What would you see for the first time, all over again? The critics have already weighed in. The Times asked cultural figures, as well as readers, for their choices. Read about their first encounters with "The Rite of S[ring", dinner at Momofuku and ... cat videos.

Christopher Wheeldon, director and choreographer Standing alone in the Rothko Chapel in Houston when I was 22, I finally understood that abstract painting could be an emotional, even spiritual, experience. As the sun shifted in and out from behind the clouds over the deep blackened purples and grays of the paintings, a great sense of calm flooded my hyperactive 20-something mind. The colors seemed like portals to another realm.