Join us for a night of extraordinary music and storytelling with G.E. Smith, Patty Smyth, and special guest John McEnroe as part of the 2026 G.E. Smith’s PORTRAITS series.
The evening brings together G.E. Smith—the masterful guitarist and bandleader known for his work with Bob Dylan, Hall & Oates, and Saturday Night Live—with rock legend Patty Smyth, the Grammy-nominated voice behind Scandal’s hit “The Warrior” and the classic duet “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough.” They’ll be joined by tennis icon and lifelong music devotee, John McEnroe, whose passion for rock and blues has led to memorable musical collaborations and performances.
Together, they will share an engaging blend of songs, spontaneous performances, and stories from their remarkable careers in music and beyond.
PORTRAITS, created by Taylor Barton & G.E. Smith, is an intimate concert series featuring in-depth musical conversations that reveal the influences, artistry, and experiences behind today’s most compelling performers.
The popular series kicks off its 15th year with Padma Lakshmi, the Emmy-nominated producer, television creator/host of CBS’s America’s Culinary Cup, food expert, New York Times best-selling author, and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. Padma will sit down with Florence to discuss her 2025 book, Padma’s All American—Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond: A Cookbook. This very personal book is the result of seven years of traveling, tasting, listening, and observing.
Enjoy a pre-show continental breakfast, courtesy of Citarella, before this culinary adventure. A book signing will follow in the lobby.
Join Sonia De Los Santos for a joyful, high-energy family concert filled with music, storytelling, and audience participation.
Born in Monterrey, Mexico and now based in New York, Sonia creates vibrant, bilingual performances that get audiences singing, clapping, and dancing along. Blending Latin American rhythms with North American folk, her songs celebrate friendship, nature, and her experiences growing up in Mexico and making a home in the United States. Sung in both English and Spanish, her music invites children and adults alike to connect across cultures in a fun, welcoming environment.
A former member of the Grammy Award–winning group Dan Zanes and Friends, Sonia brings warmth, humor, and heart to every performance—creating an unforgettable shared experience for the whole family.
Join us out-front at the Phanstiel Plaza for a free workshop before the show!
No matter what your pubic-politics are these days, you have to admit it’s time for everybody to go to extremes.
John Waters is back on the road with a whole new fast-moving crackpot comedy show that will beg the authorities to drop a net on both him and his rabidly insane audience. He knows his deviously demented fans will fight back with a limp-wrist fist.
He’s dressed to thrill and ready to rant about pro-punk conversion therapy, right-wing female-female impersonators, extreme amusement parks, even prank guerrilla placement of phony incendiary book titles in libraries that recently banned gay children’s classics. Yessir, the Duke of Dirt has reckless eyeballs and he’s lookin’ for you, lunatics!
Let’s all drill a hole in our heads so we’re high forever and crash the Kennedy Center! His filth followers don’t get off, they get on you and scream, “Go! Go! Go to the John Waters show!”
Going to Extremes. It’ll make you scream!
Co-Presented by The Matthiessen Center & Guild Hall
Renowned marine biologist, undersea explorer, and founder of Mission Blue, Dr. Sylvia Earle explores the power of writing to illuminate what we know—and don’t know—about the ocean, where the vast majority of life remains unseen. She highlights collaborative restoration efforts with the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, sharing measurable progress in reviving ecosystems, including returning clams and eelgrass, while emphasizing humanity’s deep dependence on the natural world.
Joined by Dr. Carl Safina, marine ecologist, author, and founder of The Safina Center, she reflects on this pivotal moment for understanding our place in the ocean’s intricate web of life.
Co-Presented by The Peter Matthiessen Center & Guild Hall
We live in a culture that rarely questions growth. Expansion—of markets, wealth, productivity, even the self—is treated not only as an economic goal, but as a moral good. But what happens when growth begins to function as a belief system? What, in this framework, do we worship—and what do we lose?
Moderated by writer and editor Nina Channing, this conversation brings together authors whose work engages these questions across literature, criticism, and environmental thought. Taking Peter Matthiessen’s work as a point of departure, the discussion considers traditions of writing attentive to limits, place, and forms of life not organized around accumulation.
Guest speakers to be announced.
MARC SHAIMAN: NEVER MIND THE HAPPY
In-conversation with Susan Stroman
Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award–winning composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman comes to Guild Hall to celebrate his New York Times best selling memoir, Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner. Known for his acclaimed work across Broadway, film, and television—including Hairspray, Smash, and Mary Poppins Returns—Shaiman reflects on a five-decade career defined by collaboration, creativity, and resilience.
In conversation with Tony Award–winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman, Shaiman offers an intimate look at the artists, influences, and experiences that have shaped his singular voice. By turns candid, humorous, and deeply personal, the evening explores the realities of a life in the arts and the stories behind some of his most beloved work.
A special guest will join for a live performance celebrating Shaiman’s oeuvre.
Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the musical Grey Gardens with a special evening featuring two-time Tony Award–winner Christine Ebersole and composer Scott Frankel, hosted by Emmy Award–winning journalist Frank DiLella.
For this anniversary program, Ebersole revisits her Tony Award -winning performance alongside the musical’s composer, Scott Frankel. Together they will share stories and musical selections from the acclaimed score that helped define one of the most distinctive musicals of the 21st century.
Hosted by NY1’s Frank DiLella, the evening combines performance and conversation in celebration of Grey Gardens and the artists whose work continues to resonate with audiences today.
