The beloved floating park along NYC’s west side, Little Island, is back hosting events this summer…all with a focus on low-cost entertainment!
Little Island announced its 2025 lineup earlier this week on Instagram, promising a mega year of entertainment spanning from concerts and plays to dance shows and operas – 110 shows in total.
Between the park’s three separate areas (the 687-seat open-air “the Amph,” the smaller stage “the Glade”, and “the Playground”), New Yorkers will be able to enjoy 18 weeks of programming funded by Barry Diller and his family foundation.
The best part? All show tickets will be $25 or less!
The 2025 season kicks off with a world premiere of The Counterfeit Opera: A Beggar’s Opera for a Grifter’s City (May 19 – June 15), which is a new take on the legendary 1738 satire The Beggar’s Opera.
In July (July 8 – 26), Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s revival of Lee Breuer and Bob Telson’s 1983 musical tragedy The Gospel at Colonus will take over the Amph before Eric Ting’s Galas finishes off the season (September 6 – 28).
Alongside the three month-long productions happening over the course of the season, this year’s lineup is also placing focus on a generation of new directors and artists.
New Yorkers can take in brand new compositions from Suzan-Lori Parks, Meshell Ndegeocello, Whitney White, Ben Lerner, and Matt Aucoin, adding depth and diversity to the program.
Of the standouts, Eugene Onegin, a bluegrass adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s opera by Sarah Gancher and Seven Scenes, a collaboration between choreographers Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber.
Not to mention live music performances, which will include parties by Brooklyn nightlife collective Papi Juice, concerts by pianists Jeremy Denk and Conor Hanick, jazz nights curated by Cécile McLorin Salvant, an Amy Sherald-curated concert (in tandem with her Whitney exhibit, live radio shows by RadioLab, and much more.