Were Beethoven and Mozart lovers? If not in history, perhaps in the history of the future, when Beethoven and Mozart collide in the alt-universe “Vienna New.” Part theater, film, excavation, concert, and dance party, The Lesson examines the queer lessons written out of history and into the archeology of our long-dead world.
Tix to this show are Name Your Price starting at $15, meaning you decide what you pay! We take a small portion of ticket sales to pay for the show’s front-of-house and theater technicians then pass on the rest of the single ticket revenue directly to the show’s lead artists. You can learn more about What’s Ars Is Yours: Name Your Price Tix by visiting our How We Do It page.
THE LESSON will stream live from Ars Nova on December 4 @ 7pm on Ars Nova Supra. Following the live stream, you’ll be able to watch the show on-demand for up to a year. Get a cancel-anytime $15/mo subscription to stream live or on-demand.
Avi Amon is an award-winning Turkish-American composer and sound artist. Recent work includes music, songs, and sound design for projects at: The Bushwick Starr, Disney, HBO, Hulu, The Kennedy Center, NYTW, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, PACNYC, The Public, Signature Theater, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival, and the Venice Biennale, among others. Avi is a MacDowell Fellow, A Jonathan Larson Grant winner, and the resident composer at the 52nd Street Project. @aviamon
Ty Defoe is a citizen of the Anishinaabe Nation and Oneida Nation—a Grammy Award-winning writer and interdisciplinary artist. Ty has earned recognition from Robert Rauschenberg, MacDowell, Sundance, Hellen Merril Playwrighting, Jonathan Larson, Kennedy Center’s Next 50, and Pop Culture Collabs as a Trans Futurist. Ty has authored works across Turtle Island, including venues: the MET, Carnegie Hall, PAC-NYC, and Under the Radar. ASU. tydefoe.com | allmyrelations.earth
Nolan Doran is a Tony Nominated producer/writer/artist. Broadway Credits: Co-Producer of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and Head Over Heels. Co-Producer & Director of the Museum of Broadway. Writing: We Will Win (Effectors II – Royal Caribbean), Thunder Beings (New Victory LabWorks), My Eclectic Life (HERE), Woody – A New Fairy Tale (Main Street Musicals). M.F.A. NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing and Dramatist Guild Fellow. New Music: nolandoran.com
Raja Feather Kelly is a visionary choreographer and director, serving as the artistic director of the groundbreaking dance-theatre-media company the feath3r theory (TF3T), which he founded in 2009. Known for pushing the boundaries of performance, Raja’s work blends dance, theater, and media to explore complex cultural narratives. TF3T’s most recent production, The Absolute Future, premiered at NYU Skirball in 2024, and their upcoming work, Bunny Bunny, will debut in 2025. Raja made his acclaimed playwriting debut in 2024 with The Fires at SoHo Rep, which he also directed.
Raja’s work has garnered numerous prestigious awards, including a Creative Capital Award, National Dance Project Production Grant, and Dance Magazine’s inaugural Harkness Promise Award. He is a three-time Princess Grace Award winner and has been honored with the Breakout Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, the Solange MacArthur Award for New Choreography, and the New York Dance Performance “Bessie” Award. Notably, he was named the 2022–23 Quinn Martin Director at the University of California, San Diego, and held the position of Randjelovic/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist at New York Live Arts in 2019–2020. Raja is currently a Princeton Arts Fellow at Princeton University.
Throughout his career, Raja has created 18 evening-length works with TF3T, earning critical acclaim for pieces such as the UGLY trilogy at The Bushwick Starr, New York Live Arts, ImPulsTanz, and Chelsea Factory, and WEDNESDAY at New York Live Arts. He has performed with renowned companies like Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group, David Dorfman Dance, and Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion. His extensive choreography for Off-Broadway productions includes collaborations with leading theater directors like Lileana Blain-Cruz and Sarah Benson, with credits such as A Strange Loop (Broadway, 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), Fairview (SoHo Rep, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), White Girl in Danger (Second Stage), and Lempicka Broadway.
In addition to his groundbreaking work in dance and theater, Raja is an Ecker Fellow at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society & Institute, where he is earning a certificate in Psychoanalysis and the Creative Arts. Born in Fort Hood, Texas, Raja holds a B.A. in Dance and English from Connecticut College. His work continues to expand the possibilities of interdisciplinary performance, making him a leading voice in contemporary theater and dance.
Katherine Freer is a multimedia artist, filmmaker, organizer, and educator whose artistic practice lives at the intersection of story, technology, and civic engagement. Frequent collaborators include Ping Chong, Ty Defoe, Kamilah Forbes, Steve H. Broadnax III, Lux Haac, Liza Jessie Peterson, Talvin Wilks, and Tamilla Woodard. She is a proud member of Wingspace Theatrical Design and United Scenic Artists Local USA 829, a core collaborator in All My Relations Collective, a collaborating artist with The TEAM, and Head of the Integrated Media Program at the University of Texas at Austin. @k8tefree
Stephen Brower (he/they) is a NYC-based actor, writer, and comedian. They recently appeared on Broadway playing a handful of characters in the new, original musical Lempicka (dir. Rachel Chavkin). Online, Stephen is well-known for his short, quippy videos about inanimate objects and if he would date them. He has over 400K followers, which is less than Oprah, but still pretty good. His solo comedy, Palatable Gay Robot, debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023, and has since played to sold out audiences in London, Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, and New York City (Ars Nova, La Mama, Littlefield, Triad Theatre, Chelsea Music Hall, and Asylum NYC), eyeing an Off-Broadway run in 2025. Funny stuff and thirst traps: @stephenbrower
Film/TV: Mean Girls (Paramount), The Outlaws (Amazon Prime), Elsbeth (CBS), FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), American Idol Season 21 (ABC), Pavements (NYFF/Venice FF). Off-Broadway: We Live in Cairo (New York Theatre Workshop), Hip Hop Cinderella (New Victory Theatre), Slanted! Enchanted! (Sheen Center), Rough Trade (The Public). Additional Projects: Tell Them I’m Still Young (New York Stage and Film), Untitled…Hunter S. Thompson Musical (La Jolla/NYSAF), SHOOK (Northern Stage), Pump Up The Volume (ATF), and Purple Rain (New York Workshop). BFA in Musical Theatre from Penn State. He is represented by HCKR and managed by Rochel Saks at SAKS&. SOCIALS: @johneljor www.johneljor.com
Jon-Michael Reese is an actor and musician based in Brooklyn, NY. Select faves: The Fires (Soho Rep), A Strange Loop (Broadway), White Girl in Danger (Second Stage), Jimmy and Lorraine, (Pillsbury) Theo (Two River), Marry Me a Little (New Ohio), This Bitter Earth (Penumbra), Man of la Mancha, To Let Go and Fall (Theatre Latté Da), My Heart is the Drum (Village Theatre; Gregory Award: Outstanding Actor) @theJMRavatar
Broadway: Beetlejuice The Musical, SpongeBob SquarePants (dir. Tina Landau), The King and I (Lincoln Center, dir. Bartlett Sher), Side Show (dir. Bill Condon). Select Theater: See What I Wanna See (OOTB, dir. Emilio Ramos), Here Lies Love (Public Theater, dir. Alex Timbers), Pacific Overtures (Classic Stage Co., dir. John Doyle), American Idiot (1st National, dir. Michael Mayer). Television: Only Murders in the Building. Kelvin can be heard as a vocalist in movies Spirited, Lyle Lyle Crocodile, The Greatest Showman, and the upcoming Kiss of the Spiderwoman starring Jennifer Lopez. He appears as Perch Perkins in the movie version of SpongeBob SquarePants The Musical. Follow @kelvinmoonloh
McKenna Michael (they/them) is an singer, dancer & actor from Southern California. Their latest projects include, The Incomplete List…(PRISM Festival), Barry (HBO Max), & Frozen Live! At the Hyperion. Up next for McKenna is the world premiere of Pasek and Paul’s Lyle Lyle Crocodile as Lyle. @mckennamichael
Belén is an actor, singer, musician, producer and activist born in Buenos Aires. Credits include – Broadway: Hadestown; Tour: Hadestown; Regional: American Mariachi, Prince of Egypt, Tarzan, In the Heights. USU alum; Edify Justice Advocates co-founder; McCobb Mortality Services podcast musical producer. She’s passionate about representation, Spanish language projects, and accessible arts education. @mccobbmusical @beléncitamoyano
Major is a multi-disciplinary mixed Asian-American actor/storyteller who has collaborated on various projects for Theatre, Film, Television, and Voiceover. Propelled by a special love for developing new stories and wildly adapting old ones, Major has collaborated on various projects in development with Ma-Yi Theatre Co., New York Stage and Film, New York Theatre Workshop, The O’Neill/NMTC, One Year Lease Theatre Co., and Mercury Store. Major had the privilege of performing in Broadway’s KPOP and they can be found recurring in multiple seasons of the CW’s Riverdale and Netflix’s Atypical. In addition to other Broadway, Off-Broadway, touring, regional, and developmental theatre credits, Major has recurred on multiple Nickelodeon shows, starred in web-series, and voiced multiple video game characters and audiobooks. In Major’s spare time, they love to teach, play video games, and listen to NPR. Major is a proud volunteer actor at the 52nd Street Project. Emerging Artist and Mentee of The Actors Center. Alumnus of Carnegie Mellon, SITI Skidmore, and Cherubs. Instagram: @Majorly.MC.
This show will take place at Ars Nova, located at 511 W 54th Street, New York, NY 10019.
Seating is general admission and first-come first-served. So, the earlier you arrive at the theater, the more choice you’ll have about where you sit! (Bonus: cheapest drinks in Midtown are at Bars Nova!)
The only way to guarantee you reserved seats is to become a Super Nova. Super Novas never hear “sold out,” get reserved seats in prime locations, and make fair wages and accessible tickets possible. Learn more about becoming a Super Nova here!
Tix to this show are Name Your Price starting at $15, meaning you decide what you pay! We take a small portion of ticket sales to pay for the show’s front-of-house and theater technicians then pass on the rest of the single ticket revenue directly to the show’s lead artists. You can learn more about What’s Ars Is Yours: Name Your Price Tix by visiting our How We Do It page.
If a performance is sold out, you can join a standby line for day-of-show tix made available by minute cancellations and no-shows. Standby will begin 1 hour prior to curtain and will form outsideFolks from the standby line will be admitted into the show on a rolling basis as availability is confirmed. Standby tix are name-your-price starting at $5 + fees.
Additionally, Supra is never sold out! If you can’t make the show in-person, you can always stream online for only $15/mo, which gets you unlimited streaming access to performances from the last year. You can cancel your membership anytime by emailing contact@arsnovanyc.com.
Once you’ve selected your performance date and time at check-out, you’ll see a number of ticket price options ranging from $5 to $100. Select the price point you want to pay and the number of tickets you’d like to purchase and they’ll be added to your cart. After that, continue through the check-out process and you’ll be all set!
Yes. The processing fees are charged by our ticketing and credit card processors, and increase along with the base price of your ticket.
Yes! Ars Nova Supra is our digital platform where you can live stream all of our one-night shows and watch premieres from the past year on-demand. For the low price of $15/mo, you can access an entire seasons worth of comedy, music and theater from our groundbreaking artists, and additionally you can cancel your subscription anytime!
All sales are final – there are no refunds or exchanges.
If you’re unable to use your tickets, you may donate them in exchange for a letter of tax credit by emailing tix@arsnovanyc.com.
We ask that you stay home if you aren’t feeling well or are awaiting the results of a COVID test. Please let us know prior to your ticketed performance, and we will work with you to find a solution if you’re unable to attend.
We welcome and encourage mask-wearing to protect yourself and others. However, as mask mandates have lifted and city, state and federal guidelines have changed, we will not be requiring them at performances.
We no longer require proof of vaccination, but we strongly encourage all audience members to get vaccinated and boosted in accordance with public health guidelines.
Our staff will clean and sanitize the theater and common areas and we’ll continue to provide hand sanitizer for your personal use.
Signage is posted in all spaces encouraging washing or sanitizing hands frequently.
Ars Nova is uncensored. We provide content advisories — to the best of our ability — to inform audiences when shows contain racial violence, racist language, sexual violence or nudity. We provide information about this type of content in advance, based on our core values, so that each audience member can make an informed decision about if and how they’d like to engage with that content. We welcome artists to share additional information about their shows based on their own core values.
Ars Nova is wheelchair accessible. If you wish or need to remain in your wheelchair throughout the show, our staff will remove the theater chair. This can be done by letting us know your needs/plans in advance; just email Declan Zhang. It can also be done without prior notice when you arrive! If you wish to transfer to the theater seat from your wheelchair, we are happy to store your wheelchair or motorized mobility aid in the lobby during the performance. The House Manager will return your mobility device to you at the end of the performance as this show has no intermission.
About 25% of the seating is on the ground floor of the theater and does not require using stairs to access. There are five six-inch steps to get into the building.
All remaining seats require no less than one and no more than three steps to access.
Licensed service animals (any dogs that are trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities) are welcome at Ars Nova. They must rest in your seating area throughout the performance and are unable to occupy the aisle. Please bring proof of certification or a license for your service animal and be prepared to present it to the House Manager upon request. You can send advance notice to Declan Zhang, which is appreciated, but not required.
Our bathrooms are stalled, all gender restrooms – everyone is welcome to use any bathroom of their choice. We have two single-person restrooms in the lobby; with the wheelchair accessible option located right outside the theater on the first floor (doors 7 feet 10 inches x 3 feet 10.5 inches).
We have space that can be made to offer privacy for feeding should you need at any time. See the House Manager onsite and they will arrange a comfortable space, with storage and refrigeration for your materials.
The audience seating locations could be in, around and throughout the playing area. Performers will be within 3’ of you.
The seating is a combination of chairs.
Black Chairs with back: 19” wide x 32.25” high x 21.75” deep with a 500lb capacity
Black Counter height: 16.5” wide x 38” high x 18” deep with a 500lb capacity
The doors for entry into the building are 7 feet 10.5 inches x 3 feet 7 inches (external) and 7 feet 10 inches x feet 10.5 inches (internal).
Box Office height is 3 feet 6 inches and the Bar height is 3 feet 8.5 inches.
