Places & experiences
The Short List: What's Happening in NYC This Weekend (Nov 12–15, 2026)
The world final of League of Legends lands in Brooklyn, Dave Matthews closes out his tour at the Garden, and the comedy festival hits its best weekend.
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Two arenas running at capacity on the same weekend, which means the restaurants around both of them are already thin. If you are going to anything on this list, handle dinner this morning.
Lola’s Picks
Here There Are Blueberries - New York
Thursday, November 12 · 1 p.m. · Barrymore Theatre
Fresh into a limited Broadway run beginning November 2, this fact-based play follows the investigation of a Nazi-era photo album sent to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Written by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, it examines what those photographs reveal about the Holocaust’s perpetrators.
Go for: absorbing, serious theater rather than a conventional Broadway spectacle. The subject matter deserves an afternoon without a rushed exit.
Ask Lola: “Late lunch near the Barrymore Theatre on Thursday after the show.”
Eggy - 2 Day Pass
Listed from Friday, November 13 · Bowery Ballroom
A two-day pass for Eggy’s downtown stop. The venue’s listing identifies the dates as November 13–14, with doors at 8 p.m. and ages 18+.
Ask Lola: “Late dinner near the Bowery Ballroom this weekend, Friday or Saturday.”
The Outsiders - New York
Friday, November 13 · 7 p.m. · Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
The Broadway musical adaptation of S. E. Hinton’s coming-of-age story is the straightforward choice if you want a full-scale theater night.
Other performances: Thursday, November 12 at 1 p.m., and Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m. Friday is my pick if you want the show to anchor the evening.
Ask Lola: “Late dinner after the musical near the theatre on Friday.”
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show - New York
Saturday, November 14 · 9:30 a.m. · DR2 Theatre
Eric Carle’s stories brought to the stage with a production featuring more than 75 puppets. The clearest choice here for younger children—and for adults whose weekend starts considerably earlier than they once intended.
Other performances: Friday, November 13 at noon, and Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Ask Lola: “Lunch near the Theatre on Saturday after the show.”
Other Options
League of Legends World Championship Final
Barclays Center, Prospect Heights · Sat 14
The first Worlds final ever held on this coast. Whatever you think of the sport, a Brooklyn arena at full volume for it is a genuine event, and the production is better than most concerts.
Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr puts eleven subway lines directly under the building, which is exactly why nothing inside Atlantic Terminal has ever had to be good. Walk ten minutes northeast to Vanderbilt Avenue instead and book six o’clock. Doors run long for an esports final, so give yourself more time than a basketball game.
Ask Lola: “Dinner at 6 walking distance from Barclays on Saturday.”
Dave Matthews Band
Madison Square Garden, Midtown · Thu 12 and Fri 13
Two nights closing out the fall tour.
Book west of the Garden, not east. Everything around Penn Station was built to feed commuters at volume. Ninth Avenue in the high 30s and 40s is ten minutes on foot and an entirely different proposition. Book 5:45 for an eight o’clock show, and go east to 32nd Street afterwards, where Koreatown runs past midnight.
Ask Lola: “Dinner at 5:45pm walking distance from Madison Square Garden.”
New York Comedy Festival, final weekend
Citywide · Through Sun 15
The last three days, and the best of them. By the second weekend the comics have been working the same rooms for a week and the late shows get loose.
The 9:30 and 11pm slots are where this happens. Book the room, not the name.
Ask Lola: “A late table near a New York Comedy Festival show near me on Saturday”
Inter Alia
Music Box Theatre, Theatre District · Previews from Tue 10 · Season schedule
Rosamund Pike makes her Broadway debut in the acclaimed London drama. Previews now, opens Dec 1.
Previews are cheaper and this one is already in shape. Do not try to eat in the Theatre District at 6:30pm with everybody else. Eat at 10:30pm, when the whole neighbourhood empties at once.
Ask Lola: “A table at 10:30pm in the Theatre District.”
Na Mira: NO SMOKING
MoMA, Midtown · Opens Sat 14 · Museum admission
A new commission opening this weekend and running into February.
Go Friday evening instead of Saturday if you can. MoMA’s late hours are the single most underused thing in Midtown culture, and the difference in crowd between six on a Friday and two on a Saturday is roughly a factor of four.
Ask Lola: “A drink in Midtown after 8pm on Friday.”
Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses
Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Heights · Through Dec 6
Three weekends left. 2 or 3 to Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum, which puts you at the door.
Start at the top floor and work down. Everyone goes bottom-up and the rooms fill in order.
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