VCNY offers a variety of events, from lowkey Schmoozes, to career discussions with Vassar alum leaders in various industries, to stage performances featuring Vassar alums, to museum visits curated by Vassar alums and more. Make sure you’re on our list to be the first to know!
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Upcoming
VCNY on Broadway: Marcel on the Train with Ethan Slater ’14
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Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, New York, NY
⚠️ SOLD OUT, waitlist available
Join the Vassar Club of New York at a performance of Marcel on the Train, co-written by and starring Tony Award® nominee Ethan Slater ’14.
The performance will be followed by a special Q&A with Ethan.
Run Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission
Ticketing: $52
Space is limited. RSVP early and no later than February 26.
History remembers Marcel Marceau as the world’s greatest mime. But before the spotlight, he was a young man in Nazi-occupied France, guiding Jewish children to safety with nothing but courage and imagination. In the shadows of World War II, Marcel on the Train reveals the man behind the invisible mask.
Ethan Slater ’14 (Co-Author & “Marcel”) is a writer and actor best known for playing Spongebob in Broadway’s SpongeBob Squarepants (for which he received a Tony Nomination and won the Drama Desk award), and for playing Boq in movies Wicked and Wicked: For Good. He was most recently onstage in Spamalot on Broadway, and most recently at Classic Stage Company playing The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in Assassins. His musical, Edge of the World (written with Nick Blaemire) also had a sold out one-night only concert at CSC, making Classic Stage feel very much like an artistic home. Similar to Marcel Marceau, Ethan’s work on film and on stage has been greatly inspired by two things: physical comedians, and being Jewish. So when co-author and director Marshall Pailet called to tell him of the birth of his first child, Ethan couldn’t wait to interrupt and add to that joy with the idea for this play. Selected other Film/TV/Theater: Lost on a Mountain In Maine (dir. Andrew Kightlinger), The Designer (upcoming, dir. Em Johnson), “Elsbeth” (CBS), “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon), “Fosse/Verdon” (FX), Who’s Your Badghdaddy (off-broadway dir. Marshall Pailet), PEMDAS (OYL Theater Company, dir. Ianthe Demos).
Lynn F. Angelson Theater at Classic Stage Company is wheelchair accessible.
Paths with Purpose: Building Legal Careers That Reflect Who You Are
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Sony Music Entertainment, 25 Madison Avenue, New York, NY
Please join the Vassar Club of New York at 7:00 p.m. ET for Paths with Purpose: Building Legal Careers That Reflect Who You Are, a conversation with alum public interest lawyers discussing their identity, motivation, and impact. We will focus on how each panelist chose their area of practice, how personal values shaped their journey, and what it means to do meaningful work in the law today.
This will be a hybrid event, meeting in-person (wheelchair accessible) and virtually.
The in-person event will take place at the Sony Office near Madison Square Park. In-person directions and Microsoft Teams information will be provided to those who register.
RSVP by Wednesday, March 11.
Moderator:
Geoffrey Wertime ’06 graduated Vassar College in 2006 with a major in French and general and departmental honors. After several years as a journalist and working as an LGBTQ rights activist, he attended NYU Law, graduating in 2014, and clerked in the Southern District of New York before working as a Skadden Fellow at Housing Works. He is now a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor, and in 2023 was a recipient of the Art Leonard Award from the New York City Bar Association’s LGBTQ Rights Committee.
Panelists:
Katherine Greenberg ’04 is the Vice President of Litigation at A Better Balance, where she uses impact litigation to expand rights for pregnant and caregiving workers. Katherine graduated from Vassar in 2004 and NYU School of Law in 2010.
Dror Ladin ’05 is an attorney at Earthjustice, where he focuses on defending climate mandates on behalf of environmental justice communities. Previously Dror spent a decade at the ACLU representing individuals and communities who were targeted by the federal government in the name of national security and immigration enforcement.
Zoe Root ’04 is a supervisor and director of the Survivors Advocacy Practice at the Center for Appellate Litigation, which seeks post-conviction relief for criminalized survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence. She started her legal career 15 years ago as a public defender at The Bronx Defenders. She lives in Weehawken, NJ, with her Vassar alum husband, as well as their three children and two cats.
Jason Wu ’07 is Attorney-in-Charge of The Legal Aid Society’s Harlem Community Law Office. In addition to his role at Legal Aid, Wu serves on Manhattan Community Board 11, and the Board of Directors of CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities to develop the leadership of working-class Asian immigrants to combat gentrification and build neighborhood power in Chinatown and Astoria. He also writes op-eds on race and inequality, cross-racial solidarity, and intersectional social movements.
This event is wheelchair accessible.
Please feel free to bring your own food to eat during the panel.
Vassar Alum Stand-Up Comedy Night
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Black Cat LES, 172 Rivington St, New York, NY
The Vassar Club of New York presents Vassar Alum Stand Up Comedy Night at 7:00 p.m. ET at Black Cat LES. Join us for a night of fun and non-stop laughing as six of your fellow alums show off their comic stylings.
Doors Open: 6:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. show)
Run Time: 90 minutes
Ticketing: $6 with advance online registration ($10 at the door)
Space is limited. Reserve Early.
Black Cat LES is a coffee shop with comfy chairs and sofas and a friendly vibe. They offer alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, pastries, cookies, and sandwiches.
Isn’t 8:30 too early to go home on a Friday night?!?! Keep the night going with your fellow Vassar alums at Mary’s for more schmoozing, food, and drinks!
Carl Kissin ’80 performed 4000 shows with the improv troupe Chicago City Limits. He is a 3-time Manhattan Monologue Slam champion, New Yorker cartoonist, and award-winning musical theater lyricist.
Molly Kornfeld ’14 is a NYC based comedian. The daughter of two comics, she is following in their footsteps to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry. Molly’s comedy revolves around her dating life (ugh men, am I right?), her family (her dad is gay! How unique!), and her everyday experience as a woman (the struggle is VERY real).
Rachel Lenihan ’13 performs regularly at The Comic Strip, New York Comedy Club, and QED. She was on the writing team of Season 3 of the Chris Gethard Show, and mentioned in Metropolitan Magazine and Vulture as a talented comedian with a dry absurdist style, and a personal favorite of comedian Sarah Cooper (Netflix).
Lindsay Lucido ’15 has been performing stand-up all over the country (and a couple times in Scotland) for over a decade. She is also a reductress contributor and avid tv watcher.
Yvette Segan ’19 is a standup comedian who you might have also seen on the internet. She performs standup all over NYC and tours internationally! You’ll like her, we promise!
Dan Sohval ’13 began his standup career in the basement of the Davison Dorm at Vassar. Since then he has performed at the Harlem Comedy Festival and Roastmasters. Off stage Dan teaches yoga and computer science.
Unfortunately, Black Cat LES is not wheelchair accessible.
Past
Vassar in Tech Bingo Card Networking
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Stout NYC Bryant Park, 109 West 39th Street, New York, NY
Join the Vassar Club of New York and Vassar in Tech at Stout NYC Bryant Park at 5:30 ET for a BINGO Card Networking event.
Want to meet a fellow alum working at a startup? What about someone on the cutting edge of the AI field? Vassar in Tech brings together alums across technology, finance, media, and entrepreneurship for an evening of connection and insight. This meetup will feature a BINGO card designed to spark meaningful conversations, career guidance, and new collaborations across industries and generations. It’s a high-energy, welcoming forum to expand your network and strengthen the Vassar tech community.
Everyone is welcome, whether you are in the tech field, interested in joining the field, or just interested in mingling with tech minded folks.
A wide variety of food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Stout NYC Bryant Park is wheelchair accessible.
Author Talk (Hybrid): Thomas Mallon discusses “The Very Heart of It: New York Diaries, 1983-1994”
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Sony office at 25 Madison Avenue
Join the Vassar Club of New York at our next Author Talk in-person and online at 6:30 p.m. ET, when we will welcome former English professor Thomas Mallon and discuss his latest book, The Very Heart of It: New York Diaries, 1983-1994. These very personal journals contain many glimpses of his years at Vassar.
Lynn Janovsky ’86 will lead the discussion.
This will be a hybrid event, meeting in-person (wheelchair accessible) and virtually.
The in-person event will take place at the Sony Office near Madison Square Park.
In-person directions and Microsoft Teams information will be provided to those who register.
The Very Heart of It is an exquisite collection of journal entries from the 1980s and ’90s, tracking a young, gay author’s literary coming-of-age in New York during the AIDS crisis
In 1983, Thomas Mallon was still unknown. A literature professor at Vassar College, he spent his days traveling from Manhattan to campus, reviewing books to make ends meet and searching the city for his own purpose and fulfillment. The AIDS epidemic was beginning to surge in New York City, the ever-bustling epicenter of literary culture and gay life, alive with parties, art, and sex.
Tracing his own life day by day, Mallon evokes all that those years encompassed: the hookups, intensifying politics, personal tragedies, as well as his own blossoming success and eventual romantic happiness.
Thomas Mallon spent a number of years as a distinguished faculty member in Vassar’s English department, where he also started his writing career. He has since written eleven books of fiction including Henry and Clara, Fellow Travelers, Watergate (a Finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award) and Up With the Sun. He has also written volumes of nonfiction about plagiarism (Stolen Words), diaries (A Book of One’s Own), letters (Yours Ever) and the Kennedy assassination (Mrs. Paine’s Garage), as well as two books of essays (Rockets and Rodeos and In Fact). A collection of his personal journals, The Very Heart of It: New York Diaries, 1983-1994, was published by Knopf in June 2025 and chronicles his last years at Vassar and beyond.
Mallon’s work appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review and other publications. He received his PhD in English and American Literature from Harvard University and taught for a number of years at Vassar College. His honors include Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships, the National Book Critics Circle citation for reviewing, and the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, for distinguished prose style. He has been literary editor of Gentlemen’s Quarterly and deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and in 2012 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. An eight-part dramatic adaptation of his novel Fellow Travelers is now streaming on Showtime/Paramount+, and an opera based on the novel has had a dozen productions throughout the United States. He is Professor Emeritus of English at The George Washington University and lives in Washington, D. C.
The Very Heart of It is available at your local bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Bookshop.org, and Strand Books.
New Year’s Schmooze at Fifth Hammer Brewing Co.
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Fifth Hammer Brewing Company, 10-28 46th Avenue, Long Island City, NY
Join the Vassar Club of New York for our first Schmooze of the year at Fifth Hammer Brewing Co. as we celebrate the start of 2026 together.
If you didn’t get invited to enough ugly sweater parties in December, consider this your chance to show up and show off your most festive knit!
Fifth Hammer offers excellent non-alcoholic options, and Thursday nights often feature delicious food pop ups. Outside food is welcome too, so feel free to bring your own bites. We hope you will kick off the new year with fellow alums in a warm and relaxed setting!
Hope to see you there! Tag us at #VCNY to share the fun!
If you know a bar or restaurant that would be perfect for a Schmooze, don’t keep it to yourself, let us know! We love going all over this great city of ours and having fun with Vassar alums in new and exciting places.
In Service and In Action: Vassar Alums Driving Change
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Please join us via Zoom for In Service and In Action: Vassar Alums Driving Change, a candid conversation with graduates shaping politics and public service at every level. From grassroots organizing and advocacy to government service and electoral campaigns, our panelists will share stories, lessons learned, and insights into how change really happens — in service and in action.
Zoom link will be emailed to registrants.
Moderator:
Priya Nair ’15 (they/them) is a proud New Yorker, public servant, and nationally recognized leader in LGBTQ advocacy and equity policy. As the newly appointed Executive Director of the NYC Commission on Gender Equity, Priya brings nearly a decade of experience advancing inclusive, mission-driven policy across New York State and City government.
Panelists:
Shoshanah Bewlay ’92 is the Executive Director of and General Counsel to the New York State Committee on Open Government, a statutorily independent governmental program housed within the New York State Department of State tasked with making recommendations to improve the New York Freedom of Information, Open Meetings, and Personal Privacy Protection Laws in an annual report to the Governor and the State Legislature. In her role, Shoshanah is responsible for overseeing the staff and operations of the Committee. Every year, her staff responds to thousands of telephone and written inquiries from government entities and officials, members of the public, and representatives of the news media, prepares hundreds of written legal advisory opinions, and provides open government laws training to dozens of interested groups.
Benjamin Fikhman ’23 currently works as the Field Director for Kayla Santosuosso’s campaign for NYC Council District 47—the district in southern Brooklyn where he was born and raised. While working to develop, manage, and implement the campaign’s field plan, he is responsible for empowering and coordinating an enthusiastic volunteer base. He draws on the experience of working in an organizing role with the Harris-Walz coordinated campaign, translating his political instincts from three previous campaigns, and manifesting a broader passion for inspiring change through political avenues.
Joe Mangan ’23 serves on the staff of State Senator James Skoufis. In 2024, he was Deputy Campaign Manager for Skoufis’ reelection, where he expanded a one-point margin into a 14-point victory and outperformed the top of the ticket by 24 points in the most Republican-enrolled Democratic district in New York. Joe also leads Bluestone Campaigns LLC, which has helped Hudson Valley Democrats, from town supervisors to district attorneys, win competitive local races. He got his start in politics as a climate activist in Seattle, organizing youth climate strikes and the successful Seattle Green New Deal campaign.
Melissa Walker ’99 co-founded The States Project’s Giving Circles program, engaging 35,000+ people to focus on and engage with the immense power of state legislatures. A former magazine editor and author of ten novels, she brings people together to tell stories, pool resources, and shift power in states.
The Surgeon and Her Daughters: Play and Talkback
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Theatre 154
Join the Vassar Club of New York at 7:00 p.m. ET at a performance of The Surgeon and Her Daughters by Chris Gabo, a 21st-century Les Misérables set in the shadows of the American Dream produced by Heather Cohn ’03. The performance will be followed by a 20-minute Q&A with the cast and crew.
💵 A limited number of discounted seats are available to VCNY for $30 each. Discount not valid on Tier 1 pricing.
🎟️ Purchase tickets directly through the theater using the link and code on the registration page to receive the discounted price of $30.*
* If you have difficulty securing a discounted ticket, please contact Heather Cohn.
About the Show:
The Surgeon and Her Daughters is an epic and intimate play about family, grief, and how we stay afloat amidst seemingly insurmountable odds. Diving unflinchingly into the “melting pot” that is New York City, the play explores the slipperiness of truth and justice, the thorniness of honor and redemption, and the sensation of being a crab at the bottom of the barrel.
Run Time: 2 hours (with intermission), followed by 20-minute talkback
Heather Cohn ’03 (Executive Producer, Colt Coeur) is a producer, director, fundraiser, ensemble artist and activist. She has served as Executive Producer with Colt Coeur since 2023. She co-founded Flux Theatre Ensemble in 2006 and with Flux has produced over 30 full productions, including 18 world premieres, directing a third of them, and helped nurture and guide countless artists in the creation and development of new work. Prior to joining Colt Coeur, Heather served as the Executive Director for En Garde Arts, a site-specific Off-Broadway theatre, where she produced several large-scale site-specific projects. She has also worked with Epic Theatre Ensemble, New York Theatre Workshop, The Pearl Theatre, Theatre Communications Group, and Disney Theatrical. Heather has served on several not-for-profit boards including the League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW). She is a graduate of Vassar College, where she majored in Latin American Studies and spent time living in Cuba and Chile. And most importantly, she’s a proud mom to Mercena.
Adrienne Campbell-Holt (Director, Founding Artistic Director, Colt Coeur) is an award-winning NYC-based director and choreographer and the Founding Artistic Director of Colt Coeur. Recent: Satellites by Erin Breznitsky (Dorset Theatre Festival), World Premieres: Still (Sheen Center, Colt Coeur at DR2, NYC & Dorset Theatre Festival, VT), Finn by Chris Dimond, Michaek Kooman and Chris Nee, choreographed by Billy Bustamente (Kennedy Center, Helen Hayes nom.), Dodi & Diana by Kareem Fahmy (Colt Coeur at HERE), Afterwords, by Emily Kaczmarek, music & lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, choreographed by Ebony Williams (5th Avenue Theater, Heileman & Haver Award for Best New Musical), (NY premiere of) Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector (Colt Coeur), Other World by Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen & Ann McNamee, choreography by Karla Puno Garcia (Delaware Theatre Company, BroadwayWorld Award for Best New Musical), We Are Among Us by Stephen Belber (City Theater, Pittsburgh), Hatef**k, by Rehana Lew Mirza (WP/Colt Coeur), Joan by Stephen Belber (Colt Coeur), Downstairs by Theresa Rebeck starring Tyne and Tim Daly (Primary Stages), Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel (Colt Coeur), Seven Minutes in Heaven by Steven Levenson (Colt Coeur). Currently developing work with Jaclyn Backhaus & Jonatha Brooke (Tempus). Associate Director of Dear Evan Hansen (OBC). Lucille Lortel Visionary Director Award, “25 Women to Watch on Broadway.”
Accessibility: Theatre 154 is a wheelchair accessible venue. When you arrive at 154 Christopher Street you will use the elevator in the lobby to go down to the ground floor. Take a left out of the elevator and the theater will be on your left. There is a ramp from the theatre lobby to the audience seating. Rows A & AA are on the ground level of the theater. Rows B-F are on elevated risers that require the use of stairs.
If you have accessibility needs, please reach out to us at [email protected]
The 14th Annual Fall Fête: Devils and Angels
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Lotos Club, New York, NY
Step into a world where halos meet horns. Enjoy an evening of heavenly cocktails, devilishly good hors d’oeuvres, ethereal entertainment, and the kind of lively conversation only Vassar alums can conjure.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
7:00–10:00 p.m. ET
The Lotos Club
5 East 66th Street
(Btwn. 5th Ave. and Madison Ave.)
New York, NY 10065
Tickets include entry to the Fête, hors d’oeuvres, and open bar.
$50 Class of 2025
$75 Classes of 2021–2024
$100 General Admission
Please RSVP by Friday, November 14
If you have questions about ticket pricing and sponsorship, please reach out to [email protected].
Attire:
Festive attire. Celestial whites, fiery reds, and all-black attire are encouraged.
Accessibility:
The Lotos Club is wheelchair accessible. There are four small stairs to the front door. However, the venue is wheelchair accessible. A ramp is available upon request.
Event Sponsorship:
These special tickets allow us to create a more inclusive environment by offering discounted tickets to the newest members of our Vassar alum family—the classes of the last five years and, in particular, the class of 2025!
VCNY Legends Host | $5,000+
Main Gate Host | $5,000
Brewer Sponsor | $2,500
Miscellany Sponsor | $1,000
Vassar Devils & Angels Sponsor | $500
Poughkeepsie Patron | $250
Author Talk: Yona Zeldis McDonough ’79 discusses One of Them
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Join the Vassar Club of New York in-person and online at 6:30 p.m. ET, when we will welcome Yona Zeldis McDonough ’79 (nom de plume Kitty Zeldis) and discuss her latest book, One of Them. Lynn Janovsky ’86 will lead the discussion.
This will be a hybrid event, meeting in-person (wheelchair accessible) and via Zoom. The in-person event will take place at the Sony Office near Madison Square Park. Specific directions and/or Zoom information will be provided to those who register.
Space is limited for the in-person meeting. Register early and no later than October 22.
One of Them is a story of secrets, friendship and betrayal between two young women at Vassar in the years after World War II.
Anne Bishop seems like a typical Vassar sophomore—one of a popular group of privileged WASP friends. None of the girls in her circle has any idea that she’s Jewish, or that her real first name is Miriam. Pretending to be a Gentile has made life easier—as Anne, she no longer suffers the snubs, snide remarks, and daily restrictions Jews face. She enjoys her college life of teas, late-night conversations, and mixers. She turns a blind eye to the casual anti-Semitism that flourishes among her friends and classmates—after all, it’s no longer directed at her.
But her secret life is threatened when she becomes fascinated by a girl not in her crowd. Delia Goldhush is sophisticated, stylish, brilliant, and unashamedly Jewish—and seems not to care that she’s an outcast among the other students. Knowing that her growing closeness with Delia would be social suicide if it were discovered, Anne keeps their friendship quiet. Delia seems to understand—until a cruelty on Anne’s part drives them apart and sends them scattering to other corners of the world, alone and together.
Yona Kitty Zeldis McDonough ’79
Born in Chadera, Israel, Kitty Zeldis is the pseudonym for an award-winning author of nine novels and over forty books for children. Her essays, articles and short fiction have been published in many national and literary publications. She is also the Fiction Editor of Lilith Magazine. Zeldis lives in Brooklyn, NY. For more on Kitty Zeldis, visit her on Facebook and Instagram.
One of Them is available at your local bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and Amazon.