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Little Island's summer 2025 free and cheap shows: Suzan-Lori Parks, Oedipus reimagined
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Apr 5, 2025
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Apr 5, 2025
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For the fifth year in a row, New Yorkers can flock to a public park along the Hudson River for a summer of low-cost programming — with some events completely free.
Little Island, which spans 2.4 acres on an island near West 14th Street, will host music, theater, dance and opera performances.
“The way I think about this season is: It’s very high and very low,” said Zack Winokur, Little Island’s producing artistic director. “It wants to be fun, it wants to be provocative and it wants to be ambitious and it wants to be high quality."
Shows in the park’s 700-person amphitheater run $25.
The summer season — which begins on May 29 and runs until Sept. 28 — includes multiple days of performances from Kate Tarker, Dan Schlosberg and Dustin Wills in “The Counterfeit Opera,” a new take on the anti-corruption political satire “The Beggar's Opera.” This version sets hero Macheath in 1850s Manhattan.
Meshell Ndegeocello stars in the Grammy-winning “No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin” in June. Organizers say the performance “blurs the line between concert, ritual and tribute.”
In July, a reimagined Oedipus tale takes the stage in “The Gospel at Colonus” while audiences can expect a blend of plays, music and other “high voltage” performances in “The Tune Up" with Suzan-Lori Parks.
In August, hosts Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser will present a live version of RadioLab — the long-running WNYC Studios series (WNYC, like Gothamist, is part of New York Public Radio).
A marathon tribute to cellist Arthur Russell; more live music in the “Seven Scenes” collaboration between choreographers Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, and composer-musicians Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee Parpan; and the comedic performance “Galas” are all slated for that same month.
Shows on the park’s smaller stage, known as the Glade, are all free. They include evening performances of jazz music curated by Cecile Mclorin Salvant, a bluegrass interpretation of a Tchaikovsky opera and multiple nights of dancing hosted by Papi Juice.
Making performances accessible is the main draw of what Little Island does, Winokur said.
“I think it’s the responsibility of a public park. And that's what I love about Little Island. It’s a neighborhood park and a huge iconic destination in New York City,” he said.
Tickets for the schedule of performances are available here.
Tagged
Music
manhattan
parks
nyc events
theater
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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