The Performance Space Gala 2025 Was an Unapologetic Celebration of New York City

New York, New York. If you can make it here, why would you want to make it anywhere else? Thanks to creative direction by designer Willie Norris, the Performance Space New York Gala 2025 was an unapologetic ode to everything that makes this city unique at a time when so many of those qualities are under attack. If Martin Scorsese presenting an award to his friend Fran Lebowitz wasn’t quintessentially New York enough for you, the evening also featured a Muppets-inspired duet between Debbie Harry and Kelsey Lu, a sing along to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” lead by his longtime collaborator Perla Batalla, a chaotic “gorilla auction” lead by two nightlife icons, and a celebration of Bernie Wagenblast, the voice of the NYC subway.

One thing you certainly couldn’t call it was boring. “If it was too boring, I would feel heaviness in my heart,” says Norris. “To me boring is a sin, especially right now. One should not be putting out boring things. It's not the time or place.”

Founded in 1980 in an old East Village school building, Performance Space New York has long been a home for multidisciplinary artists, often serving as a safe haven for the city’s most radical and queerest visionaries. In some ways, Norris was an obvious choice to serve as the evening’s creative director (her designs, including her “Promote Homosexuality” slogan, have always championed a radical viewpoint). In other ways, it could have been something of a risk (she’s never actually been tasked with conceiving a gala before). “The day before this job proposal came in, I quit my full-time job,” says Norris, who was formerly the creative director of the clothing house Outlier. “My first instinct was ‘yes,’ and my second instinct was to base the whole thing on what I know and live, which is the New York City community.”

Using the format of an awards show as her launching point, Norris’s first instinct was to recruit Wagenblast as an announcer of sorts. Wagenblast, who publicly came out as a transwoman in 2023, is best known as the voice of the transit systems that hold this city together (you can hear her voiceover work on the subway, the AirTrain, and even when you call up the Port Authority). “The Oscars and all these shows, they have hosts and they have MCs, but they also have this kind of voice of God that no one ends up seeing,” says Norris. “Who is that for New York City? And it was just so apparent to me that it was Bernie Wagenblast.” From there, Norris decided to incorporate subway iconography into the stage design. One of the most moving moments from the night came when Wagenblast, who thought she was attending merely as the announcer, was given a surprise award for her impact on the city.

“Monday is a day that is celebrated every year: it’s called the Transgender Day of Visibility. And this year, more than ever, it’s important that this day be recognized because of what’s going on at the federal level to try to erase people like us,” she said. “One of the things I want to say is that there is trans joy, and I’m not going to allow any government, any organization, any individual to erase that trans joy.”

To fill out the program’s other roles, Norris decided to cast friends and previous collaborators with comedian Julio Torres serving as the evening’s host. “He has this really good way of getting on stage and piercing the air of a room with just his intonation,” Norris says. Torres’s Fantasmas co-star Martine Gutierrez served as co-host for the night’s latter half. Not done with piercing the air just yet, Norris called on Macy Rodman and Charlene Incarnate to subvert the traditional silent auction. “The money ask is always thick in the air at a gala. It makes people feel a little weird,” says Norris. “I wanted to put a pin in any anxiety that was lying around it and just treat it exactly what it was: a big hijinx. Charlene and Macy are two of the most charismatic stage goers in New York City.” The duo walked along tables in a chaotic plea for guests to donate money in exchange for rubber chicken, the experience of Torres exploring a confetti popper over the head, and perhaps, a kiss on the cheek.

After awards were presented to Lebowitz, Yoko Ono (the composer Meredith Monk accepted on her behalf), and Dr. Adrienne Edwards, the Whitney Museum’s Associate Director of Curatorial Programs, the evening crescendoed with a duet of “Rainbow Connection” by Debbie Harry and Kermit the Frog. Well, musician and artist Kelsey Lu dressed as Kermit the Frog, that is. The moment was inspired by an actual televised performance that Harry did with the famous Muppet.

“We are so lucky to be here,” says Norris. “It was a huge inspiration just to show the love of New York. It was super important for all the performers as well, even without my prompt. They all said that they felt an assignment in this. They felt that this was a moment that they needed to put themselves forward and proclaim the right to exist.”

So, how did Norris feel after her gala creative direction debut? Inspired. “I think that Performance Space and I share a value, and that value is that risk is paramount. Risk must be taken in order to move things forward. And if this taught me anything, it taught me that failure is not real. If you make decisions as a group, if you put heart and feeling into what you're doing, you can't fail.”