We’ve been running The Garden 2026 fall tour for the last few weeks. It’s a good moment to pause and look back at where we’ve been. The first few weekends brought rain, quick pivots, and full houses. They also brought some of the clearest proof yet of why we make theater the way we do.
An opening day indoors
Our first weekend of shows was rainy, so we learned fast how to bring an outdoor show inside. Our incredible partners made that possible. We opened in the Discovery Room at the American Museum of Natural History, a space built for the museum’s youngest visitors. We set the show beside the giant tree at the center of the room, and it was a beautiful setting for the world of The Garden.
Opening day had a lot of last-minute changes, and it was a long, intense day. We performed two full shows. Our invited guests included several Broadway actors, but what was even more exciting was that, for many of the families that attended, The Garden was their child’s very first show. That’s exactly the moment we make this work for.
We owe a huge thank-you to our friends at New Victory and the American Museum of Natural History. Their staff did a lot of work behind the scenes so opening day could run smoothly through every change.
“What is that?”
Then came Staten Island, and two days that captured everything we’re trying to do with this show.
On Saturday we performed at Stapleton Houses. Before the first performance, our founder Jess Kaufman asked one young boy if he wanted to come see a show. He asked, “What is that?” He had never been to a theater show and wanted to know what you do at one. Jess told him you start by watching and listening, and then you get to do whatever feels fun for you. He said okay.
Many of the kids that day were skeptical, and a lot of them were older than our usual audience, around seven, eight, and nine. But they were won over fast. From the moment Milkweed floated past them, they were all in. Every child stayed for the whole show, and our second performance was a full house. At the end, that same boy turned to Jess and said, “This was actually a really good movie.”
We’ll take it.
Parents shared their reactions too. One mom told us the show “was refreshing. It was new. In my environment, we don’t have things like this.” One dad was so excited that he told us to start recording before we asked him anything: “This was a great, great show. Y’all gotta bring your kids. It was so great. It was so relaxing.”
From Stapleton to Snug Harbor
Sunday’s show was at Snug Harbor, and this is where the weekend came together.
Snug Harbor sent a representative to our Saturday shows at Stapleton Houses. Before the show she told families about the Staten Island Children’s Museum at Snug Harbor. She made sure they knew it’s free and that they’re welcome, and she explained how to get there by bus or car.
The next day, that same dad made the trip from Stapleton Houses to Snug Harbor, a place his family had never visited. He brought his older child, who hadn’t seen the show yet. He also brought another family from Stapleton Houses with him.
This is the work we care about most. Ticket price is only one of the barriers between families and the arts. It also matters whether a place feels like it’s for you, whether you know how to get there, and whether anyone has ever invited you in. Snug Harbor went out to Stapleton and welcomed families in person. The next day, some of those families walked into a cultural center in their own borough for the first time, one that was there for them all along.
That’s radical access in practice: a performance in their own neighborhood that led them to a cultural center in their borough.
Both Snug Harbor shows were full houses. There was a little rain, but we kept going. One of our teaching artists from New Victory kept a matching umbrella over one of our performer’s clarinet for the whole second show so the music could keep playing. Team work really does make the dream work.
What’s ahead
The second half of the tour is underway. Our Bronx performance was rained out and has been rescheduled for October 25. Coming up next are Abrons/Vladek, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for dry skies.
If you’ve been to a show, thank you for being part of it. If you haven’t yet, we’d love to see you out there. Every performance is free for families. Tickets can be found here.
See you at The Garden.