Each fall, incoming students at NYU’s Shanghai, New York, and Abu Dhabi campuses are invited to attend the highly anticipated Reality Show. This year, the event was held on September 10–11 for the Class of 2029.

Each year, a cast and crew of upperclassmen come together to create this production, each a little different than the last. The show is a student-produced and student-written musical from beginning to end. It explores various themes, including identity, friendship, mental health, boundaries, and cultural adjustments. These experiences are universal, no matter your background, and are included in the performances every year.

The actors weave in academic, social, or general advice for students. Between scenes, they also highlight resources available to students and their locations on campus, such as the Center for Student Belonging on the sixth floor.

The show first debuted in 2006 at the New York campus and has since become an annual tradition across all three NYU campuses. After its founding in 2012, NYU Shanghai adopted the show into its orientation, with the Class of 2013 becoming the first to see it. Within their first week on a new campus, the freshmen are offered a glimpse into life at NYUSH, the college experience, and the challenges of living away from home.

The NYUSH Reality Show has undergone several changes in the past 12 years since its premiere.

The show took place in Shanghai Symphony Hall in 2015, with a cast made up entirely of Class of 2018 seniors.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the show moved once again, but this time onto computer screens. The once-hour-long performance was shortened to 34 minutes, and students from across the world adapted their roles to fit the constraints of quarantine and time zone differences. The result: an entirely virtual yet undeniably entertaining musical.

A year later, the Reality Show went virtual again, with an audience of students from both the Shanghai and New York campuses. While Typhoon Chanthu prevented Shanghai freshmen from watching the performance in person, New York students were able to come together in the Rosenthal Pavilion on campus.

The cast revived its in-person performance by 2023. The Reality Show finally returned to its original format for the first time in four years.

The NYUSH Reality Show is a heartwarming showcase that captures the emotional roller coaster that is the college experience. It illustrates how students, some of whom are just a DiDi ride from home and others who are thousands of miles away, are not alone. It is more than a show; it is a reflection of NYU Shanghai and the universality of their experiences. Since its NYC debut in 2006, the Reality Show has become a core tradition, a memory students will carry along their college journey.