Whether in person or virtual, close to home or far afield, it’s time to get ready for a summer full of arts!
Great Performances presents “Broadway’s Best: Yellow Face”
Streaming on PBS until June 30, 2025
Great Performances’ “Broadway’s Best” lineup, part of The WNET Group’s special Broadway and Beyond festival celebrating theater productions and the people who bring them to life, presents Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s comedy Yellow Face from Roundabout Theatre Company starring Daniel Dae Kim (Lost, Hawaii Five-0) as an Asian American playwright who protests yellowface casting in the blockbuster musical Miss Saigon, only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. The repercussions resonate in this farce about the complexities of race. Filmed in November 2024 and directed by Leigh Silverman (Violet, Suffs), Yellow Face is an “is-he-or-isn’t-he” comedy of identity, show business, and autobiography. Yellow Face is currently nominated for three Tony Awards: Lead Actor in a Play for Kim’s performance, Featured Actor in a Play for Francis Jue, and Best Revival.
Watch “Yellow Face” on PBS.org
The Metropolitan Opera, in association with PBS and The WNET Group, presents “Great Performances at the Met: Aida”
Premieres Friday, June 13, 2025, on PBS
Soprano Angel Blue makes her long-awaited Met role debut as Aida, the Ethiopian princess caught between her love for an enemy soldier and loyalty to her homeland. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Michael Mayer’s new staging of Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic opera which immerses audiences in the splendor of ancient Egypt. The cast includes Judit Kutasi as Aida’s Egyptian rival Amneris, and Piotr Beczała as Radamès, the soldier caught in an epic love triangle. Also featured are Quinn Kelsey as Amonasro, Morris Robinson as Ramfis, and Harold Wilson as the King. Grammy-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens hosts.
Watch Great Performances at the Met: Aida on PBS.org
Caramoor presents Celebrating Juneteenth: The Legendary Ingramettes
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, NY
Activities begin at 2pm
Performance begins at 4pm
Caramoor presents an uplifting Juneteenth celebration — honoring African American freedom, heritage, and resilience — with the electrifying sounds of The Legendary Ingramettes, one of gospel music’s most revered groups. This event is free; please register for your free tickets.
Learn more and reserve your tickets on Caramoor’s website
The Legendary Ingramettes: NEA National Heritage Fellows Tribute Video (2022)
The Legendary Ingramettes | Richmond Folk Festival 2024
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) presents the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center*
Spa Little Theatre, 19 Roosevelt Drive, Saratoga Springs, NY
Sundays at 3pm
The Chamber Music Society summer residency is part of its year-round presence in Saratoga Springs.
The six-concert summer season opens on June 15 with Beethoven and Dvořák, led by Wu Han.
Beethoven: Trio in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, and Cello
Françaix: Trio for Violin, Viola, and Cello
Dvořák: Quartet in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello
Featuring: Wu Han, piano; Chad Hoopes, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
This is followed on June 22 by Great Sonatas: Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart.
Mozart: Sonata for Piano, Four-hands, in B-flat major
Brahms: Sonata No. 1 in E minor for Cello and Piano
Beethoven: Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano “Kreutzer”
Featuring: George Li, piano; Evren Ozel, piano; Stella Chen, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello
Learn more on the CMS website
The Westchester Choral Society and Memorial United Methodist Church present 45th Season of Summer Sings
Tuesdays 7-9pm in the air-conditioned Memorial United Methodist Church, 250 Bryant Ave., White Plains, NY
The beloved summer tradition continues! Come to sing or come to listen—all are welcome! Admission includes refreshments and the use of scores.
Tuesday, June 17
Faure: Requiem; Vivaldi: Gloria
Conductor: David Baranowski (Westchester Choral Society, Hudson Chorale)
Tuesday, June 24
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms; Bach: Magnificat
Conductor: Christine Howlett (Greenwich Choral Society, Vassar College)
Learn more on the Westchester Choral Society’s website
Jacob’s Pillow presents the Season Opening Gala
Saturday, June 21, 2025, 5-11pm
Livestream, or in person at Jacob’s Pillow, 358 George Carter Road, Becket, MA
Start your summer dancing! Celebrate the magic of the Berkshires and Jacob’s Pillow with the Season Opening Gala. Known as the ultimate summer kickoff, the Gala is sure to be a spectacular evening of conversation, connection, and inspiration, capped off with lots of dancing. Witness an incredible one-night-only performance in the Ted Shawn Theatre with a showstopping program, including the presentation of the 2025 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award to Director of Preservation Norton Owen, a world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Taylor Stanley performing Mourner’s Bench by Talley Beatty, and more.
For more information about the Jacob’s Pillow Season Opening Gala, visit their website.
Jacob’s Pillow Live
Stay tuned for Jacob’s Pillow Live all summer long, and beyond. Enjoy livestreams, Encore Streams of summer performances, and exclusive live presentations, all in one place and all for free. Enjoy world-class dance from anywhere, with exciting new content available throughout the year.
Access Jacob’s Pillow Live
Caramoor presents “Seth Rudetsky’s Broadway Pride!”
Presented in partnership with The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center
Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 7pm
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, NY
SiriusXM radio host Seth Rudetsky will take you on a journey featuring the greatest gay artists who helped create Broadway. You’ll enjoy an evening of fantastic Broadway songs, sung by Broadway stars Lauren Patten (Jagged Little Pill, Fun Home), Zachary Noah Piser (Redwood, Dear Evan Hansen) and Gay Willis (Phantom of the Opera, Showboat) with Seth at the piano, and get all the inside scoop on how gay people were intrinsically involved in so many Broadway classics. Shows, songs, and stars from the Golden Age to today!
Get tickets for Seth Rudetsky’s Broadway Pride
Endea Owens and The Cookout*
Thursday, June 26, at 7pm
Wave Hill
4900 Independence Avenue (at West 239th Street), Bronx, NY
Bassist, composer, and bandleader Endea Owens performs with her high-energy ensemble, The Cookout, for an unforgettable evening of feel-good music. An alum of The Juilliard School and member of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s house band, Owens blends jazz, soul, and global influences into a sound that’s both vibrant and deeply personal. Enjoy this free concert at Wave Hill, presented by Carnegie Hall Citywide.
Learn more on the Carnegie Hall website
Caramoor presents “Concert on the Lawn: Endea Owens and The Cookout”*
Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Thursday, July 3, 2025, at 7pm
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, NY
Known as one of jazz’s most vibrant emerging artists, Grammy and Emmy-award-winning Endea Owens is a Detroit-raised recording artist, bassist, and composer. She has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Holliday, Diana Ross, Solange, Jazzmeia Horn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Steve Turre, and was a member of Jon Batiste’s house band, Stay Human, as well as on his Grammy-winning album We Are. Leading her dynamic ensemble The Cookout, Owens delivers joyful, soul-stirring jazz that blends infectious rhythms with a powerful message of community and activism.
Get tickets for Endea Owens and the Cookout
Hear Endea Owens and the Cookout in their NPR Tiny Desk Concert
*Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Endea Owens and The Cookout will be part of The Purchase PAC’s 2025-2026 season line-up. Keep an eye on your inbox for our season announcement, coming soon!
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Culture Picks celebrates the performing arts. In each post, PAC staff member Coni Guhl shines the spotlight on work by artists that you know and love from their appearances at The Purchase PAC, and offers recommendations about other performing arts events that you really should not miss. Experience them all!
All times are EDT unless otherwise noted.
Pictured: The Legendary Ingramettes. Photo (c) Hearth Music.
