11 virtual things to do in NYC this weekend: Sing with Stephen Sondheim, make pizza dough, and more

Happy Friday! Even if every day feels like a Saturday to you, there tends to be more virtual goings-on over the weekend, and this week is no exception. From live-streamed events like the Met Opera’s at-home gala and Broadway.com’s birthday concert for Stephen Sondheim to interactive happenings like Zoom “happy hours” at your favorite local bar and quarantine cooking classes, we’ve rounded up the 10 best virtual things for New Yorkers to do this weekend.

Friday 

Have a Zoom “happy hour” at your favorite local bar
Virtual Cheers is a new initiative that lets you download your favorite bar as your Zoom background. You buy “a round” that is a donation to the establishment’s staff. Death & Co., The Levee, Cowgirl, and the Shanty are among those participating.

Balcony Bar from Home at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
5:00pm; free
Acclaimed string quartet ETHEL will perform a concert from home, joined by guest artists and collaborators.

Clear your head with Headspace’s “A NY State of Mind”
Free
Meditation app Headspace partnered with the State of New York on a free version to help people through the current crisis. Choose a guided meditation, a sleep experience, or even a meditation for kids.

Saturday 

The Metropolitan Opera’s At-Home Gala
1pm; free
Forty artists from around the world will participate in this live, three-hour concert. It’ll also be available to view on the Met’s website until 6:30pm on Sunday if you can’t watch it live.

Make perfect pizza dough at home with Scott’s Pizza Tours
1pm; $15
Already tackled your sourdough starter? Switch it up with pizza dough, and learn how to make it from a pizza pro during this 75-minute session.

Quarantine Cooking Class with Brooklyn Brainery
4pm; $25
Part discussion, part demo, this 90-minute class will teach you to “cook with what you have.”

Saturday Night Live “At Home”
11:30pm; free on NBC
Two weeks ago, SNL hosted its first “At Home” episode, with none other than Tom Hanks doing the monologue and Chris Martin performing as the musical guest. This Saturday night, they’re doing it again, and we can’t wait to see who the surprise guests will be.

Sunday

Rockefeller Center’s Spring Sunday
11am; free Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
The annual event that takes place in the Rock Center plaza has now gone virtual, hosting family-friendly activities like DIY crafts and live music. The highlight will be a Puppetsburg puppet show called “Rockefeller Center, Heart of New York.”

Dance Church dance class
1pm; donation-based
We only just heard of Dance Church thanks to this Vice article, but the super-popular dance-meets-fitness class sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon, with DJ-style music and classes taught by actual dancers.

Broadway.com birthday concert for Stephen Sondheim
8pm; free on Broadway.com and the Broadway.com YouTube channel
To toast legendary composer Stephen Sondheim, Broadway.com is hosting a star-studded virtual concert hosted by Raúl Esparza that will benefit ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty). Some of the performers will include Meryl Streep, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and many more.

GLAAD’s Together in Pride: You are Not Alone
8pm; free on GLAAD’s YouTube channel and Facebook Live
To raise funds for LGBTQ community centers, this live-streamed event will highlight the LGBTQ response to COVID-19. There will be performances by Kesha and Melissa Etheridge, as well as appearances by Billy Eichner, Matt Bomer, Adam Lambert, Kathy Griffin, Sean Hayes, Sharon Stone, and many more.