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Symphony Space is packing a lot into its Upper West Side home this fall before temporarily taking the show on the road—and the lineup includes everything from serious literary heavyweights to a roomful of people singing “Defying Gravity.”
The performing arts center's 2026-27 season includes a sprawling slate of books, music, comedy, film and live storytelling featuring Ethan Hawke, Rachel Brosnahan, Kyle MacLachlan, Eric Idle, Tony Shalhoub, Viet Thanh Nguyen and plenty more. The season begins at Symphony Space’s longtime Broadway and 95th Street home before the building closes for a major renovation next January.
Among the buzziest events is a September 28 conversation between Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan and Ethan Hawke, timed to the release of MacLachlan’s new memoir, Fictional Selves. Monty Python legend Eric Idle follows on September 29 to discuss Idle in Provence with Adam Gopnik, while The Lost Kitchen chef Erin French arrives October 12. On October 27, Rachel Brosnahan will interview her Marvelous Mrs. Maisel co-star Tony Shalhoub and his daughter, Josie Adams, about their new book, We Thought They’d Never Leave.
On Halloween afternoon, Symphony Space will host a sing-along screening of Wicked, giving you somewhere to wear that Glinda costume. The music calendar also includes The Klezmatics’ 40th-anniversary celebration on September 24 and a November 20 John Coltrane centennial concert featuring Joe Lovano, Melissa Aldana, Leo Genovese, Linda May Han Oh and Jeff “Tain” Watts.
The biggest change comes in January, when Symphony Space begins its “Pop-Up Year” while its building undergoes a major transformation. Programming will scatter across the city, including Selected Shorts at Merkin Hall and Japan Society, an Irish fiction event at the Irish Arts Center and Stéphane Wrembel’s Django à Gogo at the New York Society for Ethical Culture.
And what better soundtrack for a year spent roaming New York than Billy Joel? On April 12, Symphony Space will take over the Edison Ballroom for New York State of Mind, a one-night gala featuring Broadway performers tackling the Piano Man’s catalog.
The renovation is part of Symphony Space’s $45 million Building Together campaign, with the revamped venue scheduled to reopen in 2028—just in time for its 50th anniversary.