Spring is in full bloom across the city, and the calendar is bursting with can’t‑miss events—starting, of course, with our upcoming Renewal Summit. The New York Botanical Garden unveils its immersive new exhibition Before New York, while the Metropolitan Pavilion sparkles this weekend with the Spring Jewelry & Object Show. Broadway is roaring into the season with a powerhouse slate of openings, and Merrill Stone invites you to an unforgettable evening of music and conversation. And our roving photographer takes us to Paris, where Monet’s world comes alive.

 Renewal Summit Highlight

One of the special treats at the Renewal Summit will be an extraordinary performance from Christina Connors at the end of the day. Christina, who was a Tomatoes Got Talent winner has the voice and soul of an angel. Her  company, A New Soul Productions, is dedicated to serving caregivers and those in their care through music. She will perform and explore how music creates positivity and healing while transforming the unhealthy patterns that overwhelm and exhaust us. GET THE DETAILS. 

June 17. A Special Evening at the Triad

Join Merrill Stone — the singing therapist — as she launches a lively new salon series blending songs, stories, and smart, soulful conversations. Each gathering spotlights fascinating people from both inside and outside the world of show business, celebrating the art of living, aging, and thriving with humor and heart. First up is acclaimed vocalist and 2026 MAC award winner, Marieann Meringolo known for her distinctive blend of jazz, cabaret, and contemporary music. Joining her is her brilliant musical director and pianist, Doyle Newmyer.

Wed. June 17 | Triad Theater, NYC | Tickets $35 + 2 Drink Min. GET TICKETS NOW.

Open April 25.  Before New York — A Traveling Pop-Up Exhibition NYBG

this is what the land where Grand Central now is, looked like 400 years ago.

The New York Botanical Garden’s 2026 exhibition “Before New York” transports visitors to the city’s ecological past, long before European arrival. On view April 25–November 15 in the Ross Gallery, the show reconstructs the region of Welikia—“my good home” in the Munsee Lenape language—where diverse species and Indigenous communities thrived. Drawing on 25 years of research by NYBG ecologist Dr. Eric W. Sanderson, panoramic renderings, large‑scale photos, soundscapes, and an interactive topographic model reveal forests, wetlands, and wildlife that once shaped the land beneath today’s streets. The exhibition highlights Lenape stewardship and the enduring traces of this ancient landscape. GET THE DETAILS.

April 25-26. The NYC Spring Jewelry & Object Show

Add a little sparkle to the season, with a gathering of antique dealers, contemporary designers, and collectors under one roof at the Metropolitan Pavilion. It’s an intimate, design‑forward fair where you can wander from Art Deco diamonds to sculptural modern metals to rare decorative objects, all curated with an eye for craftsmanship and story. The atmosphere is part gallery, part treasure hunt—serious collectors browse alongside stylists, editors, and curious shoppers looking for a piece with history and personality.

Across three days, the show becomes a small universe of beauty and detail: Georgian rings that feel like time capsules, mid‑century silver with architectural lines, studio jewelers pushing the boundaries of form, and objects that blur the line between adornment and art. It’s a highlight of New York’s spring cultural calendar precisely because it’s so tactile and human‑scaled. Every booth has a narrative, every maker or dealer has a point of view, and every piece invites you to imagine the life it’s lived—and the one it might have with you next. GET THE DETAILS.

Spring 2026 Broadway Openings

Spring 2026 brings a surge of new energy to Broadway, with a mix of buzzy premieres, star‑driven revivals, and downtown favorites making their Main Stem debut. Between March and April, more than a dozen productions open — a season defined by reinvention, nostalgia, and major talent stepping into the spotlight.

Major New Openings

• The Lost Boys
  Palace Theatre
  Opens April 26, 2026
  A new musical adaptation of the 1987 cult‑classic vampire film, featuring music and lyrics by The Rescues and direction by Michael Arden. Expect a dark, stylish, high‑octane staging with a standout cast including Shoshana Bean and Ali Louis Bourzgui. Playbill
• Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
  Ethel Barrymore Theatre
  Opens April 25, 2026
  Debbie Allen directs this revival of August Wilson’s 1988 masterwork, starring Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer. Set in a Pittsburgh boarding house during the Great Migration, it’s one of the season’s most anticipated dramatic events. Playbill

High‑Profile Musical Revivals & Transfers

• Cats: The Jellicle Ball
  Broadhurst Theatre
  Opens April 7, 2026
  The beloved musical returns in a radically reimagined Harlem Ballroom–inspired production, following its acclaimed 2024 downtown run. André De Shields leads the cast in this fierce, runway‑driven revival. Theatre Development Fund
• The Rocky Horror Show
  Studio 54
  Opens April 23, 2026
  A limited‑run revival directed by Sam Pinkleton, bringing new electricity to the cult classic. Expect a bold, immersive staging and a summer‑ready party atmosphere. Theatre Development Fund

Additional Notables Opening This Spring

According to the New York Theatre Guide’s 2026 season roundup, several other titles join the spring slate, including:

• Titanique (Broadway transfer)
• Beaches
• Fallen Angels
• The Fear of 13
• Becky Shaw
• Dog Day Afternoon (star‑driven revival)
• Every Brilliant Thing (starring Daniel Radcliffe)
• Proof (starring Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle)

Roving in Paris

Nicole Freezer Rubens writes:

The iconic impressionist paintings of Claude Monet come to life at his house and gardens at Giverny outside of Paris. The artist lived and worked there for 43 years starting in 1883. His love of botany led to a perfectly curated, imperfect garden that included the reflective ponds filled with the water lilies that come to mind when remembering Claude Monet’s work.

I simply adore visiting this unique and personal artist sanctuary. April showers bring the most magnificent selection of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and pansies. The garden is planted in colorful, scattered layers and reads like a beautiful watercolor painting. To walk through the gardens as Monet himself once did is to meander through the awe-inspiring paradise he created and to walk alongside the man who left us this legacy. The appropriately pink house with green shutters is filled with his furnishings, pots and pans, and reproductions of his paintings and the artist’s work he collected. The surprising colors of the walls match the whimsical colors of nature found outside of his windows. This museum brings the most famous paintings to life and allows visitors to step back in time and into Monet’s glorious and adored canvases.

~Nicole Freezer Rubens is the author of “The Long Pause and the Short Breathe”