Pub to celebrate the musical legacy of the late Whitney Houston as her estate honors her 40th anniversary in music.
For the 10th anniversary of his “Classic Whitney: Alive!” tribute, the theater veteran plans to fully embody a cabaret-like concert performed by the chart-topping singer.
But it’s not the typical lip-synching drag show, he promises.
“I think what makes mine stand out is I think of it more as a theater piece, rather than just a flat-out drag impersonation,” Kirkwood said. “I try to approach it as an actor who’s playing a role so that I can really try and capture the essence of Whitney; her mannerisms, her speech pattern, her voice style, and of course the singing.”
For one night only, the Fordham University alum will be joined by special guests with Ashanti J’Aria as Mary J. Blige, Juson Williams as Luther Vandross, Emily McNamara as Mariah Carey and JW Inspirational Singers Choir (from “America’s Got Talent” fame).
Tickets are $48.
Dance
2025 Battery Dance Festival
Rockefeller Park — 75 Battery Place (Battery Park City)
Through Sat. Aug. 16. 7 p.m.
In its 44th year, New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival continues its mission to connect the world through dance by reaching both local and international audiences of all ages.
This year’s lineup include performances from New York City-based troupes as well as a solo work from Kar’mel Small, Tawain’s Bulareyaung Dance Company, Faizah Grootens of The Netherlands, the world premiere of Damani Pompey’s “Empty Hand” and the festival’s first-ever Bangladeshi performer, Mofassal Alif.
Battery Dance will also present the world premiere of Dorchel Haqq’s “swallow,” which she described as “a process of listening to time and the investigation of autonomy within black bodies.”
Free.
Free
“UMOJA Black Pride Block Party”
303 West 127th St., Manhattan (Harlem)
Sun. Aug. 17, Noon to 6 p.m.
Instead of producing his annual Beach Day at Coney Island, Lee Soulja-Simmons — who has spearheaded NYC Black Pride and served as the executive director of the NYC Center for Black Pride for over 15 years — is bringing the LGBTQ+ celebration inland with a Harlem block party.
Kevin Aviance will also headline this event, with a daytime concert featuring house music DJ Inaya Day.
Free.
If you have an upcoming weekend event you’d like to submit for consideration in an upcoming roundup, please email: nycevents@nydailynews.com with the full listing details. Consideration does not guarantee inclusion.
