Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking

Plastic Surgery in South Korea - YouTube Plastic Surgery in South Korea - YouTube Do we have friends who have had plastic surgery? Yup, lots. There is a lot to talk about but.	Top 10 U.S. Allies - YouTube Top 10 U.S. Allies - YouTube Geo-politics often changes like the weather, friends one day, rivals the next, and . blinded by.	BREAKING: North Korea Fires On South Korea War. BREAKING: North Korea Fires On South Korea War. North Korea fires on South Korea as South Korea fires back. Amen my friend.. I am.	United States sending THAAD Ballistic Missile. United States sending THAAD Ballistic Missile. Department of Defense South Korea Act of War Nuclear Weapons. Not a good way to make.
Howard Zinns Three Holy Wars - YouTube Howard Zinns Three Holy Wars - YouTube He also goes on to call modern South Korea a dictatorship and. stated that the real U.S. goal.	korea military song - jeon wu - YouTube korea military song - jeon wu - YouTube South Korea is democracy country and ally with USA What an ignorant.. Locuras4ever they.	Rand Paul Vs Sean Hannity On ISIS - YouTube Rand Paul Vs Sean Hannity On ISIS - YouTube Secular Talk. Friends Of SecularTalk:.. Kudos my friend... The reason im not a.	Lead up to WW3: CHINA VS JAPAN! Japan Signs. Lead up to WW3: CHINA VS JAPAN! Japan Signs. I did not bring up the topic today, but it is mutually understood.. And yet the Japanese say.
Japan Vs ISIS? - YouTube Japan Vs ISIS? - YouTube https://news.vice.com/article/inside-.. Friends Of SecularTalk:. We dont exactly talk.	GAY MEN KICKED OUT OF KOREAN CLUB - YouTube GAY MEN KICKED OUT OF KOREAN CLUB - YouTube DAILY VIDEOS http://youtube.com/hallyuback ZEN BAR IN KOREA. Im not saying Im.	Social media tackles racism in Japan #BBCtrending. Social media tackles racism in Japan #BBCtrending. Activists in Japan are using a novel way to tackle racism.. BBC News.. Im not Korean or.	Korea vs Japan - Eat Your Kimchi Korea vs Japan - Eat Your Kimchi We talk about the differences between Korea and Japan.. I do not even own a skirt, so my.
How Korean war might play out - YouTube How Korean war might play out - YouTube . Marks map out potential strategies if North Korea attacks South Korea.. it as buffer zone.	Hannity and Traficant Get into Shouting Match Over. Hannity and Traficant Get into Shouting Match Over. more at foxnews.com, September 29, 2009.. I dont hear any media talking heads running.	Watch Bill OReilly Slither Away From Megyn Kelly. Watch Bill OReilly Slither Away From Megyn Kelly. Fox News host Megyn Kelly laid out evidence supporting what a. We are not afraid to.	Donald Trump: Hit China and South Korea with a. Donald Trump: Hit China and South Korea with a. But I agree with what Trump said next: the FTA that Obama signed with those stupid. they.

I like this rough old boy a gelding with some barrels behind him I like this rough old boy a gelding with some barrels behind him Courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/people/49638038@N03/	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - AP News 6. Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - AP News 6. Police on escapees: We will	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking. Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking. South Koreas Foreign Minister	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - Yahoo News Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - Yahoo News South Koreaand#39;s Foreign
THE MADMAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE THE MADMAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE Courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/people/42107447@N00/	Neighbors but not friends: Japan, South Korea ministers meet ahead. Neighbors but not friends: Japan, South Korea ministers meet ahead. Japan, China, South Korea	Neighbors but not friends: Japan, South Korea ministers meet ahead. Neighbors but not friends: Japan, South Korea ministers meet ahead. Neighbors but not friends:	adeptpage|Boys basketball: Fairfax tournament begins on Monday adeptpage|Boys basketball: Fairfax tournament begins on Monday fox news
Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking. Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking. South Koreas Foreign Minister	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking | Fox News Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking | Fox News New book explores how ordinary	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking. Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking. South Koreas Foreign Minister	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - Omaha.com. Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - Omaha.com. Not friends yet: Japan,
hdr_branding.jpg hdr_branding.jpg Not friends yet, but Japan and	Neighbors but not friends: Japan, South Korea ministers meet ahead. Neighbors but not friends: Japan, South Korea ministers meet ahead. fuel South Korea-Japan	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - AP News 6. Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - AP News 6. from Japan and South Korea	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - AP News 6. Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - AP News 6. Chicago Tribune
Neighbors but not friends: Japan, South Korea ministers meet ahead. Neighbors but not friends: Japan, South Korea ministers meet ahead. South Korea, China and	Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - Omaha.com. Not friends yet, but Japan and South Korea are talking - Omaha.com. Not friends yet: Japan,

List of Countries with Universal Healthcare | True Cost.

There are yet other people who are not necessarily mentally retarded or physically disabled are willing to work but are not able to maintain a job (or a decent paying job that provides insurance) due to mental illness or family emergencies/obligations. I suppose that there are certainly people who.. Raise tarrifs to Japan, Germany, China, South Korea nad also level off the currency exchange rates a little to pay for it as well. We could also cut on the cuban embargo��.

10 Great Places to Teach English Overseas - Nomadic Matt

Korean culture is a little hard to break into but the food is delicious, the people friendly once you get to know them, and the country is filled with a lot of young expats. Korea hits all the right notes. Japan ��� Japans unique culture. China is the brave new world and theres nothing like it on Earth.. Famous for wine, beef, and beautiful women, Argentina lures native speakers looking to experience that fiery South American culture in a ���not as dangerous as Brazil��� way.

Hyped Korean chicken chain Bonchon arrives, disappoints

Style: The South Korean chain that stoked the worldwide craze for super-crunchy Korean fried chicken has landed in Philly to serious hype and early sell-out lines at a sleek bilevel bar wrapped in TVs blaring K-pop videos and a frenetic energy that.

Hannibal to Hobbits, Pinochet to Pinocchio

September THE PINOCHET CASE -- Gen. Augusto Pinochets arrest for rights abuses committed while he was the military ruler of Chile, and the effort to bring him to trial, are the subject of this documentary by Patricio Guzman, whose Battle of Chile was one of the most widely seen political films of the 1970s. Wednesday.. Guide to new movie season; photos (L)

Kerry off to China, SKorea with security, trade agenda

On Wednesday, South Koreas spy agency said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his defense chief executed with an anti-aircraft gun for complaining about the young ruler, talking back to him and sleeping during a meeting Kim presided over.

Hollywood Cowardice: George Clooney Explains Why Sony.

When asked why he was helping South Korea, he said it was because we are the Guardians of Peace.. We have a new paradigm, a new reality, and were going to have to come to real terms with it all the way down the line... I dont know what that is yet. We should be talking about that and not pointing fingers at people right now. Right now, its not just our community but a lot of communities. We need to figure out, what are we going to do now ��� when we know the��.

The Listings: June 17 -- June 23

Selective listings by critics of The New York Times of new and noteworthy cultural events in the Northeast this week. * denotes a highly recommended film, concert, show or exhibition. Theater Approximate running times are in parentheses. Full reviews of current shows, additional listings, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/theater. Previews and Openings BIG TIMES Opens tomorrow. Three bright-eyed women come to the big city to become stars in this tribute to vaudeville starring Mia Barron, Maggie Lacey and Danielle Skraastad (1:30). Walkerspace, 46 Walker Street, TriBeCa, (212)868-4444. HECUBA Preview today. Opens tomorrow. The ferocious Tony-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave roars as the former Queen of Troy in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Euripides tragedy (1:45). Brooklyn Academy of Musics Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Avenue, (718)636-4100. MY SWEETHEARTS THE MAN IN THE MOON Opens Sunday. Dont touch Harry K. Thaws wife. Stanford White learned that the hard way, and this play with music documents how the architect was murdered and the subsequent media circus (2:00). 14th Street Y, 344 East 14th Street, East Village, (212)868-4444. BIRDIE BLUE Opens Thursday. S. Epatha Merkerson stars as the title character in this memory play about a woman whose life changed tragically on the day that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed (1:30). Second Stage Theater, 307 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212)246-4422. SWIMMING IN THE SHALLOWS Previews start Tuesday. Opens June 28. Edward Albee covered man-goat love. Now Adam Bock looks into man-shark romance in his new nonrealistic comedy about young urban types (1:30). McGinn/Cazale Theater, 2162 Broadway, at 76th Street, fourth floor, (212)246-4422. TWELFTH NIGHT Previews start today. Opens June 25. The Aquila Theater presents Shakespeares comedy about mistaken identities, unrequited love and the threats of a puritanical zealot (2:15). Baruch Performing Arts Center, 25th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, (212)279-4200. Broadway AFTER THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC Though its opening odd-couple-on-a-dance-floor skit shows promising charm, this evening of three sketches from the first lady of neurotic comedy, Elaine May, mostly feels terminally torpid in the way that overworked and familiar material often does, even from comic geniuses. Daniel Sullivan directs an ensemble that notably features Jeannie Berlin (Ms. Mays daughter and onstage alter ego) and the invaluable J. Smith-Cameron. (2:00). Manhattan Theater Club, at the Biltmore Theater, 261 West 47th Street, (212)239-6200.(Ben Brantley) ALL SHOOK UP In a pint-size theater with a campy young cast, All Shook Up might be a moderate hoot. Inflated to Broadway proportions, its a mind-numbing holler (2:10). Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) BROOKLYN THE MUSICAL Try to imagine a sanitized Hair or a secular Godspell, with a helping of funky 70s disco, all filtered through the vocal pyrotechnics of American Idol (1:45). Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (Tony Award, Best Musical Revival 2005) Robert Goulet is now striding gallantly through this garish revival of the Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical. Although he is not too agile, Mr. Goulet brings a subdued professionalism to the role of Georges, the owner of a transvestite nightclub on the Riviera who is facing a rising soufflé of domestic conflict (2:30). Marquis, 1535 Broadway, between 45th and 46th Streets, (212)307-4100. (Charles Isherwood) CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG The playthings are the thing in this lavish windup music box of a show: windmills, Rube Goldberg-like machines and the shows title character, a flying car. Its like spending two and a half hours in the Times Square branch of Toys R Us (2.30). Hilton Theater, 213 West 42nd Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS On paper, this tale of two mismatched scam artists has an awful lot in common with The Producers. But if you are going to court comparison with giants, you had better be prepared to stand tall. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz, never straightens out of a slouch (2:35). Imperial, 249 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) * DOUBT, A PARABLE (Pulitzer Prize, Best Play 2005 and Tony Award, Best Play 2005) Set in the Bronx in 1964, this play by John Patrick Shanley is structured as a clash of wills and generations between Sister Aloysius (Cherry Jones), the head of a parochial school, and Father Flynn (Brian F. OByrne), the young priest who may or may not be too fond of the boys in his charge. The plays elements bring to mind those tidy topical melodramas that were once so popular. But Mr. Shanley makes subversive use of musty conventions (1:30). Walter Kerr, 219 West 48th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) FIDDLER ON THE ROOF From the moment it sounds its first word in this placid revival, the voice of Harvey Fierstein (who has replaced Alfred Molina in the central role of Tevye) makes the audience prick up its ears. Whether that voice fits comfortably into the Russian village of Anatevka is another issue. But at least it brings a bit of zest to this abidingly bland production (2:55). Minskoff, 200 West 45th Street, (212)307-4100.(Brantley) THE GLASS MENAGERIE This revival suggests that to recollect the past is to see life as if it had occurred underwater, in some viscous sea. Folks drown in this treacherous element. Unfortunately, that includes the shows luminous but misdirected and miscast stars, Jessica Lange and Christian Slater (2:30). Barrymore, 243 West 47th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) JACKIE MASON: FRESHLY SQUEEZED Jackie Mason has so cunningly manufactured and marketed his dyspeptic comic persona -- the herky-jerky movements used to embellish the routines, the voice thats like a sinus infection with a bad back -- that he may soon be able to refine all actual jokes out of his act, and still slay em. Thats chutzpah. And quite a talent, too (2:05). Hayes, 240 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Love is a many-flavored thing, from sugary to sour, in Adam Guettel and Craig Lucass encouragingly ambitious and discouragingly unfulfilled new musical. The show soars only in the sweetly bitter songs performed by the wonderful Victoria Clark, as an American abroad (2:15). Beaumont, Lincoln Center, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) * MARK TWAIN TONIGHT! In a role he has been playing over half a century, Hal Holbrook delivers a performance that is perhaps most remarkable for the energy it derives from a studied languor. Mr. Holbrooks Twain is an exhilarating master of theatrical passive aggression, while Twains observations about corrupt journalists, politicians and religious fanatics remain soberingly relevant (2:30). Brooks Atkinson Theater, 256 West 47th Street (212)307-4100.(Brantley) * ON GOLDEN POND Placing a powerhouse like James Earl Jones in Ernest Thompsons teary, sentimental comedy about an elderly couples summer of healing suggests a German shepherd in a poodle-sized dog house. Yet rather than make his surroundings feel small and artificial in this surprisingly fresh revival, Mr. Joness natural grandeur forces the play to find room for his sweeping emotional breadth (2:15). Cort, 138 West 48th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) * THE PILLOWMAN For all its darkness of plot and imagery, Martin McDonaghs tale of a suspected child murderer in a totalitarian state dazzles with a brightness now largely absent from Broadway. Exquisitely directed and designed, The Pillowman features top-of-the-line performances from Billy Crudup, Jeff Goldblum, Zeljko Ivanek and Michael Stuhlbarg (2:40). Booth, 222 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) SPAMALOT (Tony Award, Best Musical 2005) This staged re-creation of the mock-medieval movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail is basically a singing scrapbook for Python fans. Still, it seems safe to say that such a good time is being had by so many people that this fitful, eager celebration of inanity and irreverence will find a large and lucrative audience (2:20). Shubert, 225 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) STEEL MAGNOLIAS Despite an ensemble featuring high-profile veterans of stage, film and television, sitting through this portrait of friendship among Southern women, set in a beauty parlor in small-town Louisiana, is like watching nail polish dry (2:20). Lyceum, 149 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE The capricious gods of casting have not been kind to Tennessee Williams of late. This staging, starring an erratic Natasha Richardson as Blanche, is not the hazy mess that the current Glass Menagerie is. But it, too, suffers from fundamental mismatches of parts, especially John C. Reillys sexually unmagnetic Stanley (2:45). Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, (212)719-1300. (Brantley) SWEET CHARITY This revival of the 1966 musical, directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, never achieves more than a low-grade fever when whats wanted is that old steam heat. In the title role of the hopeful dance-hall hostess, the appealing but underequipped Christina Applegate is less a shopworn angel than a merry cherub (2:30). Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) * THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE The happy news for this happy-making little musical is that the move to larger quarters has dissipated none of its quirky charm. William Finns score sounds plumper and more rewarding than it did Off Broadway, providing a sprinkling of sugar to complement the sass in Rachel Sheinkins zinger-filled book. The performances are flawless. Gold stars all around. (1:45). Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) * WHOS AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Everybody ultimately loses in Edward Albees great marital wrestling match of a play from 1962. But theatergoers who attend this revealingly acted new production, starring a superb Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin, are destined to leave the Longacre feeling like winners (2:50). Longacre Theater, 220 West 48th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) Off Broadway * ALTAR BOYZ This sweetly satirical show about a Christian pop group made up of five potential Teen People cover boys is an enjoyable, silly diversion (1:30). Dodger Stages Stage 4, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) BEAST ON THE MOON Richard Kalinoskis musty romantic drama depicts the fractious marriage of two survivors of the mass killings of Armenians during World War I. Larry Mosss production is respectable and effective, but the performances by Omar Metwally and Lena Georgas are exhaustingly busy (2:00). Century Center for the Performing Arts, 111 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) FASTER Two sides of a love triangle snap under the pressure of our speeded-up culture in Faster by Londons Filter Theater, part of the Brits Off Broadway festival. Based on James Gleicks book of the same name, the play is elegiac but also an exuberant demonstration of the electrifying acceleration of modern life (1:15). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan, (212)279-4200.(Miriam Horn) * HURLYBURLY If you are going to inhabit a wasteland, you might as well be thoroughly wasted. That seems to be the first rule of survival for the characters who have been brought so vibrantly and unforgivingly to life in this smashing revival of David Rabes 1984 play. But thanks to a terrific cast, theatergoers are likely to experience a heady buzz of excitement and clarity, which any of the desperate characters onstage would kill for (3:15). 37 Arts, 450 West 37th Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) LAZER VAUDEVILLE If this isnt an ancient showbiz rule, it ought to be: things will look a lot more impressive if they are done in the dark with a heavy dose of fluorescence. That seems to be the guiding principle behind this hodgepodge of juggling, rope twirling and such, delivered wordlessly by the cast (1:30). Lambs Theater, 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Neil Genzlinger) MANUSCRIPT Three talented, attractive young actors and some skillfully shaggy dialogue are the only reasons to see Paul Grellongs inconsequential play, a revenge tale centering on the theft of an unpublished manuscript expected to be of great literary merit. Implausibility is a big problem: there are plot holes here you could easily drive a hardback copy of Infinite Jest through (1:30). Daryl Roth Theater, 101 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS! The musical is the happy narcissist of theater; parody is the best form of narcissism. All it needs are smart writers and winning performers. Thats what we get in this case (1:30). Dodger Stages, Stage 5, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. (Margo Jefferson) * ORSONS SHADOW Austin Pendletons play, about a 1960 production of Ionescos Rhinoceros directed by Orson Welles and starring Laurence Olivier, is a sharp-witted but tenderhearted backstage comedy about the thin skins, inflamed nerves and rampaging egos that are the customary side effects when sensitivity meets success (2:00). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, Greenwich Village, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) THE PARIS LETTER Jon Robin Baitzs ambitious but schematic play is a morality tale about a misspent life and the dangers of sexual repression. Cleanly directed by Doug Hughes, it features a pair of excellent performances by the superb actors John Glover and Ron Rifkin. But Mr. Baitz gets himself trapped in the mechanical working of an overcomplicated plot (2:00). Roundabout Theater Company, at the Laura Pels Theater, 111 West 46th Street, Manhattan, (212)719-1300. (Isherwood) RAIN Wild, witty, wet and altogether winning. Those words sum up Rain, the new Cirque Éloize show that is ending the season at the New Victory Theater with a figurative and literal splash. This Quebec-based troupe, which opened the New Victory in December 1995, combines high circus arts and ingratiating self-mockery with nostalgic costumes, eclectic music and song, evocative lighting and creative choreography in two hours of fun calculated to please children and adults alike (2:00). New Victory Theater, 209 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Lawrence Van Gelder) SENECAS OEDIPUS In the new production of Senecas Oedipus by the Theater by the Blind, the iconic story of the king of Thebes who unknowingly murders his father and marries his mother is performed in modern dress. The poet Ted Hughess masterly 1968 adaptation is vividly alive, contemporary and shocking (1:30). Mint Space, 311 West 43rd Street, (212)868-4444. (Honor Moore) SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER This comedy, written more than two centuries ago by Oliver Goldsmith, doesnt have much to say today, and Charlotte Moore, the director of the Irish Repertory Theaters production, wisely doesnt try to pretend otherwise. Instead she lets the actors play with the audience, a restrained glee that is hard to peg at first but ultimately pays off with some great laughs. Goldsmiths 1773 comedy mocks the snobbery of the London upper class, while piling on the slapstick, mistaken identities and farce (2:30). Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212)727-2737. (Genzlinger) SLAVAS SNOWSHOW Clowns chosen by the Russian master Slava Polunin are stirring up laughter and enjoyment. A show that touches the heart as well as tickles the funny bone (1:30). Union Square, 100 East 17th Street, Flatiron district, (212)307-4100. (Van Gelder) TERRORISM Every element of everyday existence participates in the title activity of this smart, snarling shaggy dog of a play by the Siberian-born Presnyakov brothers. But while Will Frearss production makes its thematic points clearly, it is still searching for a style that convincingly blends Slavic urgency and ennui (1:20). The Clurman Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212)279-4200. (Brantley) * THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) Is there such a thing as stand-up existentialism? If not, Will Eno has just invented it. Stand-up-style comic riffs and deadpan hipster banter keep interrupting the corrosively bleak narrative. Mr. Eno is a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation (1:10). DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD & LOEB STORY The story is familiar, and the script and lyrics are not especially innovative, but somehow Stephen Dolginoffs pocket musical about the Leopold and Loeb murder case lands like a well-placed punch. Every time Doug Kreeger, as Loeb, and Matt Bauer, as Leopold, blend their voices in close harmony, its a reminder that evil often looks and sounds beautiful (1:20). York Theater Company, at St. Peters Lutheran Church, Lexington Avenue, at 54th Street, (212)868-4444. (Genzlinger) TROLLS Dick DeBenedictis and Bill Dyers semi-terrific musical is about gay men who arent as young as they used to be. With a glorious opening, likable characters and affecting but derivative music, the show is worth seeing but needs some work (1:35). Actors Playhouse, 100 Seventh Avenue South, at Fourth Street, Greenwich Village, (212)239-6200.(Anita Gates) Off Off Broadway DISCONNECT Plant four witty, intellectually stimulating people around a dinner table and you might have an engaging play. Plant four uninsightful, insipid people around a dinner table and you have Disconnect, a new work by Rob Ackerman that lets some self-absorbed 30-somethings whine for two hours about lost friends and parental beatings of long ago (1:45). The Working Theater, at the East 13th Street Theater, 136 East 13th Street, East Village, (212)279-4200.(Genzlinger) * DISPOSABLE MEN James Scruggs, who wrote and performed this collection of character pieces, engages issues of race in the button-pushing satirical style that Spike Lee was aiming for (yet failed to pull off) in his film Bamboozled. This multimedia show compares the way African-American men are portrayed in the media to images of monsters in classic horror films like Frankenstein and King Kong (1:10). Here Arts Center, 145 Avenue of the Americas, one block below Spring Street, (212)868-4444.(Jason Zinoman) FLAT This happily crass send-up of a BBC family drama is perfectly pitched for fans nostalgic for the self-parodying vulgarity of the sit-com Married With Children. Twelve episodes, quick scenes, stock characters and an opening montage sequence with a jingle that will lodge itself in your cranium, like it or not (1:00). Part of the Moral Values Festival. Brick Theater, 575 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (212)868-4444. (Zinoman) KICKER What happens when a star journalist mistakes a seven-hour interview with a celebrity novelist for the beginning of a beautiful friendship? This premise is better than this would-be comedy, which doesnt manage to make its characters or situations credible enough to answer its own question. Best: the send-up of the Hollywood star spewing out the same old quotes -- and, true to the title, the last line. Connelly Theater, 220 East 4th Street, (212)868-4444. (Anne Midgette) LITTLE MARY William S. Leavengoods parable about faith, politics and conservatism in the Roman Catholic Church can sound more like a position paper than a play, but the authors strong storytelling instincts cant be denied (2:10). Sanford Meisner Theater, 164 11th Avenue, at 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212)352-3101.(Andrea Stevens) SCREEN PLAY A.R. Gurneys gleefully partisan retooling of the film Casablanca sets one tough saloon owners battle between idealism and cynicism in Buffalo in the 21st century. Staged by Jim Simpson as a deftly orchestrated reading, Screen Play turns out to be more than a quick collegiate caper; its a morally indignant work that fights frivolity with frivolity (1:10). Flea Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, (212)352-3101. (Brantley) TRAILERVILLE Here in the age of baby-boomer angst about unwell parents, stages and bookshelves and movie-of-the-week schedules are full of old people and those who care for them, which means that the those who would visit the subject today need to make sure theyre bringing some fresh insights. John Dufresne, a novelist trying full-length drama, doesnt in Trailerville, an unruly play with a respectable supply of nicely turned phrases but nothing new to add to the growing eldercare genre (2:15). Blue Heron Arts Center, 123 East 24th Street, (212)868-4444, (Genzlinger) Long-Running Shows AVENUE Q R-rated puppets give lively life lessons (2:10). Golden, 252 West 45th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200.(Brantley) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Cartoon made flesh -- sort of (2:30). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4747. (Brantley) BLUE MAN GROUP Conceptual art as family entertainment (1:45). Astor Place Theater, 434 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212)254-4370. (Brantley) CHICAGO Irrefutable proof that crime pays (2:25). Ambassador, 219 West 49th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200.(Brantley) HAIRSPRAY Fizzy pop, cute kids, large man in a housedress (2:30). Neil Simon Theater, 250 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) THE LION KING Disney on safari, where the big bucks roam (2:45). New Amsterdam Theater, 214 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) MAMMA MIA! The jukebox that devoured Broadway (2:20). Cadillac Winter Garden Theater, 1634 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) MOVIN OUT The miracle dance musical that makes Billy Joel cool (2:00). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100.(Brantley) NAKED BOYS SINGING Thats who they are. Thats what they do (1:05). Julia Miles Theater, 414 West 55th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. (Gates) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Who was that masked man, anyway? (2:30). Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) THE PRODUCERS The ne plus ultra of showbiz scams (2:45). St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) RENT East Village angst and love songs to die for (2:45). Nederlander Theater, 208 West 41st Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) STOMP And the beat goes on (and on), with percussion unlimited (1:30). Orpheum Theater, Second Avenue at Eighth Street, East Village, (212)477-2477. (Brantley) WICKED Oz revisited, with political corrections (2:45). Gershwin, 222 West 51st Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100.(Brantley) Last Chance THE ARGUMENT Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, co-author of the post-9/11 play Omnium Gatherum, aims to personalize another hot-button issue here, but its not likely that any serious thought, old or new, is going to be provoked by this whiny debate between two uninteresting types about the ever-sensitive topic of abortion. He wants the baby; she doesnt. It is hard to care (1:30). The Vineyard Theater, 108 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)353-0303, closing on Sunday. (Isherwood) MARATHON 2005, SERIES B The second installment in this annual festival of short plays, which includes lively sketches by David Mamet and David Lindsay-Abaire, allows theatergoers the pleasure of hearing famous voices practicing scales, as it were, and of discovering that no matter what key theyre singing in, they still sound like themselves (1:45). Ensemble Studio Theater, 549 West 52nd Street, Clinton, (212)352-3101, closing on Sunday. (Brantley) MISS JULIE Anders Cato directs a new adaptation by Craig Lucas. Marin Hinkle, as Miss Julie, and Reg Rogers, as her fathers uppity valet, Jean, spar and flirt, humiliate each other and humble themselves as expected, in the traditional kitchen, with the designated disastrous results. Chances are you wont believe a word of it (1:35). Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, Greenwich Village, (212)868-4444, closing on Sunday. (Isherwood) RICHARD AND ANNE That idiot Shakespeare had it all wrong, according to Richard and Anne, an unknown script by Maxwell Anderson that is being energetically brought to light by the young actors of Mirror Repertorys training program. Tired of being maligned in productions of Richard III, the real Richard, no hunched back evident, comes back from the grave to set things straight (2:15). Arclight Theater, 152 West 71st Street, Manhattan, (212)868-4444, closing on Sunday. (Genzlinger) SONGS FROM AN UNMADE BED Slight but pithy, this humorous revue of 18 songs with lyrics by Mark Campbell and music by 18 different composers takes a sardonic and explicit look at gay life in New York: Sex with an actor. What was I thinking? (1:10). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212)239-6200, closing on Sunday. ( Midgette) WORK: A MADCAP TRAGI-PARODY OF CORPORATE AMERICA Unless youve been living in a cave, Charlotte Meehans play Work: A Madcap Tragi-Parody of Corporate America should sound familiar, starting with its title. But when real life tops fiction, whats left to say? Not much, in this case. And thats the problem (1:30). Flea Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, (212)226-2407, closing on Thursday. (Stevens) Movies Ratings and running times are in parentheses; foreign films have English subtitles. Full reviews of all current releases, movie trailers, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/movies. THE ADVENTURES OF SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL IN 3-D (PG, 94 minutes) Theres a reason that children arent allowed to vote, drive, or make movies with multimillion-dollar budgets. Lively and imaginative as their inner worlds may be, the very young still lack the discipline and maturity to shape their dreamworlds into coherent and compelling stories -- a task the director Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Sin City) also fails to accomplish in this muddled quest narrative based on characters and themes created by his 7-year-old son, Racer Max.(Dana Stevens) * BATMAN BEGINS (PG-13, 137 minutes) Conceived in the shadow of American pop rather than in its bright light, this tense, effective iteration of Bob Kanes original comic book owes its power and pleasures to a director (Christopher Nolan) who takes his material seriously and to a star (a terrific Christian Bale) who shoulders that seriousness with ease. Batman Begins is the seventh live-action film to take on the comic-book legend and the first to usher it into the kingdom of movie myth. (Manohla Dargis) THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY (PG, 120 minutes) The best efforts of the blue-ribbon cast cannot save this hopelessly stuffy, muddled screen adaptation of Thornton Wilders Pulitzer Prize-winning novel set in Peru in the early 18th century. (Stephen Holden) * CATERINA IN THE BIG CITY (No rating, 106 minutes, in Italian) In this contemporary political allegory from Italy, a disgruntled teacher and his family move from the country to Rome, where his 12-year-old daughter finds herself the object of a furious tug of war between two cliques, one left-wing and bohemian, the other right-wing and materialist. Bold, richly textured, and entertaining.(Holden) CINDERELLA MAN (PG-13, 144 minutes) The best part of Ron Howards ingratiating, Depression-era weepie about the boxing underdog-turned-topdog James J. Braddock are, unsurprisingly, Russell Crowe and Paul Giamatti, two actors who could steal a movie from a basket of mewling kittens and an army of rosy-cheeked orphans. Renée Zellweger also stars. (Dargis) CRASH (R, 107 minutes) A gaggle of Los Angeles residents from various economic and ethnic backgrounds collide, sometimes literally, in the course of a hectic 36-hour period. Well-intentioned, impressively acted, but ultimately a speechy, ponderous melodrama of liberal superstition masquerading as realism.(A.O. Scott) * ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM (Not rated, 110 minutes) This sober, informative chronicle of the biggest business scandal of the decade is almost indecently entertaining, partly because it offers some of the most satisfying movie villains in quite some time. Recommended for everyone except those likely to be in the Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling jury pools. (Scott) 5x2 (R, 90 minutes, in French) A couples relationship unravels backward, from divorce through the birth of their child to their first meeting. Interesting but chilly. (Scott) * THE HOLY GIRL (Not rated, 106 minutes; in Spanish) The Argentine director Lucrecia Martels second feature is an oblique, feverish exploration of religious ecstasy and adolescent sexuality. Hard to classify, other than as a miraculous piece of filmmaking. (Scott) THE HONEYMOONERS (PG-13, 90 minutes) Not the greatest, baby, but not as bad as it might have been. (Scott) * HOWLS MOVING CASTLE (PG, 118 minutes) The latest animated enchantment from Hayao Miyazaki. Lovely to look at, full of heart and mystery. ( Scott) THE INTERPRETER (PG-13, 123 minutes) A political thriller, both apolitical and unthrilling, notable for two accomplishments: turning the United Nations into a movie set and, even more remarkably, giving Nicole Kidman the opportunity to embody the suffering of Africans everywhere. (Scott) * KINGS AND QUEEN (No rating, 150 minutes, in French) A film about a hapless man and a woman who is alternately, perhaps even simultaneously, a mistress, monster, mother, murderer, object of lust and subject of loathing, this latest work from the wildly talented French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin is essential viewing. (Dargis) LADIES IN LAVENDER (PG-13, 104 minutes) Two dames of the British empire (Judi Dench and Maggie Smith) inhabit spinster sisters in Cornwall who nurse a handsome Polish violinist back to health in 1936. Amiably bogus. (Holden) LAYER CAKE (R, 104 minutes) Directed by Matthew Vaughn, making a smoothly assured debut, and written by J.J. Connolly, this is the newest in British gangland entertainment and the tastiest in years. The star of this show is the very good British actor Daniel Craig, who slices through Layer Cake like a knife. (Dargis) THE LONGEST YARD (PG-13, 97 minutes) In this crummy remake of the 1974 film of the same title, Adam Sandler stars as the former N.F.L. quarterback Paul Crewe, who years earlier was booted out of the league for shaving points and is now charged with leading a team of prisoners against a team of guards. In the original film, directed with seriocomic facility by Robert Aldrich, Crewe was played by Burt Reynolds with effortless charm and the tightest pants this side of Tony Orlando. The Aldrich version was recently released on DVD and makes for a nice evening in. (Dargis) LORDS OF DOGTOWN (PG-13, 105 minutes) Southern California skateboarders in the 1970s, when a hobby became a full-blown (and lucrative) subculture. Scruffy, loose and reckless, in the spirit of its time and place. (Scott) MADAGASCAR (PG, 86 minutes) Like many computer-animated features, this one, about four celebrity-voiced animals exiled from the Central Park Zoo -- expends most of its imaginative resources on clever visuals. These, in the end, are not enough to compensate for the lack of interesting narrative, real characters or jokes on subjects other than flatulence, excrement and contemporary pop culture. (Scott) MAD HOT BALLROOM (PG, 105 minutes) This documentary follows fifth graders from three very different New York City public schools as they prepare to compete in a ballroom dancing tournament. The sight of 10-year-olds trying to master the graceful, grown-up motions of the fox trot and the tango is charming, and the glimpses of their lives in and outside of school are fascinating, though unfortunately the film offers not much more than glimpses. (Scott) MR. AND MRS. SMITH (PG-13, 112 minutes) What counts in a movie like this are stars so dazzling that we wont really notice or at least mind the cut-rate writing (from Simon Kinberg) and occasionally incoherent action (from the director Doug Liman). Sometimes Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie succeed in their mutual role as sucker bait, sometimes they dont, which is why their new joint venture is alternately a goof and a drag. (Dargis) MONSTER-IN-LAW (PG-13, 102 minutes) Jane Fonda finds a zany, good-natured verve in a dragon-lady caricature that mirrors a comedy so desperate to avoid offending that it runs in panic from every issue it brings up but refuses to address. (Holden) * MYSTERIOUS SKIN (Not rated, 99 minutes) Gregg Araki, one-time bad boy of the New Queer Cinema, has made a heartbreaking and surpassingly beautiful film out of Scott Heims clear-eyed novel about two Kansas boys dealing with the consequences of their sexual abuse by a Little League coach. Superb performances, especially by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. (Scott) THE NINTH DAY (No rating, 90 minutes, in German) A somber, thought-provoking moral thriller, in which a Roman Catholic priest from Luxembourg, temporarily released from Dachau, finds his conscience tested when the Nazis try to co-opt him. Interesting ideas, insufficiently dramatized. (Scott) THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS (PG, 119 minutes) On a shopping trip, four teenage girls find a pair of thrift-store jeans that mysteriously flatters all four of them, despite their differing shapes and sizes. Deciding the jeans must be magic, they make a pact to share them for the summer, wearing them for a week apiece and then mailing them to the next friend. Like the four girls at its center, this fresh-scrubbed, eager-to-please film makes up in charm for what it lacks in sophistication. (Stevens) * STAR WARS: EPISODE III -- REVENGE OF THE SITH (PG-13, 142 minutes) George Lucas saved the best -- or at least one of the best -- for the end. Or for the middle. In any case, the saga is now complete, and has regained much of its original glory. (Scott) WILD SAFARI 3-D: A SOUTH AFRICAN ADVENTURE (Not rated, 45 minutes) A choppy tour of South African flora and fauna. Youngsters will love the romping lion cubs and elephant calves, while adults will be grateful for this travelogues vibrancy and brevity.(Ned Martel) Film Series JAMES DEAN (Through Thursday) Film Forums two-week festival, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Deans death, continues with his second film, Nicholas Rays sympathetic juvenile delinquent drama Rebel Without a Cause (1955), tonight through Tuesday. George Stevenss Giant (1956), in which Dean plays the rags-to-riches Texas oilman Jett Rink, will play next Wednesday and Thursday. 209 West Houston Street, South Village, (212)727-8110, $10. (Anita Gates) DRIVE-IN MOVIES AT THE ROCK (tomorrow) Smart Cars in the Channel Garden and a giant screen in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza have temporarily turned the site into a drive-in theater. The final film in this series is Michael Showalters pre-wedding romantic comedy The Baxter. (212)632-3975, free. (Gates) HANNA SCHYGULLA (Through June 30) The Museum of Modern Art presents an 11-film retrospective of the work of Ms. Schygulla, the multiple-award-winning German actress. This weekends offerings include The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), one of 18 films she made with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, tonight; Godards Passion (1981) and Ettore Scolas Nuit de Varennes (1983), tomorrow night; and Fassbinders Lili Marleen (1981), set during the Third Reich, on Sunday. 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan, (212)708-9400, $10; $8, 65+; $6, students. (Gates) HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Through Thursday) The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents 26 films and videos, most of them New York premieres, from 20 countries. Offerings include The Liberace of Iraq; Compadre, from Peru; The Education of Shelby Knox, about a young woman from Texas; No More Tears Sister: An Anatomy of Hope and Betrayal, a documentary about Sri Lanka; and Omagh, about events in Northern Ireland. Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, (212)875-5600, $10. (Gates) MOMA INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF FILM PRESERVATION (Through Monday) The Museum of Modern Arts series concludes with Ingmar Bergmans Farodokument (1969) and Farodokument 1979, tonight; Leonid Trauberg and Grigori Kozintsevs silent about the Paris Commune, Novyi Vavilon (1929), on Saturday; Ralph Thomass Deadlier Than the Male (1966); and Federico Fellinis hometown reminiscence, Amarcord (1973), on Sunday and Monday. 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan. (212)708-9400, $10. (Gates) NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (Through July 2) Subway Cinema presents 31 mainstream Asian films, including Kekexili (2004), from China, about the pashmina trade; One Night in Mongkok (2004), from Hong Kong; Green Chair (2003), from Korea; My Brother Nikhil (2005), from India, a Bollywood drama about AIDS; and the self-explanatory Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), from Japan. Anthology Film Archives (through June 26), 32 Second Avenue, at Second Street, (212)505-5181. ImaginAsian Theater (June 24-July 2), 239 East 59th Street, (212) 371-6682; (212)868-4444, $9.50. (Gates) NICHOLAS RAY TRIBUTE (Through tomorrow) The Two Boots Pioneer Theaters Ray festival ends tomorrow with Hot Blood (1956), a musical melodrama starring Jane Russell. 155 East Third Street, East Village, (212) 591-0434, $9. (Gates) VILLAGE VOICE BEST OF 2004 (Through June 29) BAMcinématek continues this festival of critics selections with The World (2004), Zhang Ke Jias first government-sanctioned film, tonight; a double feature of Richard Linklaters scenic romances Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004), tomorrow; and Ken Jacobss Star Spangled to Death (2004) on Sunday. BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Fort Greene, (718) 777-FILM or (718)636-4100, $10. (Gates) Pop Full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music. BAD PLUS (Tonight) This piano-driven power trios adventurous spirit straddles the boundaries of jazz and rock, and their exuberant forays are way more fun than their sketchy decision to cover Nirvanas Smells Like Teen Spirit would suggest. The players, native Midwesterners all, throw themselves into live shows with prairie-fire earnestness. 7:30 p.m., Prospect Park Bandshell, Ninth Street & Prospect Park West, Park Slope, Brooklyn, free. (Laura Sinagra) BETTIE SERVEERT (Tomorrow) In the mid-90s, these Dutch bohemians combination of bright, twisty guitar work and the breathy yet plucky voice of Carol Van Dyk became a college-rock mainstay. They remain resolutely quirky, continuing to deliver honest grownup pop dispatches. 8:30 p.m., Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212)219-3006, $15, $17 at the door. (Sinagra) BILAL (Thursday) Bilal has huge ambitions, spanning jazz and soul, funk and gospel, hip-hop and pop. Even when his material doesnt live up to those ambitions, he has musicality to spare. 8 p.m., S.O.B.s (Sounds of Brazil), 204 Varick Street, at Houston, South Village, (212)243-4940, $22, $25 at the door.(Jon Pareles) BOYZ II MEN (Tuesday) The smooth, if extravagantly produced, harmonies of this R&B quartet made the breakup anthem End of the Road and their duet with Mariah Carey, the epic after-death apology One Sweet Day blockbuster radio singles in the mid-90s. Recently, they have been sticking to greatest hits and cover projects. 8 p.m., Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street, Harlem, (212) 531-5305, $39 to $49. (Sinagra) BRAVE COMBO (Thursday) Can every rock and pop style be reduced -- or elevated -- to the fast bounce of a polka? Brave Combo has been making polka hybrids since 1979. 10 p.m. Satalla, 37 West 26th Street (212)576-1155, $15, $18 at the door. (Pareles) JOHN BUTLER TRIO, WOOD BROTHERS (Tuesday) John Butler is an Australian guitarist who, like Ben Harper, turns thoughtful songs into guitar and slide-guitar excursions. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111, $16, $18 at the door (sold out). (Pareles) LAURA CANTRELL (Tuesday) With her old-timey country radio show on WFMU and real Southern roots, the guitarist and songwriter Laura Cantrell has a deep alt-country résum. She writes clever ditties about the urban romantic experience. 7 p.m., Virgin Megastore, Union Square, 52 East 14th Street, (212)598-4666, free. (Sinagra) VANESSA CARLTON (Tuesday) The Wayans brothers White Chicks poked fun at the pianist and songwriter Vanessa Carltons daintily petulant 2002 hit A Thousand Miles, while acknowledging that its a truly infectious sinagalong. Her recent efforts reveal charming lyrics, though the her piano playing is still rather fussy. 9:30 p.m., Joes Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212)539-8770, $20. (Sinagra) * DERRICK CARTER (Sunday) Count on Mr. Carter to spin an exciting, unpredictable set. He loves to enliven his thwacking house beats with squiggles and squelches, and he gravitates toward robotic bass lines, disembodied voices and scrambled snippets of disco and jazz. With Miss Honey Dijon. 10 p.m., Cielo, 18 Little West 12th Street, near Greenwich Street, the Meatpacking District, (212)645-5700, $15. (Kelefa Sanneh) CJ CHENIER (Sunday) This son of Clifton Chenier, who was the undisputed king of zydeco, picked up his fathers accordion and his Red Hot Louisiana Band in the 1980s, carrying on the family tradition of bayou dance music laced with blues. 6:30 p.m., Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, (212)576-1155, $22. (Pareles) THE COMAS (Tomorrow) Like a lot of indie rock bands, the Comas seem tentative about really trying. But when they do, as on the best cuts from last years dreamy Conductor (Yep Roc), their portrayals of wage slavery and lolling slacker lust exude an intriguing passive-aggression. 10 p.m., Rothko, 116 Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, rothkonyc.com, $10. (Sinagra) COMETS ON FIRE (Thursday) As epic as the Grateful Dead in its late 60s ballroom era and as noisy as its distant forebears Sonic Youth, this band conjures dark granduer with guitars and organ creating a swirl of heedless squall. 9 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111, $14, $16 at the door. (Sinagra) ELYSIAN FIELDS (Tomorrow) With Jennifer Charless smoky voice and Oren Bloedows electric guitar, Elysian Fields conjure a haunted, late-night atmosphere in songs full of love and trouble. 9:30 p.m. Joes Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 539-8778 or (212) 239-6200, $15. (Pareles) FREE BLOOD (Tomorrow) This trio, a side-project of the dance-punk band called !!!, is the headliner at this concert devoted to discordant (and sometimes danceable) post-punk. The charming venue (long may it last) sells sweet confections, used records and beer, in three rooms on two levels. 9 p.m., Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow Street, near Stanton Street, Lower East Side, (212)253-0036, $6.(Sanneh) ROBERT FRIPP (Thursday) The King Crimson guitarist and master of the spacey, droning combination of tape loops called Frippertronics performs selections from his ongoing Soundscapes project in this newly renovated space. 8 p.m., Concert Hall at the Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street, Manhattan, 212874-5210 and 212712-7171, $37.50. (Sinagra) DAVID GRUBBS (Tonight) The good parts of progressive rock -- its willingness to embrace complexity and eccentricity, its determination to avoid formulas -- have meant a lot to David Grubbs. He has been central to Gastr del Sol and Bastro, two bands known for heartfelt, wayward songs and excursions to the edges of rock. 8 p.m., the Project Room, 400 Carroll Street, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, $10. (Pareles) LALAH HATHAWAY (Thursday) The daughter of the songwriter Donny Hathaway made a loving rhythm-and-blues album in 1990 and has since turned up as a jazz singer. This is a chance to hear what shes been up to lately. She plays this outdoor concert as part of BAMs R&B Festival. 12 p.m., MetroTech Commons Plaza, Flatbush Avenue and Myrtle Street, downtown Brooklyn, free. (Pareles) MICHAEL HURLEY, THE PLACES (Sunday) Mr. Hurley is one of the most fertile-minded of all the unreconstructed folkies. Though hes had his ups and downs, the humor and grooves of his detailed, offhandedly existential songs about talking porkchops and growing pot deserve a place in the American songbook. The Places are led by a Portland Americana artist, Amy Annelle. 8 p.m., Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, Lower East Side, (212)358-7503, $10. (Sinagra) IRON & WINE (Tonight) The modern rustic Sam Beam takes a whispery, almost Chet Baker-like approach to folk vocals. Sung atop delicately plucked guitar, his lyrics speak to the sensitive males concerns about intimacy and mortality. 7 p.m., Webster Hall, 125 East 11th Street, East Village, (212) 353-1600, $18 , $20 at the door. (Sinagra) JUNIOR SENIOR (Thursday) This Danish duo hit big in 2003 with the euphoric, semi-campy dancefloor dictum Move You Feet. Its exuberant thumps and shouts rang bells with dance-music and rock fans. Their new single, Itch U Cant Scratch, slows things down a bit, mixing disco and peppy old-school rap. 8 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212)260-4700, $15. (Sinagra) JORMA KAUKONEN (Saturday) One of the original psychedelic blues players, Jorma Kaukonen brought the Jefferson Airplane both searing electric guitar lines and old-fashioned blues. He then founded Hot Tuna, a band built on spiky, ragtimey blues. His own songs contemplate death and loss, holding his gentle voice in a lattice of fingerpicking. 8 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd, (212)997-4144, $32.50, $36 at the door. (Pareles) CYNDI LAUPER (Thursday) The new waver and activist Cyndi Lauper retains the zany streak that made her jumpy pro-girl pop songs and emotional synthesizer ballads favorites on MTV in the 1980s. She performs as part of Lincoln Centers Gay Pride salute lineup. Show time is 7 p.m., Rose Theater at the Time Warner Center, Broadway at 60th Street, (212)721-6500, $85 to $135. (Sinagra) LITTLE RICHARD (Wednesday) Rock n roll wouldnt be the same without the whoops and hollers, the pounding barrelhouse piano chords and swooping glissandos that Little Richard hurled onto his singles in the 1950s. Preaching from the piano stool and belting songs like Tutti Frutti, hes still a force for creative anarchy. 8 p.m., B.B. Kings Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212)997-4144, $60 (Pareles) M2O PLAY PIAZZOLA (Tomorrow) Accomplished tango musicians, the violinist Machiko Ozawa and the pianist Makia Matsumura interpret the roiling, fluid music of Astor Piazzolla, 10 p.m., The Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village , www.thestonenyc.com, $10. (Sinagra) HUGH MASEKELA (Thursday) The South African flugelhornist Hugh Masekela has more to offer than his international hit Grazing in the Grass. For decades, he has brought together the three-chord lope of South African pop with the zig-zagging possibilities of jazz. 7:30 p.m., Celebrate Brooklyn, Prospect Park Bandshell, Prospect Park West and Ninth Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn; $3 suggested donation. (Pareles) MODEST MOUSE, CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN (Monday) The Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock uses his guitar to evoke creepy, lonely Northwestern expanses, but his rhythmic yen sometimes produces disco hybrids like the recent Float On, which unfurls bright guitar ribbons over a stomping beat. 80s college rock jokesters Camper van Beethoven recently reunited to release a concept album about a dystopian California. 6 p.m., Central Park Summerstage, Rumsey Field, 72nd Street, (212)360-2777, $30, $35 at the door (sold out). (Sinagra) THE NATIONAL (Tonight) These Brooklynites play a kind of countryfied glowering rock that underplays its hand enough to seem modest. But even if the self-deprecating relationship woes of its frontman, Matt Berninger, recall those of the Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, his renderings have yet to make his gripes as interesting. 8:30, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston, Lower East Side, (212)260-4700, $12 (sold out). (Sinagra) THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS/GREEN MILK (Wednesday and Thursday) This revved-up Vancouver outfits tight power-pop grandeur builds with a sort of time-release tension, until the voice of Neko Case cuts through like a triumphant skywriter. Wednesday at 9 p.m., Maxwells, 1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, N.J., (201)798-0406, sold out. June 25 at 7:30 p.m., Celebrate Brooklyn, Prospect Park Bandshell, Prospect Park West and Ninth Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn; $3 suggested donation.(Sinagra) NORTHERN STATE, SUPAGROUP, JASON LOWENSTEIN, DJ EUGENE HUTZ (Wednesday) Hipster luminaries coming together in a benefit for a union representing Village Voice employees include Northern State, the female rappers from Long Island whose buoyant and self-aware rhyming tickled funny bones a couple of years ago; the raucously sloppy heavy metal act Supagroup, the energetic former Sebadoh member Mr. Lowenstein; and Gogol Bordellos self-proclaimed Gypsy-punk frontman Eugene Hutz. 8 p.m., Rothko, 116 Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, rothkonyc.com, $10. (Sinagra) OASIS, JET (Wednesday) No one ever accused Manchesters football-loving Gallagher brothers of originality or humility, and Oasis, their brash Beatlesque steamroller of a band, stands by their proven formula: simple, epic riffs, melodies arrogant in their inevitability and lyrics so dim they become profound. The one-hit rock n rollers Jet open. 8 p.m., Madison Square Garden, 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue, (212)465-6741, $34.50 to $75, (sold out). (Sinagra) DON OMAR (Tomorrow) One of reggaetons biggest names is a headliner at the 2005 Latin Fest, an amusement-park concert where other performers include the salsa singer Victor Manuelle, the rapper Cuban Link and Hector el Bambino, another reggaeton star. 3 p.m., Northern Star Arena, Six Flags Great Adventure, 1090 King George Post Road, New Jersey Turnpike Exit 7A, Jackson, N.J., (732)928-1821, $53. (Sanneh) TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS+BLACK CROWES (Tuesday) The rocker Tom Pettys slightly technophobic 2002 The Last DJ (Warner Brothers) righteously lamented corporate greed and radio blandness. But it contained no especially radio-worthy songs. Nothing like the raw scrape of Refugee, the rousing Free Fallin or the darkly hyper American Girl. 7:30 p.m., Jones Beach Theater, 1000 Ocean Parkway, (516)221-1000, $39.50 to $67.50. (Sinagra) TOSHI REAGON (Sunday) Singing about both love and politics with the same sense of independence, Toshi Reagon applies her gutsy voice and syncopated guitar playing to songs steeped in blues and funk. 7 p.m., Joes Pub, 425 Lafayette, East Village, (212)539-8770, $20. (Pareles) JONATHAN RICHMAN (Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday) Recent albums havent added much to this whimsically nuerotic rock n roll livewires stream-of-consciousness classics, but the live ritual remains a goofy joy. 9 p.m., Northsix, 66 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718)599-5103, $15. (Sinagra) KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD (Tomorrow) For young blues guitarists like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the blues has as much to do with the Allman Brothers and Jimi Hendrix as it did with Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. With a baritone howl thats somewhere between Gregg Allman and Robin Trower and a guitar style that looks to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mr. Shepherd treats the blues as a muscular cry of desperation. 8 p.m., PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J., Garden State Parkway, Exit 116, (732)335-0400, $20 to $45. (Pareles) SLEATER-KINNEY, DEAD MEADOW (Thursday) The incisive yet expansive guitar soloing lately preferred by Carrie Brownstein is the best reason to check out Sleater-Kinney, the enduring trio of grown-up riot grrrls who reach new melodic heights with each album. Dead Meadow plays heavy and somehow pastoral hard rock. 6:45 p.m. Roseland, 239 West 52nd Street, (212)247-0200, $21. (Sinagra) * RICHIE SPICE (Sunday) This fiery roots-reggae singer released one of 2004s best reggae albums, Spice in Your Life (www.fifthelementrecords.com). He loves midtempo reggae grooves, but hes a restless singer; the album includes Earth a Run Red, his fiery and exhilarating protest song that makes the apocalypse sound like the worlds best (and last) party. With Chuck Fender, Anthony Cruz and Spanna Banna. 10 p.m., Wild Palm, 1601 Bronxdale Avenue, the Bronx, (646)539-0749, $30. (Sanneh) EMILIANA TORRINI (Wednesday) Though shes of Italian and Icelandic descent, Emiliana Torrini was raised in Britain. Her first material was produced in the trip-hop vein, but her latest effort Fishermans Woman showcases her haunting voice in a more acoustic setting. 7 p.m., Joes Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212)539-8770, $12.(Sinagra) TRACHTENBURG FAMILY SLIDESHOW PLAYERS (Wednesday and Thursday) In this familial performance art project, Jason Trachtenburg plays lo-fi pop tunes inspired by slides found at yard sales and flea markets, while his wife, Tina, runs the projector. Their 9-year-old daughter, Rachel, who has become something of a girl-power poster child, plays drums. 8 p.m., Lambs Theater, 130 West 44th Street, (212)575-0300, $15. (Sinagra) TRINIDAD & TOBAGO WORLD STEELBAND MUSIC FESTIVAL (Sunday) When Trinidad and Tobago opened their biennial steelband competition to the world in 1988, it drew competitors from Venezuela, Guyana and Sweden. In 2004, bands hailed from Europe, the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. The competition, which requires that a classical composition be played, highlights the full range of steel-pan sonics. 4 p.m., Theater at Madison Square Garden, 33rd Street at Seventh Avenue, (212)465-6741, $44.50 to $59.50. (Sinagra) DAR WILLIAMS (Wednesday) This adorable coffeehouse singer-songwriter augments her sweet voice with that rare quality of seeming like a real person. If her acoustic musings about a favorite babysitter or the romance of Spring Street can seem impossibly hopeful, they rarely slip into treacle. 7 p.m., Madison Square Park, Madison Avenue and 26th Street, free. (Sinagra) Cabaret Full reviews of recent cabaret shows: nytimes.com/music. BARBARA CARROLL (Sundays at 2 and 8 p.m.) Even when swinging out, this Lady of a Thousand Songs remains an impressionist with special affinities for Thelonious Monk and bossa nova. Oak Room, Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street, Manhattan; (212)419-9331. Cover: $55 at 2, including brunch at noon; $42 at 8, plus a $15 minimum; an $80 dinner-and-show package is available. (Stephen Holden) * BLOSSOM DEARIE (Tomorrow and Sunday) To watch this singer and pianist is to appreciate the power of a carefully deployed pop-jazz minimalism combined with a highly discriminating taste in songs. Dannys Skylight Room, 346 West 46th Street, Clinton; (212)265-8133. Tomorrow night at 7; Sunday night at 6:15. Cover: $25, with a $15 minimum; a $54.50 dinner-and-show package is available. (Holden) * EARTHA KITT (Tuesdays through Saturdays) The godmother of golddiggers, still glamorous as ever at 78, remains in full command of a voice that can tear into a song with a ravenous ferocity, and the personality to go with it. Cafe Carlyle, Carlyle Hotel, 35 East 76th Street, Manhattan; (212)744-1600, through July 2. At 8:45, with an additional show on Saturdays at 10:45 p.m. Cover: $85 Tuesdays through Thursdays, $95 Fridays and Saturdays; no minimum. (Holden) Jazz Full reviews of recent jazz concerts: nytimes.com/music. PECK ALLMOND KALIMBA COLLECTIVE (Sunday) This unusual ensemble finds Mr. Allmond augmenting his usual arsenal of horns with a handful of kalimbas, or African thumb pianos; the groups other timbres include violin (Jenny Scheinman), marimba (Kenny Wollesen) and Haitian hand drums (Bonga Jean-Baptiste). 10 p.m., Zebulon, 258 Wythe Avenue, between North Third Street and Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718)218-6934, no cover.(Nate Chinen) THE BAD PLUS, CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO, JAMES CARTER ORGAN TRIO (Tonight) Three rhythmic trios, each drawing on traditions but carving new aesthetic niches. 7:30 p.m., Celebrate Brooklyn, Prospect Park Bandshell, Prospect Park West and Ninth Street, Brooklyn, (718)855-7882, free, JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) * TERENCE BLANCHARD SEXTET/CLAUDIA ACUÑA BAND (Tonight through Sunday) With Flow (Blue Note), the trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard chronicles the maturation of a working band thats equally comfortable mining hard bop, West African grooves, or R&B-steeped fusion; Ms. Acuña, opening each set of this engagement, is one of the more intriguing jazz vocalists of her generation. 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village, (212)475-8592; cover, $25 at tables, with a $5 minimum, or $15 at the bar, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) RONI BEN-HUR (Tonight) Mr. Ben-Hur, a talented guitarist and composer, pays homage to the late pianist Elmo Hope with a quartet that includes Mr. Hopes widow, Bertha, on piano. 8 p.m., New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, 333 Adams Street, Downtown Brooklyn, (718)222-65423, no cover. (Chinen) * DON BYRON (Tuesday through June 26) Jazz has many multitasking bandleaders these days, but none better suited than the clarinetist, composer and conceptualist Don Byron. His six-day engagement features five distinct ensembles, including Music for Six Musicians, an Afro-Latin group, on Tuesday; a big band with the Malian kora master Abdoulaye Diabate, on Wednesday; and the Symphony Space Adventurers Orchestra, a funky repertory outfit, on Thursday. 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212)255-4037; cover, $30; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) WILL CALHOUN PRESENTS AZA (Tonight) Mr. Calhoun, best known as the drummer for Living Colour, presents the debut of an ensemble consisting of the tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, the cornetist Graham Haynes, the bassist Buster Williams and the pianist Orrin Evans. The opening band, Burnt Sugar, fashions a related strain of avant-garde groove. 7 p.m., Central Park SummerStage, Rumsey Playfield, reachable from the entrances at East 69th Street and West 72nd Street (212)360-2777, free. (Chinen) MICHEL CAMILO TRIO (Tonight) A percussive, often cathartic pianist, Mr. Camilo favors the Latin side of Latin-jazz; the fiery tenor saxophonist David Sánchez joins as a featured soloist. 8 p.m., Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, (212)721-6500, tickets $35 to $65; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) CYRUS CHESTNUT AND JOHN HICKS (Monday) A pair of tasteful and knowledgeable pianists, playing solo and in duet. 8 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, (212) 501-3303, tickets $35; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) * STANLEY CLARKE, BÉLA FLECK, JEAN-LUC PONTY / PAUL MOTIAN, BILL FRISELL, JOE LOVANO (Thursday) Mr. Clarke, a bass player, Mr. Ponty, a violinist, and Mr. Fleck, a banjoist, share the attributes of expansive extroversion and dazzling technique. By contrast, Mr. Motian, a drummer and composer, sets a tone for his blue-chip trio thats shadowy, slippery, and open-ended as a koan. 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, (212)247-7800, $30 to $75; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) * STEVE COLEMAN AND FIVE ELEMENTS (Thursday and June 24) Mr. Colemans alto saxophone cuts cleanly through the angular free-funk of his signature ensemble; the other four elements are Jonathan Finlaysons trumpet, Reggie Washingtons bass, Jen Shyus vocals and Tyshawn Soreys drums. 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, South Village, (212)242-1063; cover, $15, $10 for members. (Chinen) * KURT ELLING (Tuesday through June 25) There isnt a better male jazz singer today than Mr. Elling, who grants equal time to ballads, soul-searching originals and Jon Hendricks-style vocalese. After opening night, hell welcome a succession of special guests, starting with the saxophonist Bobby Watson on Wednesday and the guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel on Friday. 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, (212)581-3080; cover, $30 to $35 weekdays, $40 Fridays and Saturdays, plus a $10 minimum all nights. (Chinen) SUSIE IBARRA TRIO (Tonight) Ms. Ibarra is a percussionist with a passion for texture and abstraction; her trio-mates, the pianist Craig Taborn and the violinist Jennifer Choi, have similar designs. 8 p.m., The Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, www.thestonenyc.com, cover $10. (Chinen) KITTY MARGOLIS (Tonight through June 26) A frolicsome and exceedingly musical singer, Ms. Margolis exercises a fortunate affinity for songbook standards. 8 p.m., Au Bar, 41 East 58th Street, (212)308-9455; cover, $35, $50 on Fridays and Saturdays. (Chinen) * KEITH JARRETT, GARY PEACOCK, JACK DEJOHNETTE (Wednesday) Guided by Mr. Jarretts piano extemporizations, this trio has spent the last two decades interpreting jazzs standard songbook; the protean percussion of Mr. DeJohnette and agile bass playing of Mr. Peacock have helped keep the music fresh. 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, (212)247-7800, $30 to $75; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) CHRIS LIGHTCAP QUARTET (Tomorrow) A bassist with credentials in both straight-ahead and avant-garde circles, Mr. Lightcap fronts a group well suited to split the difference: Tony Malaby, tenor saxophonist; Jacob Sacks, pianist; and Rodney Green, drummer. 9 p.m., Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village, (212)989-9319; cover, $10, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) * DAVID MURRAY AND THE GWO-KA DRUM MASTERS (Tonight through Sunday) A spirited, sometimes blustery tenor saxophonist, Mr. Murray has seldom been without a project; this one weds jazz to a form of folk music from Guadeloupe. 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 p.m. set tonight and tomorrow, Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212)576-2232, cover $30; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) MESHELL NDEGEOCELLOS SPIRIT MUSIC JAMIA (Tonight and tomorrow) Dance of the Infidel (Shanachie), a new record by the electric bassist and underground soul heroine Meshell Ndegeocello, gathers a passel of jazz improvisers but leans on R&B grooves. Here, as on the record, shell showcase musicians who span the stylistic divide, like the saxophonist Ron Blake, the drummer Chris Dave and the keyboardist Michael Cain. 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, (212)581-3080; cover, $40, plus a $10 minimum. (Chinen) NUBLU ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL (Monday through June 26) Nublu, the Alphabet City hipster hideaway, marks its third birthday with a weeks worth of club favorites. On Monday, the Nublu Orchestra assumes several different incarnations, each conducted by Butch Morris; on Tuesday, the breakout quartet Brazilian Girls shares stage time with the electro-jazz group Kudu; on Wednesday, the saxophonist and Nublu founder Ilhan Ersahin leads Wax Poetic, with vocals by Marla Turner. 9:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. (doors open at 8), Nublu, 62 Avenue C, between Fourth and Fifth Streets, East Village, (212)979-9925; admission, $15, Fridays and Saturdays, $20. (Chinen) LES PAUL 90TH BIRTHDAY SALUTE (Sunday) The venerable guitarist presides over an appropriately diverse array of admirers, including José Feliciano, Peter Frampton, Bucky Pizzarelli and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, (212)247-7800, $45 to $95; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) CHRIS POTTER GROUP (Wednesday) The versatile and virtuosic saxophonist convenes a tantalizing lineup: Jason Moran, keyboards; Scott Colley, bass; Nate Smith, drums. 10 p.m. and midnight, 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212)929-9883, cover $10. (Chinen) * MARC RIBOTS SPIRITUAL UNITY (Tuesday) This quartet of experimental all-stars, recently documented on an album of the same name, pays tribute to the fire-breathing saxophonist Albert Ayler. In addition to Mr. Ribots bracing electric guitar, the group features the athletic bass playing of Henry Grimes, the tart pocket trumpet and fat flugelhorn of Roy Campbell and the insistent drumming of Chad Taylor. 8 and 10 p.m., Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, Lower East Side, (212)358-7501, cover $12. (Chinen) BEN RILEYS MONK LEGACY SEPTET (Tonight through Sunday) Mr. Riley, one of the most buoyant drummers ever to serve under Thelonious Monks employ, honors the pianist-composers memory with this rock-solid tribute band. 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212)255-4037, cover $30. (Chinen) * MARIA SCHNEIDER ORCHESTRA (Tuesday) Last years Concert in the Garden (ArtistShare) was a success not only for its Internet distribution and subsequent Grammy win; the album bespoke this ensembles rare cohesiveness and precision, along with the sophistication of Ms. Schneiders compositional language. 7 p.m., World Financial Center Plaza, West Street between Vesey and Liberty Streets, Lower Manhattan, (212)945-0505, free. (Chinen) PORTRAIT OF JACO /STEPS AHEAD (Wednesday) Invoking the late electric bass icon Jaco Pastorius, this concert gathers a congregation of heirs, like Richard Bona, Will Lee and Christian McBride. Mr. Bona also appears in Steps Ahead, a reassembled fusion super-group that now consists of the saxophonist Michael Brecker, the guitarist Mike Stern, the vibraphonist Mike Mainieri and the drummer Steve Smith. 8 p.m., Beacon Theater, 2124 Broadway, at 74th Street, Upper West Side, (212)307-7171, $38.50 to $63.50; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) * WAYNE SHORTER QUARTET, DAVE HOLLAND QUINTET (Tonight) Mr. Shorter, the saxophonist, is an elder statesman with a young mans intrepidness and a childs sense of wonder. Mr. Holland, the bassist, is a veteran who chases chaos yet maintains strict control. Both musician-composers employ younger sidemen to salubrious effect; these working bands are among the most highly esteemed in jazz. 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, (212)247-7800, $30 to $75; JVC Jazz Festival. (Chinen) MARCUS STRICKLAND QUARTET (Monday) The thoughtful tenor saxophonist leads an ensemble of fellow up-and-comers: Robert Glasper, pianist; Vicente Archer, bassist; and his twin brother, E.J. Strickland, on drums. 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village, (212)475-8592; cover, $10 at tables, with a $5 minimum, $5 at the bar with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) * VISION FESTIVAL (Tonight through Sunday) The avowedly experimental music and arts gathering assumes its 10th incarnation and looks to be as spirited as ever. Highlights of the closing weekend include tonights mash-up of the Sound Vision Orchestra and Other Dimensions in Music; tomorrows Eddie Gale Now Band performance, with William Parker, the festival co-founder; and a set on Sunday featuring Mr. Parker, the pianist Matthew Shipp, the drummer Han Bennink and the saxophonist Sabir Mateen. Performances run from 7 p.m. past midnight, with an afternoon emerging-artist showcase tomorrow at 1 p.m. Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts, 172 Norfolk Street, Lower East Side, www.visionfestival.org, $25 for evening shows, $15 to $35 for the emerging artist showcase. (Chinen) Classical Full reviews of recent music performances: nytimes.com/music. Opera MET IN THE PARKS (Tonight, tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday) The Met hits the boroughs this week: Aprile Millo takes on Puccinis Tosca in the Bronx and Queens, while Julius Rudel leads Saint-Saenss Samson et Dalila in Staten Island and Brooklyn, and New Yorkers everywhere bring picnics, sip wine and, more or less, listen. 8 p.m., Pelham Bay Park, Bronx (tonight); Richmond County Bank Ballpark, Staten Island (tomorrow); Prospect Park, Brooklyn (Tuesday); Cunningham Park, Queens (Wednesday), (212)362-6000, free.(Anne Midgette) ENCOMPASS NEW OPERA THEATER (Tonight and tomorrow) Gertrude Stein is a perennial favorite with this small contemporary opera company: the current performance is a trilogy of pieces by Ned Rorem and Virgil Thomson and a new jazz opera. Tonight at 8; tomorrow at 2 and 8 p.m., the Thalia at Symphony Space, Broadway at 95th Street, (212)864-5400, $35; $30 for students and 65+. (Midgette) Classical Music BARGEMUSIC (Tonight, tomorrow, Sunday and Thursday) Great views and typically fresh performances help make this floating concert hall one of the best for chamber music. Tonight Natasha Paremski, a young Russian pianist, performs a solo program of Chopin, Debussy, Haydn, Rachmaninoff and John Corigliano. Tomorrow and Sunday feature Bachs Art of Fugue arranged for strings. On Thursday, Jeffrey Swann gives a lecture and performance on Liszt. Tonight, tomorrow and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 4 p.m., Fulton Ferry Landing next to the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, (718)624-2083, $35.(Jeremy Eichler) EVE BEGLARIAN, COREY DARGEL, MARGARET LANCASTER (Monday) Ms. Beglarian and Mr. Dargel, two downtown composer-performers, sing each others music in an evening of contemporary art songs or electro-cabaret, along with Ms. Lancaster, a noted new-music flutist. 6:30 p.m., Opia, 130 East 57th Street, Manhattan, (212)421-3274, $15.(Midgette) BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL (Tomorrow and Sunday) Every two years Boston plays host to an early music festival that attracts important artists, ensembles, instrument makers and publishers from around the world. The main event this year is an operatic rarity, Boris Goudenow, composed in 1710 by Johann Mattheson, a leading northern European composer and a mentor to Handel. The production is elaborately staged in the Baroque style. Tomorrow at 7 p.m., Sunday at 3:30 p.m., Cutler Majestic Theater at Emerson College, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, (617)868-2363, $25 to $125.(Anthony Tommasini) CONNECTICUT EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL (Tonight through Sunday) A short trip from Haydn (Seven Last Words) tonight to Mannheim and Mozart on Sunday is made more circuitous by John Schneidermans recitals of music for lute and guitar from Paris and Dresden tomorrow. Tonight at 8, tomorrow night at 6 and 8, and Sunday night at 6, locations in Mystic (tonight) and New London (tomorrow and Sunday), (860)444-2419; tonight, $24 reserved, free at the door (limited seating); tomorrow, $20; Sunday, $24 reserved, $18 general admission. (James R. Oestreich) GAY GOTHAM CHORUS (Tomorrow) Founded in 1993, this all-male choir has won attention for its imaginative programs and community service. Tomorrow it offers a program titled From the Grand Tier: An Evening of Opera and Operetta. Along with works by Donizetti, Gilbert and Sullivan, Purcell, Puccini, Sondheim and others, the chorus will perform the premiere of a work by Stephen Paulus, featuring the fine mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore. 8 p.m., Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, West End Avenue at 86th Street, Manhattan, (646)644-4909, $20; $15, students and 65+. (Tommasini) JUPITER SYMPHONY CHAMBER PLAYERS (Monday) The Jupiter Symphony folded when its tireless founder, the conductor Jens Nygaard, died in 2001. But a core of musicians from that ensemble, in honor of Nygaard, an inspiring and adventurous musician, has continued his legacy. A series of three concerts this summer features some excellent musicians in unusual programs, starting on Monday, which offers Spohrs seldom-heard Septet for Piano and Strings, and works by Mendelssohn, Haydn and Frank Bridge. 7:30 p.m., Piano Salon, Yamaha Artist Services, 689 Fifth Avenue, at 54th Street, (212)799-1259, $10 to $25. (Tommasini) JOHN KAMITSUKA (Wednesday) This pianist has been praised for his Bach interpretations. He will offer more of them on this solo recital, along with works by Beethoven, Brahms and Yehudi Wyner. 8 p.m., Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, (212)247-7800, $25; $15 for students and 65+. (Eichler). MANNES INSTITUTE AND FESTIVAL FOR CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE (Tonight through Wednesday) At its annual new-music festival, the Mannes College of Music offers lectures, master classes and symposiums about the multitude of modern styles and techniques, as well as concerts that put this information into practice. A sizable assembly of recent works will be performed, including chamber scores by Christian Wolff and electronic pieces by David Tcimpidis (tonight), solo and ensemble works by Luciano Berio, André Jolivet and Louis Karchin (who will be on hand to speak, on Sunday) and music by Elliott Carter (who has the Monday concert to himself). Tonight, Sunday and Tuesday at 7:30; Monday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 6 p.m., Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street, Manhattan, (212)580-0210, ext. 4838, $20; $10 for students.(Allan Kozinn) MUSIC MOUNTAIN (Tonight through Sunday) The Kent Singers offer English and American choral music tonight, while tango is on the program tomorrow and Sunday, with music by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano and even, on Sunday afternoon, dance. Tonight and tomorrow night at 8, Sunday at noon and 2 p.m., Gordon Hall at Music Mountain, Falls Village, Conn., (860)824-7126, $25 at the door, $22 in advance, $12 for students; $40 for all three tango events. (Midgette) NAUMBURG ORCHESTRA (Sunday) Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the series opens with an attractive program of Americana, actual and would-be, with Copland (Clarinet Concerto), Bernstein (Serenade) and jazzy Stravinsky and Milhaud. 7:30 p.m., Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, midpark at 72nd Street, (718)340-3018, free. (Oestreich) NEW PATHS IN MUSIC (Tomorrow) This one-day festival spotlights contemporary music from Portugal, Lithuania and Australia. A panel discussion starts the day at 1 p.m., followed by piano and chamber offerings with the Cassatt String Quartet at 2, and a larger ensemble concert takes place at 8. Featured composers include Carlos Marecos, Carl Vine and Osvaldas Balakauskas, among many others. St. Peters Episcopal Church, 346 West 20th Street, Chelsea, (212)868-4444, $20 for afternoon or evening, $30 for both. (Eichler) NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC (Today through Thursday) Gil Shaham brings his warm, rounded signature tone to Sibeliuss supremely lyrical (and occasionally windswept) Violin Concerto, the centerpiece of the Philharmonics concerts this morning and tomorrow, conducted by David Robertson. Starting Wednesday, Lorin Maazel leads the orchestra in one of Mahlers vast autobiographical outpourings, the Symphony No. 6. Today at 11 a.m. and tomorrow at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, (212)721-6500, $22 to $90. (Kozinn) OPUS ONE PIANO QUARTET (Sunday) As part of the Free for All at Town Hall series, this ensemble -- Anne-Marie McDermott, pianist; Ida Kavafian, violinist; Peter Wiley, cellist; and Steven Tenenbom, violist -- plays a hearty program of Czech works, including Dvoraks Piano Quartets in D (Op. 23) and E flat (Op. 87), and Martinus Piano Quartet No. 1. 5 p.m., Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan, (212)707-8787, free; two tickets per person are available at the box office starting at noon. (Kozinn) ST. LUKES CHAMBER ENSEMBLE (Tuesday) Had enough of summer heat yet? Here is Vivaldis musical take on the matter as well as his thoughts about the other three seasons. 7:30 p.m., St. Bartholomews Church, Park Avenue at 50th Street (212)580-0248, $20 and $35; $15 for students and 65+. (Oestreich) Dance Full reviews of recent performances: nytimes.com/dance. * AMERICAN BALLET THEATER (Tonight through July 16) The week will be devoted to two programs, with the usual revolving casts. Tonight through Wednesday the companys Fokine Celebration will continue. This consists of two ballets by the famed choreographer in stagings first seen in February at the Kennedy Center: Petrouchka and the Polovtsian Dances, which also turned up at the companys season-opening gala on May 23. The program is filled out with Les Sylphides, long in the repertory, and Le Spectre de la Rose, new last fall. Thursday and June 24 and continuing through June 30 comes Le Corsaire, a fine excuse for bravura dancing. There will also be a presentation tomorrow morning of ABTKids, a one-hour introduction to ballet that will include the new Petrouchka. Tonight, tomorrow and Monday through Thursday at 8 p.m., tomorrow and Wednesday at 2 p.m. ABTKids tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212)362-6000 or www.abt.org, $22 to $130; ABTKids, $18. (John Rockwell) * CHRISTOPHER CAINES DANCE COMPANY (Tonight through Sunday) Dance by a quiet-voiced experimentalist. 8:30 p.m., Danspace Project at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street at Second Avenue, East Village (212)674-8194, $20.(Jennifer Dunning) ANDREA DEL CONTE DANZA ESPAÑA (Tonight and tomorrow) Flamenco in an intimate setting. 8:30 and 10:45 p.m., Alegrias en La Nacional, 239 West 14th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, Chelsea, (917)667-2695, $10.(Dunning) DANCE AT DIXON PLACE (Wednesday) Four choreographers -- Christal Brown, Beth Gill, Michael Helland and Tzveta Kassabova -- will present dances in Isabel Lewiss Body Blend series of mixed media work. 8 p.m., Dixon Place, 258 Bowery, between Houston and Prince Streets, SoHo, (212)219-0736 or www.dixonplace.org, $12; $10 for students and 65+. (Dunning) DANCE AT VISION FESTIVAL X (Tonight through Sunday) A weekend of collaborations, featuring Patricia Nicholson (tonight and tomorrow); Felicia Norton and Leroy Jenkins (tomorrow); and Nancy Zendora, Rob Brown and Jo Wood Brown (Sunday). Tonight at 9; tomorrow at 8 (Norton) and 10 (Nicholson) p.m.; Sunday at 10 p.m. (Zendora), Orensanz Art Center, 172 Norfolk Street, south of Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212)473-0043 and www.visionfestival.org, $25. (Dunning) DANCING IN THE STREETS (Tomorrow) This first installment of Dancing in City Parks offers a chance to savor the wonderfully atmospheric -- and historic -- Red Hook area in Brooklyn as well as a free, one-hour program called Rhythms of Resistance that features the Ase Dance Theater Collective, Riddimathon!, Step Afrika! and 35 eighth graders from the neighborhoods public school. 2 p.m., Coffey Park, Visitation Place between Richards and Dwight Streets, Red Hook, Brooklyn, (212) 625-3505 or www.dancinginthestreets.org.(Dunning) * EIKO & KOMA (Thursday through June 26) In Death Poem, these neo-Butoh artists continue their contemplation of life, this time featuring an ailing body proceeding toward an inevitable but highly personal death. 8:30 p.m., Danspace Project at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street at Second Avenue, East Village, (212)674-8194, $15. (Dunning) FRESH BLOOD PRODUCTIONS (Tonight and tomorrow) This new company makes its debut in Roaring Around, an evening of dance by a guest choreographer, Sara Hook, and the company founders, KC Chun and Jennifer Schmermund, brave young souls who joined forces as masters degree candidates at the University of Illinois. Tonight at 9; tomorrow at 8 p.m., Merce Cunningham Studio, 55 Bethune Street, at Washington Street, SoHo, (917) 582-8902 or www.freshbloodproductions.org, $15.(Dunning) GOING THROUGH FILTER. TO SEE YOU (Tonight and tomorrow) Dance by Takemi Kitamura will be presented on a program with video by Toki Ozaki and puppetry by Matthew Acheson. 8 p.m., Brooklyn Arts Exchange, 421 Fifth Avenue at Eighth Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 832-0018 or www.bax.org, $8 and $15. (Dunning) * ANDREA HAENGGI/AMDAT (Tonight and tomorrow) Ms. Haenggis blast wall art is an outdoor dance video installation that takes the audience on a literal trip from one site to another. 8:15 p.m., Gallerie, 63 Pearl Street, Brooklyn, (718)218-8236 ext. 3 or www.amdat.org, $10. (Dunning) BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE COMPANY (Tonight and tomorrow) In residence at the theater, the troupe will present a program of three dances that include a work-in-progress called Blind Date. 7:30 p.m., Aaron Davis Hall at City College, West 135th Street at Convent Avenue, Harlem, (212)650-7100 or www.aarondavishall.org, $25 to $35. (Dunning) * NEW YORK CITY BALLET (Tonight through June 26) As the City Ballets spring season nears its end, there is an interesting mixed bill tonight that includes Christopher Wheeldons charming Carnival of the Animals, which can also be seen tomorrow afternoon. But the big news of the week will be Jock Sotos farewell gala on Sunday afternoon and then, starting Tuesday, a seven-performance run of Balanchines Midsummer Nights Dream, which will close out the season. Balanchines first original full-length ballet, from 1962, this dance drama set to Mendelssohns music has long been a company favorite. Tonight, tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m.; Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.; tomorrow at 2 p.m.; and Sunday at 3 p.m., New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212)870-5570 or www.nycballet.com, $30 to $83. (Rockwell) NOTES IN MOTION (Tonight and tomorrow) Dance theater by the company director Amanda Selwyn and five other choreographers in a program called Tilt. 8 p.m., John Jay College, 899 10th Avenue, between 58th and 59th Streets, Midtown Manhattan, (212)868-4444, $25 to $35. (Dunning) * OUT LIKE THAT! 2005 (Tomorrow) A celebration of gay pride and the Bronx in Dance, Man, Dance!, a program of dance and performance art by Richard Rivera, Arthur Aviles, Miguel Anaya and Issey Nini. 8 p.m., Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, 841 Barretto Street, Hunts Point, South Bronx, (718)842-5223 or www.BronxAcademyofArtsandDance.org, $10 to $15. (Dunning) * CELEBRATE BROOKLYN!: PHILADANCO (Tomorrow) If Brooklyn erupts in a joyous roar tomorrow night, blame the soul-stirring dancing of this vibrant, gutsy Philadelphia-based modern-dance company. 8 p.m., Prospect Park Bandshell, Ninth Street and Prospect Park West, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718)855-7882 or www.briconline.org/celebrate; suggested donation: $3. (Dunning) * PASCAL RIOULT DANCE THEATER (Tonight and Sunday) Mr. Rioult wades in myth and dance history with his own modern-dance versions of Les Noces and Firebird and a work-in-progress called Kansas City Orfeo, set to Gluck and jazz. Tonight at 8; tomorrow at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea, (212)242-0800 or www.joyce.org, $38. (Dunning) JODY SPERLING/TIME LAPSE DANCE (Thursday through June 26) Her fascination with the late 19th-century light-and-motion theater of Loie Fuller will be reflected in Ms. Sperlings new Debussy Soirée and in La Nuit, in a program of four dances that includes puppet performers. Thursday through June 25 at 8 p.m.; June 26 at 3 p.m., Harry de Jur Playhouse, Henry Street Settlement, 466 Grand Street, between Pitt and Willet Streets, Lower East Side, (212)866-1759 or www.timelapsedance.com, $20.(Dunning) CATHERINE THARIN AND DIANE VIVONA (Tonight and tomorrow) Ms. Tharin, a former Erick Hawkins dancer, and Ms. Vivona, who performed with Bella Lewitzky, will present dances that explore unspoken human connections (Ms. Tharin) and a world born of visual fantasy mixed with emotional realism. 8 p.m., University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street, at Rivington Street, Lower East Side, (212)696-7364, $15; $10, limited income or with Dance/NYCs Dance Pass. (Dunning) THEATER IN THE FLESH (Thursday through July 3) Elizabeth Mozer describes her Blood and Honey as visceral, image-driven theater and dance that explores womens experiences across cultural lines. Thursday through June 25 and June 30 and July 1 and 2 at 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and June 26 at 7 p.m.; July 3 at 3 p.m., ArcLight Theater, 152 West 71st Street, between Broadway and Columbus Avenue, Manhattan, (212)868-4444, $18. (Dunning) * URBAN BUSH WOMEN (Tuesday through June 26) This dynamic all-female modern-dance troupe will celebrate its 20th anniversary with the new Walking with Pearl: Africa Diaries, an evocation of the life and work of Pearl Primus by the companys director, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar; and a new piece by Bridget L. Moore, the first winner of the companys competition for young female choreographers. Also offered will be the signature Zollar pieces Batty Moves, Girlfriends and Give Your Hands to Struggle. Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday through June 25 at 8 p.m.; June 26 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea (212)242-0800. $36. (Dunning) BILL YOUNG/COLLEEN THOMAS & DANCERS (Tonight) The choreographers examine the literal and figurative notions of entrances and exits in their new Dust. 7:30 p.m., NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, Fifth Floor Theater, 111 Second Avenue, East Village, (212)998-1982, $15.(Dunning) Art Museums and galleries are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of recent art shows: nytimes.com/art. Museums * AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM: ANCESTRY AND INNOVATION, through Sept. 4. This selection of quilts, paintings, sculptures and drawings by several generations of self-taught artists jumps with color and talent and reflects a sharp curatorial eye. 45 West 53rd Street, (212)265-1040. (Roberta Smith) AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM: SELF AND SUBJECT, through Sept. 11. From Grandma Moses view of herself beguiled by infant descendants to A.G. Rizzolis rendition of his mother as a Gothic cathedral, this refreshingly offbeat show of 20th-century self-taught artists covers a vivid range of portraits. (See above.) (Grace Glueck) AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: TOTEMS TO TURQUOISE, through July 10. Jewelry dating to prehistoric times is used here to lend credence to contemporary works that are sometimes little more than glitzy knockoffs. Central Park West and 79th Street, (212)769-5100. (Smith) COOPER-HEWITT NATIONAL DESIGN MUSEUM: EXTREME TEXTILES, through Oct. 30. Dont look for aesthetic pizzazz in this intensely tech-y show of industrial fibers and fabrics, but dont rule it out. The shows raison dêtre is solely use, but a lot of whats on view, in the first museum display of material made to function in extreme conditions, is visually exciting. 2 East 91st Street, (212)849-8400. (Glueck) COOPER-HEWITT: HELLA JONGERIUS SELECTS, through Sept. 4. Shifting through the museums outstanding holdings in embroidered samplers, this innovative Dutch designer has selected a wonderfully reverberant show and also based a series of new wall hangings on sampler motifs. Their combined display diagrams the fraught but essential symbiosis of old and new. (See above.) (Smith) * EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO: MEXICO, THE REVOLUTION AND BEYOND, PHOTOGRAPHS BY CASASOLA 1900-1940, through July 31. This extraordinary show of work from a photo agency established by Agustín Victor Casasola in Mexico City has the span of a Greek epic and the nested themes and subplots of a picaresque novel, with revolutionary heroes and a vivid cast of everyday people. 1230 Fifth Avenue, at 104th Street, East Harlem, (212)831-7272. (Holland Cotter) * GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM: ART OF TOMORROW, through Aug. 10. Appreciated more for her role as a founder of the Guggenheims forerunner, the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, Hilla Rebay (1890-1967) is finally given her due as a painter in a full-dress display of her work over six decades. This first chance to see it en bloc reveals a painter whose spirit, energy and invention, especially in collage, come as a revelation. 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street, (212)423-3500. (Glueck) * JAPAN SOCIETY: LITTLE BOY, through July 24. Masterminded by the artist-writer-entrepreneur Takashi Murakami, this eye-boggling show traces the unexamined legacy of World War II as played out in Japans popular culture. With Godzilla and Hello Kitty presiding, it reveals how this culture was twisted and darkened by the otaku, or geek, subculture, which has in turn influenced younger artists. 333 East 47th Street, (212)832-1155. (Smith) METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: ALL THE MIGHTY WORLD, through Aug. 21. In one of the mediums shortest great careers, Roger Fenton helped establish photography as both an art and a profession in masterfully composed landscapes, portraits and still lifes that, for all their prescience, also express a profound ambivalence about the very notion of progress. Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, (212)535-7710. (Smith) MET: DEFINING YONGLE, through July 10. This show of imperial art in early-15th-century China is both perfect and messy. Its porcelain, metalwork, embroidery and ivory highlight the astounding craftsmanship of the imperial workshops under the Ming emperor Yongle, and reflect the miscegenation of Asian cultures at a time when most roads led to China. (See above.) (Smith) MET: MAX ERNST, through July 10. Despite and because of Ernsts being one of modernisms mystery men, he remains of interest, and there are intriguing things in this survey: from early Surrealist paintings, to near-abstract images generated by chance techniques, to the collage-style books some consider his masterworks. But only when he responds to specific events, like war, does his art snap into focus. (See above.)(Cotter) MUSEUM OF BIBLICAL ART: COMING HOME!, through July 24. A new small museum devoted to art related to the Bible gets off to a lively start with a big show of artworks by 73 untrained Southern Christian evangelicals. Many names familiar to followers of 20th-century folk and outsider art are on hand, including William Edmondson, the Rev. Howard Finster and Sister Gertrude Morgan. 1865 Broadway, at 61st Street, (212)408-1500. (Ken Johnson) * MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: LEE FRIEDLANDER, through Aug. 29. A gigantic retrospective of this great photographer of the American vernacular scene, whose sly and haunting works (grungy cityscapes, wild landscapes, portraits and nudes) can put you in mind of Audens remark that every original genius has something a bit shady about him. In Mr. Friedlanders case, its a compliment. 11 West 53rd Street, (212)708-9400. (Michael Kimmelman) NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN: FIRST AMERICAN ART, through April 9. That American Indian art can provide the same aesthetic and emotional pleasure as European and American Modernism is the premise of this show, made up of 200 objects from the Charles and Valerie Diker Collection, and it affirms American Indian arts worthy aesthetic place in world culture. 1 Bowling Green, Lower Manhattan, (212)514-3700. (Glueck) NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN: GEORGE CATLIN AND HIS INDIAN GALLERY, through Sept. 5. The portraits and landscapes here give an account of Plains Indian life in the 1830s in wonderful and sometimes harrowing detail. Viewing it is a remarkable experience. (See above.) (Glueck) STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM: CHRIS OFILI, AFRO-MUSES, through July 3. More than 100 delirious watercolors by this familiar British artist, warm-up exercises for his daily routine. They depict imaginary men and women, head on or in silhouette, in African garb, and in deep, swimmy colors -- portraits as modest and charming as the work that made Mr. Ofili famous is outsize and occasionally over the top. 144 West 125th Street, (212)864-4500. (Kimmelman) * STUDIO MUSEUM: BILL TRAYLOR AND WILLIAM EDMONDSON AND THE MODERNIST IMPULSE, through July 3. The work of two self-taught proto-modern artists whose beautifully complementary achievements argue against the usual dualities, but offer further evidence that African-American folk art is as great as any art or music that this country has produced. (See above.) (Smith) UKRAINIAN MUSEUM: ALEXANDER ARCHIPENKO, through Sept. 4. This rare retrospective of work by the Ukrainian-born sculptor opens the handsome, much-expanded new quarters of this museum. The most exciting part is a beautifully illuminated room of Archipenkos most radical pieces that inspired later artists like Henry Moore. 222 East Sixth Street, East Village, (212)228-0110. (Glueck) WHITNEY AT ALTRIA: SUE DE BEER, through June 24. In a walk-in pink castle, the artists Black Sun is a two-screen video about teenage girlhood, which alternates passages of lyrical visual beauty and emotional poignancy with periods of aimless tedium. 120 Park Avenue, at 42nd Street, (917)663-2453. (Johnson) Galleries: Uptown HUBERTUS GOJOWCZYK: THE BOOK AS OBJECT If Joseph Cornell had been a librarian, he might have produced sculptures like the fantastically altered books that this Polish artist creates. Glass eyes stare out from the pages of one old tome; the corner of another morphs into a waxy brain. Achim Moeller, 167 East 73rd Street, (212)988-4500, through June 24. (Johnson) Galleries: 57th Street DON COLLEY: FALL GUYS & ZEITGEISTS Whether or not you like his images of thuggish clowns and romantic skies, you have to admit that Mr. Colleys new pieces are technically remarkable. They appear to be small, beautifully worked encaustic paintings, but they are, in fact, kiln-fired glazed ceramic tiles. George Adams, 41 West 57th Street, (212)644-5665, through June. (Johnson) THOMAS SCHÜTTE: ONE MAN HOUSES Models of small, modernistic houses meant to be built full-size by collectors, who buy them and furniture made from hollow-core doors, reflect on design and consumerism but with less formal interest and conceptual wit than do the works of Andrea Zittel or Jorge Pardo. Marian Goodman, 24 West 57th Street, (212)977-7160, through July 2. (Johnson) OK/OKAY This entertaining two-gallery exhibition introduces 14 European artists whose works in nontraditional media tend to read like overproduced one-liners. Swiss Institute , 495 Broadway, (212)925-2035; and Grey Art Gallery, 100 Washington Square East, (212)998-6780, through July 16. (Johnson) Galleries: Chelsea BENJAMIN BUTLER: FORESTS EDGE Abstracted landscapes made with a brusquely sensuous touch in finely tuned colors toy with conventions of early Modernism to visually exciting effect. Team, 527 West 26th Street, (212)279-9219, through June 18. (Johnson) SOPHIE CALLE: EXQUISITE PAIN Ms. Calles complicated, two-part installation telling the story of the painful end of a love affair in words and pictures is absorbing but her programmatic intellectualism muffles the emotional dimension. Paula Cooper, 534 West 21st Street, (212)255-1105, through July 22. (Johnson) CHAN CHAO: ECHO Tension between the clinical and the voyeuristic animates high-definition portraits of attractive nude woman by a photographer known for portraits of young Burmese rebel soldiers. Yancy Richardson, 535 West 22nd Street, (646)230-9610, through July 2. (Johnson) * GREGORY CREWDSON: BENEATH THE ROSES Narrative and theatrical craft have overtaken art and visual form in these dreary mural-size color photographs, which are so freighted with props, contrivances and omens, and so monotonously joyless that their sense of foreboding turns into parody. Luhring Augustine, 531 West 24th Street (212)206-6100, through June 18. (Smith) JASPER JOHNS: CATENARY Paintings and drawings less mandarin in their personal iconography only by comparison with the clotted art of the 1980s and 90s. There is a series of stupendously beautiful prints. The redeeming through line is touch, whose eloquence nearly salvages the works from their own oppressive claustrophobia. Matthew Marks Gallery, 522 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212)243-0200, through June 25. (Kimmelman) SCULPTURE This judicious small selection of three-dimensional works includes a rustic dream house by Vito Acconci; videos showing through an antique Asian iron gate by Nam June Paik; big, smooth white birds by Hiraki Sawa; and an amazing, life-size stainless steel tree by Roxy Paine. James Cohan, 533 West 26th Street, (212)714-9500, through June 25. (Johnson) HIROSHI SUGIMOTO Photographs of antique mathematical and mechanical models, evoking Brancusi, Arp and Man Ray, turning their subjects into big-screen cinematic presences, curvaceous and potent. Sonnabend Gallery, 536 West 22nd Street, (212)627-1018, through June 25. (Kimmelman) TIP TOLAND: CYCLE OF LIFE Comically humane and technically impressive painted clay sculptures by this West Coast ceramicist include a life-size, nude, octogenarian lady in a sexy, standing pose and twin gray-haired women realized with remarkable realism from the waist up. Nancy Margolis, 523 West 25th Street, (212)242-3013, through June 30. (Johnson) KARIN WEINER: FRONTIERA A camp site of cardboard logs, stuffed fabric stones and a rag rug around a television set; suspended stuffed clouds like ornate patchwork mattresses; a mound of stuffed antlers; and collages of countless flowers comprise this industriously zany artists second solo. ZieherSmith, 531 West 25th Street, (212)229-1088, through July 29. (Johnson) Other Galleries * MIKE BOUCHET The main piece in this show is a re-creation of Walter De Marias gallery-filling 1977 New York Earth Room, in this case made of topsoil from Home Depot and compost from Rikers Island. To fill the craftsy requirements of the present art market, there are Tom Cruise sculptures and paintings of soft drink labels upstairs. Maccarone Inc., 45 Canal Street, Lower East Side, (212)431-4977, through Aug. 28. (Cotter) * ALBERTO CASADO: TODO CLANDESTINO, TODO POPULAR, This young artist uses a technique involving painting on glass and aluminum foil to create shimmering, faux-kitsch works about politics, religion and ordinary life in Cuba. Art in General, 79 Walker Street, TriBeCa, (212)219-0473, through June 25.(Johnson) MICHAEL ELMGREEN AND INGAR DRAGSET: END STATION The Fur-Lined Teacup Award goes to this art duo, who have meticulously transformed the basement here into a nearly full-scale subway station. Torn posters and graffiti evoke the 1980s. A metaphor for how the political protests of that decade were stopped in their tracks? Bohen Foundation, 415 West 13th Street, meatpacking district, (212)414-4575, through July 1. (Smith) GLASS, SERIOUSLY This fine selection of artworks in glass includes teardrops by Kiki Smith; hand grenades by Kristin Oppenheim; vessels that spell invisible by Rob Wynne; a kind of stained-glass window made of stacked found wine bottles, by Jean Shin and Brian Ripel; and an elegant bowed panel of frosted sea-green glass by Christopher Wilmarth. Dorsky, 11-03 45th Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, (718)937-6317, through June 27. (Johnson) JUDY LEDGERWOOD: SPRING FEVER With a boldly insouciant touch and vibrantly dissonant colors, this Chicago-based artist makes grid-based pattern paintings using heraldic overtones and punchy mandala compositions of squished balloonlike shapes. Tracy Williams, 313 West Fourth Street, West Village, (212)229-2757, through June 24. (Johnson) MAKE IT NOW: NEW SCULPTURE IN NEW YORK This survey of work by nearly 30 young and youngish artists is overly cautious but nonetheless gives an interesting account of the diffuse field of sculpture (which includes photography, video, ceramics and painting in this case); tracks the current cross-fertilization between assemblage and appropriation art and offers enough glimmers of new talent to be worth a visit. Sculpture Center, 41-19 Purves Street, Long Island City, Queens, (718)361-1750, through July 31. (Smith) MALCOM MORLEY: THE ART OF PAINTING After 30 years, Malcolm Morley returns to the Photo Realist painting style he helped found in the mid 1960s, further exploring the tensions between reality, the art of painting and the act of looking and demonstrating that fidelity, taken far enough, turns into something else. Sperone Westwater, 415 West 13th Street, meatpacking district, (212)999-7337, through June 25. (Smith) Last Chance DEAN BYINGTON Skillfully blending the handmade and the mechanical, the paintings of this San Francisco artist use patterns suggestive of lacy wallpaper and images from 19th-century engravings to evoke landscapes and their not always peaceful inhabitants. Leslie Tonkonow, 535 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212)255-8450, closing tomorrow.(Smith) ROBBERT FLICK: TRAJECTORIES With the cinematic idea that successive views give a dynamic sense of place, Mr. Flick mounted a video camera in his car window. He packs the results in grid formation on big sheets that give off the vibes of a country road, a city street, a desertscape. The whole is more than the sum of its tiny parts. Robert Mann, 210 11th Avenue, near 24th Street, Chelsea, (212)989-7600, closing tomorrow. (Glueck) CORNELIA FOSS Graceful, mature, modest paintings full of light and a subtle geometry: views of the beaches and salt marshes on Long Island and of Central Park. DFN Gallery, 176 Franklin Street, TriBeCa, (212)334-3400, closing tomorrow. (Kimmelman) * JULIO GONZÁLEZ This small but illuminating 43-piece exhibition surveys the career of a sculptor who, late in life, taught Picasso how to work with metal and then went on in the 1930s to create playful, Cubist-style, welded iron assemblages that transformed modern sculpture. Instituto Cervantes, 211 East 49th Street, Turtle Bay, (212)308-7720, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) JACQUELINE HUMPHRIES Gestural abstractions made with fluorescent paint, lighted by black lights, campy and eloquent. Nyehaus, 15 Gramercy Park South, (212)995-1785, closing tomorrow.(Kimmelman) RINKO KAWAUCHI: AILA AND THE EYES, THE EARS In her second New York show this young Japanese photographer is showing large pale close-ups of natural phenomenon -- fish eggs, dead chickens, a hatching bird -- reminding us with oddly visionary effects that lifes big themes are in the details. Cohan and Leslie, 138 10th Avenue, near 18th Street, Chelsea, (212) 206-8711, closing tomorrow. (Smith) ANNETTE LAWRENCE Ms. Lawrence, who is known for abstract works symbolizing themes of African-American ancestry, here presents an airy, expansive installation of many lengths of white string stretched in horizontal lines across the gallery. It is nicely complemented by musically suggestive drawings on brown paper composed of parallel pencil lines and calligraphic blobs in black, white and blood red. Betty Cunningham, 541 West 25th Street, Chelsea, (212)242-2772, closing on Wednesday. (Johnson) RICHARD PRINCE A well-chosen assortment of works from the past 25 years by this influential Neo-Pop semiotician includes joke paintings, car hood sculptures and photographs of scruffy upstate New York landscapes. Gladstone, 515 West 24th Street, Chelsea, (212)206-9300, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) * NEO RAUCH In his familiar and fashionable vein, mixing Pop, Surrealism, Socialist Realism and a stew of 19th-century sources, these latest paintings are more tours de force of labor and oddball design, chilly and sophisticated. The work is operating at a level where the air is thin and cold. David Zwirner Gallery, 525 West 19th Street, Chelsea, (212)727-2070, closing tomorrow. (Kimmelman) JEFF SONHOUSE: THE PANOPTIC CON As sharp visually as they are politically, Mr. Sonhouses compact, finely painted Pop-Surrealist portraits depict masked African-American men in colorful tuxedos with hair made of real matches, steel wool and other materials. In some, subjects are shown twice, mug-shot style: face-forward and in profile. These slyly incendiary works probe the mystique of the mythic scary-sexy black dude. Kustera Tilton, 520 West 21st Street, Chelsea, (212)989-0082, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) STURTEVANT: PUSH AND SHOVE The artist known for copying works by Warhol, Johns and other contemporary artists presents a darkly elegant installation of fake Duchamps, including a ceiling of 1,200 scrotumlike coal bags, a urinal, two bottle racks and a snow shovel. Perry Rubenstein, 527 West 23rd Street and 526 West 24th Street, Chelsea, (212)627-8000, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) HIROSHI SUGITO AND ROSILINE LUDUVICO The Japan-based Mr. Sugito and the Germany-based Ms. Luduvico bring compatible sensibilities to this dual show. Painted with wispy delicacy, her small pictures of people in the woods conjure sweet, sad moods. His most imposing painting, a large luminous field of patchy green punctuated by little butterflies, projects a vigorously sensuousness fantasy of pastoral bliss. Nicole Klagsbrun, 526 West 26th Street, Chelsea, (212)243-3335, closing tomorrow.(Johnson) JEAN CLAUDE WOUTERS: PORTRAITS & NUDES -- SPIRIT Through a process of re-photographing his prints, this French artist creates large, black-and-white photographs that are so pale it may take a second to see the ghostly image of a nude torso or, more hauntingly, the larger-than-life face that seems to gaze at us from an ethereal realm. Meyerowitz, 120 11th Avenue, at 20th Street, (212)414-2770, closing tomorrow. (Johnson)

$5B And 700 High Tech Jobs: Reasons Why F-35 Has Friends

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Womens World Cup 2015 Video: Norway admit were s**t in hilarious.

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Fox Sports Ready to Prove It Can Put on Major Event With Womens World Cup

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The Listings: Sept. 9 -- Sept. 15

Selective listings by critics of The New York Times of new and noteworthy cultural events in the Northeast this week. * denotes a highly recommended film, concert, show or exhibition. Theater Approximate running times are in parentheses. Theaters are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of current shows, additional listings, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/theater. Previews and Openings THE BREADWINNER Opens tomorrow. The Keen Company revives Somerset Maughams comedy about a middle-class man who makes an uncomfortable announcement. Carl Forsman directs (2:00). Connelly Theater, 220 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212)868-4444. THE BLOWIN OF BAILE GALL Opens Tuesday. The second part of Ronan Noones Baile trilogy explores what happens when an African refugee is hired instead of a local in a small Irish town (2:00). Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, Clinton, (212)868-4444. SPIRIT Previews begin Tuesday. Opens Thursday. The British company Improbable uses puppets and improvisation to tell the story of three brothers (1:30). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212)239-6200. COLDER THAN HERE Opens Sept. 28. Judith Light, Brian Murray, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe star in Laura Wades dark comedy about a woman planning her funeral (1:30). Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village, (212)279-4200. DR. SEX Opens Sept 20. After getting the Liam Neeson treatment on the big screen, the life of the sex researcher Alfred Kinsey gets its own show tunes, courtesy of this new musical comedy (2:20). Peter Norton Space, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212)279-4200. FRANS BED Opens Sept. 25. The fall seasons celebrity sightings begin as James Lapine directs Mia Farrow and Julia Stiles in his play about a woman undergoing a midlife crisis (1:45). Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212)279-4200. THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL Opens Sept. 22. A hit at the 2004 New York Musical Theater Festival, this comic musical features original songs about life in a trailer park (2:00). Dodger Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. THE INTELLIGENT DESIGN OF JENNY CHOW Opens Sept. 19. Rolin Joness high-concept sci-fi play, about a young genius who builds a better robot, helps kick off the 20th anniversary season of the Atlantic Theater Company (2:10). Atlantic Theater Company, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea, (212)239-6200. IN THE WINGS Previews begin today. Opens Sept. 28. Peter Scolari stars in a new play by Stewart F. Lane about a young couple, both actors, who are cast in a musical. Directed by Jeremy Dobrish (2:00). Promenade Theater, 2162 Broadway, at 76th Street, (212)239-6200. KISSING FIDEL Opens Sept. 20. A new comedy-drama by Eduardo Machado about a young man who goes back home to Cuba to kiss and forgive Fidel Castro. Directed by Michael John Garces (2:15). Kirk Theater, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212)279-4200. THE LADIES OF THE CORRIDOR Opens Wednesday. The Peccadillo Theater Company revives Dorothy Parker and Arnaud dUsseaus play about the eccentric residents of a New York City hotel (2:00). East 13th Street Theater, 136 East 13th Street, East Village, (212)279-4200. MIRACLE BROTHERS Opens Sept. 18. An epic new musical by Kirsten Childs about the adventures of two brothers -- one black, one white -- in 17th-century Brazil (2:00). Vineyard Theater, 108 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)353-0303. A NAKED GIRL ON THE APPIAN WAY Previews begin Tuesday. Opens Oct. 6. Jill Clayburgh, Richard Thomas and Matthew Morrison star in the Roundabout Theater Companys production of Richard Greenbergs comedy about a couple, their two children and some surprising news (2:00). American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212)719-1300. THE PAVILION Previews begin today. Opens Sept. 20. Stephen Bogardus, Brian DArcy James and Jennifer Mudge star in Craig Wrights play about romance at a Minnesota dance hall (2:00). Rattlestick Theater, 224 Waverly Place, at 11th Street, West Village, (212)868-4444. SLUT Previews begin Tuesday. Opens Oct. 1. A hit at the 2003 Fringe Festival, Ben H. Winters and Stephen Sislens musical is about two best friends and the rocker who comes between them (2:00). American Theater of Actors, 314 West 54th Street, Clinton, (212)(212)239-6200. Broadway ALL SHOOK UP In a pint-size theater with a campy young cast, this might be a moderate hoot. Inflated to Broadway proportions, its a mind-numbing holler (2:10). Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, (212)307-4100.(Ben Brantley) CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG The playthings are the thing in this lavish windup music box of a show: windmills, Rube Goldberg-esque machines and the shows title character, a flying car. Its like spending two and a half hours in the Times Square branch of Toys R Us (2:30). Hilton Theater, 213 West 42nd Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS On paper this musical tale of two mismatched scam artists has an awful lot in common with The Producers. But if you are going to court comparison with giants, you had better be prepared to stand tall. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz, never straightens out of a slouch (2:35). Imperial Theater, 249 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) *DOUBT, A PARABLE (Pulitzer Prize, Best Play 2005, and Tony Award, Best Play 2005) Set in the Bronx in 1964, this play by John Patrick Shanley is structured as a clash of wills and generations between Sister Aloysius (Cherry Jones), the head of a parochial school, and Father Flynn (Brian F. OByrne), the young priest who may or may not be too fond of the boys in his charge. The plays elements bring to mind those tidy topical melodramas that were once so popular. But Mr. Shanley makes subversive use of musty conventions (1:30). Walter Kerr, 219 West 48th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) LENNON In the immortal words of Yoko Ono, Aieeeee! (2:10). Broadhurst Theater, 235 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Love is a many-flavored thing, from sugary to sour, in Adam Guettel and Craig Lucass encouragingly ambitious and discouragingly unfulfilled new musical. The show soars only in the sweetly bitter songs performed by the wonderful Victoria Clark, as an American abroad (2:15). Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) *THE PILLOWMAN For all its darkness of plot and imagery, Martin McDonaghs tale of a suspected child murderer in a totalitarian state dazzles with a brightness now largely absent from Broadway. Exquisitely directed and designed, The Pillowman features top-of-the-line performances from Billy Crudup, Jeff Goldblum, Zeljko Ivanek and Michael Stuhlbarg (2:40). Booth Theater, 222 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) SPAMALOT (Tony Award, Best Musical 2005) This staged re-creation of the mock-medieval movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail is basically a singing scrapbook for Python fans. Still, it seems safe to say that such a good time is being had by so many people that this fitful, eager celebration of inanity and irreverence will find a large and lucrative audience (2:20). Shubert Theater, 225 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) SWEET CHARITY This revival of the 1966 musical never achieves more than a low-grade fever when whats wanted is that old steam heat. In the title role of the hopeful dance-hall hostess, the appealing but underequipped Christina Applegate is less a shopworn angel than a merry cherub (2:30). Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) *THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE The happy news for this happy-making little musical is that the move to larger quarters has dissipated none of its quirky charm. William Finns score sounds plumper and more rewarding than it did Off Broadway, providing a sprinkling of sugar to complement the sass in Rachel Sheinkins zinger-filled book. The performances are flawless. Gold stars all around. (1:45). Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212)239-6200. (Charles Isherwood) Off Broadway *ALTAR BOYZ This sweetly satirical show about a Christian pop group made up of five potential Teen People cover boys is an enjoyable, silly diversion (1:30). Dodger Stages, Stage 4, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) DEDICATION, OR THE STUFF OF DREAMS Portraying a terminally ill, rancidly rich misanthrope in Terrence McNallys play about a small-town childrens theater troupe, Marian Seldes is a snappy advertisement for the time-defying benefits of a religious devotion to theater. She is, in fact, what Dedication is all about, or intends to be, anyway. Burdened with soap-opera-ish plot turns and artificially bright dialogue, this comedy of mortality never seems able to convince itself that life and art trump death and doubt. (2:15). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan, (212)279-4200. (Brantley) DRUMSTRUCK This noisy novelty is a mixed blessing. Providing a two-foot drum on every seat, it offers an opportunity to exorcise aggressions by delivering a good beating, and on a slightly more elevated level, it presents a superficial introduction to African culture, lessons in drumming and 90 minutes of nonstop music, song and dancing by a good-natured cast. So, while literally and figuratively giving off many good vibes, it adds up to lightweight entertainment that stops just short of pulverizing the eardrums (1:30). Dodger Stages, Stage 2, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200.(Lawrence Van Gelder) * FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT This production features the expected caricatures of ego-driven singing stars. But even more than usual, the show offers an acute list of grievances about the sickly state of the Broadway musical, where, as the lyrics have it, everything old is old again (1:45). 47th Street Theater, 304 West 47th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) JOY John Fishers play with music, a lecture-prone valentine to San Francisco and gay life among college students, says less about human sexuality and longing than the classic, melancholy love songs the cast performs (2:00). The Actors Playhouse, 100 Seventh Avenue South, at Fourth Street, Greenwich Village, (212)239-6200. (Andrea Stevens) THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS! The musical is the happy narcissist of theater; parody is the best form of narcissism. All it needs are smart writers and winning performers. Thats what we get in this case (1:30). Dodger Stages, Stage 5, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. (Margo Jefferson) *ORSONS SHADOW Austin Pendletons play, about a 1960 production of Ionescos Rhinoceros, which was directed by Orson Welles and starred Laurence Olivier, is a sharp-witted but tenderhearted backstage comedy about the thin skins, inflamed nerves and rampaging egos that are the customary side effects when sensitivity meets success (2:00). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, Greenwich Village, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) ONCE AROUND THE SUN The sun of the title could be the talent and energy of its impressive cast: you can warm your hands on them and on the catchy music. Unfortunately, the book fails to capitalize on these strengths, instead presenting a trite fable about a young rock singer seduced by celebrity, with cardboard characters, despite the actors best efforts to give them dimension. Still, the performances are very entertaining (2:00). Zipper Theater, 336 West 37th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Anne Midgette) ONE-MAN STAR WARS TRILOGY With a storm trooper roaming the aisles and a woman in an Obi-Wan Kenobi get-up telling theatergoers to turn off their cellphones or they will be turned into cosmic dust, Charles Rosss sprint through Episodes IV through VI aims for the atmosphere of a Star Wars convention but ends up achieving something like a religious revival (which is sort of the same thing). True believers will love how Mr. Ross, a self-confessed geek who plays every major role in under an hour, simulates R2D2, but everyone else will scratch his head (1:00). Lambs Theater, 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Jason Zinoman) *SIDES: THE FEAR IS REAL This hilarious collection of sketches may send up familiar targets -- the insecure thespian, the fraudulent acting teacher, the arrogant Juilliard grad -- but since its performed with such specificity and comic charm by actors firing on all cylinders, you wont care a whit. Written by and starring an all-Asian-American cast, this slight but consistently entertaining satire is a primer on what not to do in an audition room (1:15). Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street, at Lafayette Street, East Village, (212)307-4100. (Zinoman) *THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) Is there such a thing as stand-up existentialism? If not, Will Eno has just invented it. Stand-up-style comic riffs and deadpan hipster banter keep interrupting the corrosively bleak narrative. Mr. Eno is a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation (1:10). DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) Off Off Broadway SCREEN PLAY A.R. Gurneys gleefully partisan retooling of the film Casablanca sets one tough saloon owners battle between idealism and cynicism in Buffalo in the 21st century. Staged by Jim Simpson as a deftly orchestrated reading, Screen Play turns out to be more than a quick collegiate caper; its a morally indignant work that fights frivolity with frivolity (1:10). Flea Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, (212)352-3101. (Brantley) Long-Running Shows AVENUE Q R-rated puppets give lively life lessons (2:10). Golden, 252 West 45th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200.(Brantley) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Cartoon made flesh, sort of (2:30). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4747. (Brantley) BLUE MAN GROUP Conceptual art as entertainment (1:45). Astor Place Theater, 434 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212)254-4370. (Brantley) CHICAGO Irrefutable proof that crime pays (2:25). Ambassador Theater, 219 West 49th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) FIDDLER ON THE ROOF The Shtetl Land pavilion in the theme park called Broadway (2:55). The Minskoff Theater, 200 West 45th Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) HAIRSPRAY Fizzy pop, cute kids, large man in a housedress (2:30). Neil Simon Theater, 250 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) THE LION KING Disney on safari, where the big bucks roam (2:45). New Amsterdam Theater, 214 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) MAMMA MIA! The jukebox that devoured Broadway (2:20). Cadillac Winter Garden Theater, 1634 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) MOVIN OUT The miracle dance musical that makes Billy Joel cool (2:00). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100.(Brantley) NAKED BOYS SINGING Thats who they are. Thats what they do (1:05). Julia Miles Theater, 414 West 55th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. (Anita Gates) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Who was that masked man, anyway? (2:30). Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) THE PRODUCERS The ne plus ultra of showbiz scams (2:45). St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) RENT East Village angst and love songs to die for (2:45). Nederlander Theater, 208 West 41st Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) *SLAVAS SNOWSHOW Clowns chosen by the Russian master Slava Polunin are stirring up laughter and enjoyment. A show that touches the heart as well as tickles the funny bone (1:30). Union Square Theater, 100 East 17th Street, Flatiron district, (212)307-4100.(Van Gelder) STOMP And the beat goes on (and on), with percussion unlimited (1:30). Orpheum Theater, Second Avenue at Eighth Street, East Village, (212)477-2477. (Brantley) WICKED Oz revisited, with political corrections (2:45). Gershwin Theater, 222 West 51st Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) Last Chance TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA Three decades after it first charmed critics with its insouciance, John Guare and Mel Shapiros adaptation of Shakespeares comedy, with throwaway songs by Galt MacDermot, tastes less like vintage Champagne than a fruity sangria. But isnt sangria the right drink for a sultry night in the park? Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, with a peppy young cast that includes the ravishing Rosario Dawson (2:45). The Public Theater at the Delacorte Theater, Central Park, entrances at 81st Street and Central Park West, and at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue, (212)239-6200, closing Sunday. (Brantley) Movies Ratings and running times are in parentheses; foreign films have English subtitles. Full reviews of all current releases, movie trailers, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/movies. (An article on summer films is on Page 1 of Weekend.) *THE ARISTOCRATS (No rating, 89 minutes) A rigorously scholarly documentary about the theory and practice of joke-telling that also happens to be one of the filthiest, vilest, most extravagantly obscene movies ever made -- and one of the funniest. (A.O. Scott) ASYLUM (R, 90 minutes) A dreary, claustrophobic soap, with Natasha Richardson, about a 1950s bored wife and mother victimized by her times and her incredibly bad taste in men; based on Patrick McGraths novel and directed by David Mackenzie. (Manohla Dargis) *BAD NEWS BEARS (PG-13, 111 minutes) Filled with small, cute kids and large, goofy laughs, and kept aloft by Billy Bob Thorntons ribald star turn, Richard Linklaters remake of this 1976 sports comedy wont rock your movie world. But the fact that the filmmaker keeps the freak flag flying in the face of our culture of triumphalism is a thing of beauty. (Dargis) BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS (No rating, 111 minutes, in Mandarin and French) Dai Sijie, adapting his novel, looks back at the Chinese Cultural Revolution, relating a touching, bittersweet love story that is also a testament to the power of literature in times of political repression. (Scott) *BATMAN BEGINS (PG-13, 137 minutes) Conceived in the shadow of American pop rather than in its bright light, this tense, effective iteration of Bob Kanes original comic book owes its power and pleasures to a director (Christopher Nolan) who takes his material seriously and to a star (a terrific Christian Bale) who shoulders that seriousness with ease. Batman Begins is the seventh live-action film to take on the comic-book legend and the first to usher it into the kingdom of movie myth. (Dargis) THE BAXTER (PG-13, 91 minutes) A Baxter, in the lingo of this romantic comedy written by, directed by and starring the comedian Michael Showalter, is the safe choice, the also-ran, the guy who is left at the altar when the hero shows up, as Dustin Hoffman did in The Graduate, to claim his true love. The films tragic flaw is that Mr. Showalter is miscast -- or has miscast himself -- in the title role. In the end, The Baxter is a Baxter of a movie: well meaning and mildly likable, but unlikely to sweep you off your feet. (Dana Stevens) * BROKEN FLOWERS (R, 105 minutes) Sweet, funny, sad and meandering, Jim Jarmuschs new film sends Bill Murrays aging Don Juan out in search of a son he never knew he had. He finds four former lovers, including Sharon Stone and Jessica Lange, and reveals once again that he is the quietest and finest comic actor working in movies today. (Scott) THE BROTHERS GRIMM (PG-13, 118 minutes) Despite a few early sparks of promise, Terry Gilliams big-screen adventure about the brother folklorists (played by Matt Damon and Heath Ledger) sputters and coughs along like an unoiled machine, grinding gears and nerves in equal measure. (Dargis) THE CAVE (PG-13, 97 minutes) In Bruce Hunts formulaic Cave, a group of ace cave-divers are flown in to investigate an intricate maze system discovered beneath the ruins of an ancient Romanian abbey, but instead become the prey of mutated demonlike creatures that can fly and see in the dark. Dreadfully dull, muddled and chaotic, with colorless and underdeveloped characters.(Laura Kern) THE CENTURY OF THE SELF (No rating, four hours, shown in two parts) This documentary, a four-part series produced for BBC television that is being shown in theaters in two separate two-hour segments, explores how Freuds seminal theory of the unconscious has been successfully deployed over the past century as an instrument of consumer manipulation and social control. The Century of the Self is an unusually cerebral filmed essay that demands focus and patience from its audience as it sets about unearthing a secret history of the 20th century. (Stevens) CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (PG, 116 minutes) Flawed but fascinating. Some of the departures from the book will make Roald Dahl fans roll their eyes, but some of the visuals will make their eyes (and everyone elses) pop. (Scott) *THE CONSTANT GARDENER (R, 129 minutes) A superior thriller with a conscience, from John le Carrés novel.( Scott) *DARWINS NIGHTMARE (No rating, 107 minutes, in English, Russian and Swahili) A harrowing, unblinking look at the consequences of globalization, as seen from the shores of Lake Victoria in Tanzania. Not easy viewing, but indispensable for just that reason. (Scott) DEUCE BIGALOW: EUROPEAN GIGOLO (R, 77 minutes) In a sequel to the 1999 hit, the schlubby escort lands in Amsterdam to make lovelorn ladies feel whole, but the entire ordeal is mockery disguised as self-help. This insulting comedy is out of step with the culture, the times and the rebranded Adam Sandler, who was a producer and bit player in this mess. (Ned Martel) *EL CRIMEN PERFECTO (No rating, 105 minutes, in Spanish) In this antic and outrageous black comedy, Rafael González (Guillermo Toledo) is a salesman in the womens section of a Madrid department store. Rafaels fondest dream is to be floor manager; when his archrival for the position, Don Antonio (Luis Varela), is accidentally killed in a scuffle in the dressing room, Rafaels world begins to unravel. Like the Ferris wheel that serves as the setting for one of its climactic scenes, El Crimen Perfecto is a bright, gaudy and tremendously satisfying ride. (Stevens) ETERNAL (No rating, 108 minutes) Lush, lurid and completely besotted with itself, Eternal claims inspiration from the life of Erszebet Bathory, a 16th-century Hungarian countess whose antiaging routine required frequent immersions in young, female blood. Merging low art and high production values, this is one of the dullest, least sexy lesbian vampire movies ever made. (Jeannette Catsoulis) FANTASTIC FOUR (PG-13, 105 minutes) Mediocre at best. (Scott) *THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (R, 111 minutes) A sex comedy turned romantic bliss-out, with Steve Carell, in which the sound of one prophylactic snapping is just a single sweet note in the glorious symphony of love. (Dargis) FOUR BROTHERS (R, 148 minutes) In John Singletons slick hybrid of urban western and modern blaxploitation movie, four young men, two black and two white, reunite in Detroit to avenge the shooting death of their saintly adoptive mother. Preposterous, amoral and exciting. (Stephen Holden) THE GREAT RAID (R, 132 minutes) This tedious World War II movie, which re-enacts a real-life heroic rescue of American prisoners from a Japanese camp in the Philippines, slogs across the screen like a forced march in quicksand. (Holden) *GRIZZLY MAN (R, 103 minutes) Werner Herzogs bold, enthralling documentary about one mans journey into the heart of darkness (and the belly of the beast) traces the life and strange times of the self-anointed grizzly expert Timothy Treadwell. (Dargis) HUSTLE & FLOW (R, 114 minutes) Terrence Howard is superb as a Memphis pimp chasing his dream of hip-hop stardom in a movie that is an awkward mix of realism, misogyny and Hollywood hokum. (Scott) * JUNEBUG (R, 107 minutes) A Southern Five Easy Pieces, this deep, bittersweet comedy about a young mans return from Chicago to his familys North Carolina home envelops us in the texture of a culture the movies seldom visit. Amy Adams gives an incandescent portrayal of the mans pregnant, childlike sister-in-law. (Holden) MAD HOT BALLROOM (PG, 105 minutes) This documentary follows fifth graders from three very different New York City public schools as they prepare to compete in a ballroom dancing tournament. The sight of 10-year-olds trying to master the graceful, grown-up motions of the fox trot and the tango is charming, and the glimpses of their lives in and outside of school are fascinating, though unfortunately the film offers little more than glimpses. (Scott) *MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (G, 80 minutes) This sentimental but riveting documentary follows the one-year mating cycle of emperor penguins in Antarctica when they leave the ocean and march inland to breed and lay eggs. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, the film has no qualms about playing on our emotions. (Holden) *MARGARET CHO: THE ASSASSIN TOUR (No rating, 85 minutes) A live taping of Ms. Chos standup performance on May 14, 2005, at the Warner Theater in Washington. Equal parts inspired clown, committed activist and ferocious Republican-baiter, Ms. Cho seeks out the bruises on American culture and gleefully applies pressure. (Catsoulis) *THE MEMORY OF A KILLER (R, 120 minutes, in Flemish and French) Directed by Erik Van Looy, this nicely kinked Belgian thriller features a range of good guys and bad, including one whose sense of morality and world-weariness seem straight out of a Jean-Pierre Melville film. (Dargis) MR. AND MRS. SMITH (PG-13, 112 minutes) What counts in a movie like this are stars so dazzling that we wont really notice or at least mind the cut-rate writing (from Simon Kinberg) and occasionally incoherent action (from the director, Doug Liman). Sometimes Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie succeed in their mutual role as sucker bait, sometimes they dont, which is why their joint venture is alternately a goof and a drag. (Dargis) *MURDERBALL (R, 86 minutes) The brutal, highly competitive sport of wheelchair rugby is the subject of this exciting and uplifting (but never mawkish) documentary about the redemptive power of fierce athletic competition. (Holden) MUST LOVE DOGS (PG-13, 92 minutes) This tepid sitcom about computer dating wastes the talents of its stars (Diane Lane, John Cusack, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing) in stale, dated material that makes Nora Ephrons trifles look like Chekhov. (Holden) * RED EYE (PG-13, 85 minutes) The sights and sounds of two people talking become a nerve-jangling duet for cat and mouse, hunter and prey in Wes Cravens nifty, tense thriller. (Dargis) THE SKELETON KEY (PG-13, 104 minutes) Kate Hudson in a T-shirt and underwear, intimations of unspeakable evil, slamming doors and equally slamming edits, and an introductory course in hoodoo, a folk religion born in the South -- all this and Gena Rowlands, Peter Sarsgaard and John Hurt, too. (Dargis) * SKY HIGH (PG, 102 minutes) This witty Disney adventure comedy imagines a high school for superheroes, hidden above the clouds, where the students are divided into Heroes and Sidekicks. The movie poses the age-old question Is there life after high school? and with a cheerful wink answers, No, not really. (Holden) A SOUND OF THUNDER (PG-13, 103 minutes) A bloated, incoherent adaptation of a spare, elegant Ray Bradbury story. This cant be good, one character remarks. No, indeed. (Scott) STEAL ME (No rating, 95 minutes) When a 15-year-old kleptomaniac lands in rural Montana searching for his prostitute mother, his arrival sends waves of sexual excitement through every female within pheromone-sniffing distance. Overheated material redeemed by natural performances and a screenplay that probes the bond between mothers and sons with unusual fearlessness. (Catsoulis) *TONY TAKITANI (No rating, 75 minutes, in Japanese) In this delicate wisp of a film with a surprisingly sharp sting, a lonely man awakens to life for the first time at 37 during a brief idyll. Directed by Jun Ichikawa, from a short story by Haruki Murakami. (Dargis) TRANSPORTER 2 (PG-13, 88 minutes) Ex-Special Forces operative Frank Martin (Jason Statham), the blank-faced professional driver with more tricks -- and lives -- than James Bond, is back in this purely shallow, but never dull, sequel to The Transporter. This time, hes in Miami and will do whatever it takes to save the life of a young boy whos been kidnapped and injected with a deadly contagious virus. (Kern) * 2046 (R, 129 minutes) An ecstatically beautiful story in which time is marked not by the hands of a clock, but by the women who pass through one mans life, 2046 is the eighth feature film from the Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai and the long-awaited follow-up to his art-house favorite In the Mood for Love. A film about longing, loss and the delicate curve of a womans back, it is also an unqualified triumph. (Dargis) USHER (No rating, playing with three shorts with a total running time of 95 minutes) A 40-minute version of Edgar Allan Poes Fall of the House of Usher, which favors literateness over melodrama and psychological kinks over special effects. Directed by Curtis Harrington with old-fashioned stateliness, Usher may be stilted but it is also quite touching. Accompanied by three of the directors early shorts. (Catsoulis) VALIANT (G, 80 minutes) Homing pigeons versus falcons are the combatants in this shoddily made animated movie about heroes and villains in World War II. The talents of many fine British actors are squandered in the voice-overs. (Holden) WAR OF THE WORLDS (PG-13, 117 minutes) The aliens invade (again). Effectively scary and visually impressive. (Scott) WEDDING CRASHERS (R, 113 minutes) A wink-wink, nudge-nudge Trojan horse of a story, this amiably raunchy sex comedy pivots on two Lotharios persuasively inhabited by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. They love the ladies but really and truly, cross their cheating hearts, just want a nice girl to call wife. Credited to the screenwriters Steve Faber and Bob Fisher. (Dargis) Film Series 9/11/03: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF NEW YORK (Sunday) The Two Boots Pioneer Theater concludes its run of Richard Karzs documentary about the second anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. New Yorkers who share their thoughts and opinions on that day include Ray Kelly, the police commissioner; Russell Simmons, the hip-hop mogul; Joe Torre, the Yankees manager; the Rev. Al Sharpton; Shirin Neshat, an Iranian-born artist and filmmaker; Dolly Lenz, a real estate broker; and Ti-Hua Chang, the local television news reporter. 155 East Third Street, at Avenue A, East Village, (212)591-0434; $9. (Anita Gates) CMJ FILMFEST (Through Sept. 17) Advance screenings of fall 2005 films, held in tandem with the CMJ Music Marathon, begin on Wednesday. Features include Martin Scorseses No Direction Home, about Bob Dylans life and music in the early 1960s; Cameron Crowes Elizabethtown, with Susan Sarandon, Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst; Walk the Line, with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as Johnny and June Carter Cash; and Brick, a film noir murder mystery set in a 21st-century high school. Loews State Theater, 1540 Broadway, at 45th Street, and DGA Theater, 110 West 57th Street, Manhattan, (212)258-0890; free with CMJ Music Marathon pass ($445). (Gates) PINEWOOD DIALOGUES (Tuesday) The Museum of the Moving Image presents its third in a series of filmmaker dialogues. A discussion with David Cronenberg follows a screening of Mr. Cronenbergs new film, A History of Violence, a drama about a small-town diner owner (Viggo Mortensen) who kills two would-be robbers. 7 p.m., 35th Avenue, at 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, (718)784-0077; $18. (Gates) REPERTORY NIGHTS (Through Nov. 6) The Museum of the Moving Image continues its annual film series with Persona (1966), Ingmar Bergmans psychodrama about an actress (Liv Ullmann) recovering from a nervous breakdown who has an unusual effect on her nurse (Bibi Andersson). It will be screened tomorrow and Sunday. Other auteurs represented in the festival include Akira Kurosawa, F.W. Murnau, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and François Truffaut. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 p.m., 35th Avenue, at 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, (718)784-0077; $10. (Gates) SUMMER SAMURAI (Through Thursday) Film Forum concludes its four-week celebration of the Japanese warrior-action genre with Kihachi Okamotos Sword of Doom (1966), Hideo Goshas Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron (1978), Hiroshi Inagakis Samurai Saga (1959), Goshas Goyokin (1969) and Mr. Okamotos Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970). 209 West Houston Street, west of Sixth Avenue, South Village, (212)727-8110; $10. (Gates) TRUTH AND DARE: NEW YORK KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL (Through Sunday) BAMcinémateks festival of recent films from Korea, now in its fifth year, continues this weekend. Features include Kim Tae-Kyuns Romance of Their Own (2004), a romantic comedy about a country girl who moves to Seoul; Lee Jae-Hans Moment to Remember (2004), a drama about a happily married couple dealing with the wifes Alzheimers disease; and Ahn Byeong-Kis horror hit Bunshinsaba (2004). BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718)636-4100; $10. (Gates) Pop Full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music. ABC (Tonight) This suave 1980s band delivered sly, cabaret-ready radio hits like Poison Arrow and Look of Love on a shiny silver platter. 8, Canal Room, 285 West Broadway, at Canal Street, Chinatown, (212)941-8100, $30 in advance, $35 at the door. (Laura Sinagra) AESOP ROCK, BLACKALICIOUS, LADY SOVEREIGN, APSCI (Thursday) The self-deprecating rapper Aesop Rock and the conscious hip-hoppers Blackalicious are charming if not explosive. Few M.C.s ride the jerky rhythms of grime, a British mix of hip-hop and techno, quite like the adorably brash 17-year-old Lady Sovereign. The Brooklyn-based husband-and-wife duo Apsci serve up beats that slide from synth-electro to glitch electronica. 6:30 p.m., Webster Hall, 125 East 11th Street, East Village, (212)353-1600, $20. (Sinagra) AMADOU AND MARIAM, LAURA VIERS (Thursday) Amadou and Mariam, a duo who met in a school for the blind in Mali, build their pop from relatively traditional materials; their songs start out sweetly and spiral upward with increasing passion. Lately theyve worked with the eclectic world-music producer Manu Chao. The ethereal but edgy singer-songwriter Laura Viers opens at this CMJ event. 8:30 p.m., Hiro Ballroom, 363 West 16th Street, Chelsea, (212)727-0212, $25. (Jon Pareles) MARC ANTHONY, ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ (Tonight) Mr. Anthony is the biggest-selling salsa artist of all time; he is still passionately riding the rhythm as well as reportedly coaching his new wife, Jennifer Lopez, on the finer points of full-bodied singing. Mr. Fernández, the Mexican crooner, sings sweeping love ballads as well as mariachi standards. 7, Madison Square Garden, (212)465-6741, $49.50 to $129. 50. (Sinagra) DEVENDRA BANHART (Wednesday) Devendra Banharts eerie, wavery voice and stream-of-consciousness songs reach back to the childlike surrealism of some of psychedelias most beloved oddballs: Syd Barrett and the preglam rock of Marc Bolan. This CMJ bill also includes the rapper Beans, the British garage partiers the Cribs and the yelping bashers King of France. 7 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111, $15 (sold out). (Sinagra) BLOC PARTY, THE KILLS, NOISETTES (Tonight) Many bands steal sounds from the danceable punk of the early 80s, but few do it with the enthusiasm of Britains Bloc Party. It is joined by the lanky rock duo the Kills and the Noisettes, who play shouty funk-pop with vocals recalling the X-Ray Spex. 6:45, Roseland Ballroom, 239 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, (212)777-6800, $25. (Sinagra) GREG BROWN (Tomorrow) Greg Brown has quietly become one of the luminaries of the folky circuit. In his songs, cautious optimism slow-dances with resolute melancholy. He anatomizes despair with the droll familiarity of someone who expects to be stuck there for a while. His voice is a low growl shading toward a whisper; his tunes, set to his fingerpicked acoustic guitar, have the homey simplicity of hymns, waltzes or the blues. 7 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212)777-6800, $25. (Pareles) CIRCLE JERKS (Tonight and tomorrow night) Led by the outspoken frontman Keith Morris, this seminal West Coast punk band fuses gross-outs with a blunt, anti-establishment critique. 7, CBGB, 315 Bowery, at Bleecker Street, East Village, (212)982-4052, $40. (Sinagra) DOVES (Wednesday) Doves bring a rough Madchester dance pedigree to their sweeping guitar pop, making this trios music slightly edgier than that of other British acts, like Coldplay. Also on this CMJ bill are Marjorie Fair and Unbusted. 7 p.m., Warsaw at the Polish National Home, 261 Driggs Avenue, at Eckford Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, (212)645-5156, $30. (Sinagra) DUNGEN (Thursday) This Swedish bands biker-rock combines humongous riffing with whimsical jams, conjuring both black-leather aggression and the pastoral wonder of the open road. Also on this CMJ bill are the glam-metal Diamond Nights and the metal folkies Tarantula A.D. 9:30 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111, $15.(Sinagra) FEIST (Tuesday and Wednesday) The Canadian bohemian Feist is good at affecting a Continental, beer-hall gloom, but her best cabaret-pop songs are quirky jazz numbers; she sounds like a hipper Norah Jones. Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., with the Canadian folk-pop band Great Lake Swimmers, which records its hushed music in abandoned silos and rural churches, $20. Wednesday she headlines a seven-band CMJ slate starting at 7 p.m. at the Knitting Factory Main Space, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212)219-3006, $20. (Sinagra) DIAMANDA GALAS (Tonight) There are no small emotions for Ms. Galas, whose compositions are music theater with its rawest nerves exposed. She takes up fear and rage, mourning and vengeance; her voice can reach operatic heights or slice through a room with primal moans and shrieks and sobs. This is the East Coast debut of Defixiones, Orders From the Dead, a sacred operatic mass. 8, Schimmel Center for the Arts, Pace University, 3 Spruce Street, between Park Row and Gold Street, Lower Manhattan, (212)279-4200, $15 to $35. (Pareles) GREAT JEWISH ARTISTS PERFORM GREAT JEWISH COMPOSERS (Tuesday) The program of this years Jewish Music Heritage Festivals opening night seems to have been conceived by the wicked minds who pair up the presenters for MTV awards shows. It features the Klezmatics performing songs by Randy Newman; the experimental jazz guitarist Marc Ribot assaying Billy Joel; the jazzy klezmer group Pharoahs Daughter doing Carly Simon; and the Russian-born singer and pianist (and Strokes collaborator) Regina Spektor taking on both the work of Leonard Cohen and that of the Kabbalah evangelist Esther, better known as Madonna. Uri Caine and Tovah Feldshuh pay homage to Copland and the Gershwins. The hasidic reggae musician Matisyahu performs the folk songs of Shlomo Carlebach. 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue, (212)415-5500; V.I.P. seating, $125, general, $48. (Sinagra) HEAD OF FEMUR (Thursday) With distorted and stuttered guitar and falsetto vocals, Head of Femur blurts its impressions and confessions, urged on by horns that seem to have strayed from the football field to the hangout under the bleachers. This CMJ bill includes the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir and Le Concorde, who play later slots. 10:45 p.m., Arlenes Grocery, 95 Stanton Street, one block below Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212)358-1633, $7. (Sinagra) JACK JOHNSON (Monday and Tuesday) This easygoing, sandal-shod surf dude plays strummy mellow-out music for extreme sports fans extremely sensitive moods. Monday and Tuesday at 6 p.m., Central Park, Rumsey Playfield, midpark at 70th Street, jackjohnsontickets.musictoday.com; $37.50 in advance, $40 at the event. (Sinagra) SEU JORGE (Sunday and Monday) The Brazilian singer Seu Jorge may be best known here for his lilting samba covers of David Bowie songs in Wes Andersons movie The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. His music avoids the traditional Brazilian styles, favoring crowd-pleasing funk-pop and loverman R&B. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111, $22 in advance, $25 at the door. (Sinagra) KANINE RECORDS NIGHT (Wednesday) The Brooklyn label Kanine offers a CMJ lineup of top-notch quirky bands like the noise-folk wackos Grizzly Bear, the shaggy art-rockers Oxford Collapse, the electro-poppers Mixel Pixel, the electro-punks Mommy and Daddy and the pop-punkers Four Voltz. 7:30 p.m., Pianos, 158 Ludlow Street, at Stanton Street, Lower East Side, (212)420-1466, $10 in advance and $12 at the door. (Sinagra) LITTLE BROTHER (Thursday) This soul-grounded Durham, N.C., rap group forgoes Southern crunk in favor of blending the free-form experimentation of Outkast with the kind of jazzy tracks that characterized East Coast hip-hop of the mid-90s. The bill includes the rapper J-Live and the D.J. Mark Ronson, starting at 8 p.m.; Little Brother plays at 12:15 a.m. B.B. Kings Blues Club and Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212)997-4144, $18. (Sinagra) LOOKOUT RECORDS SHOWCASE (Thursday) This great CMJ showcase features the whimsical indie rocker Mary Timony (12 a.m.), the pleasantly droney pop of the Oranges Band (11 p.m.), the hard-riffing wit of Hockey Night and the catchy screeds of Elizabeth Elmores Reputation (8 p.m.). Troubled Hubble and the Dollyrots also play. Show starts at 7 p.m.; $12, Rothko, 116 Suffolk Street, at Rivington Street, Lower East Side, (212)475-7088, $12. (Sinagra) J MASCIS (Sunday) He reunited earlier this summer for a few shows with the original lineup of Dinosaur Jr., his seminal rock band that melded the apathetic cool of American punk with the guitar blare of classic rock. He plays solo here for CBGB, which has lost its lease but continues to fight to stay open. 8 p.m., CBGB, 315 Bowery, at Bleecker Street, East Village, (212)982-4052, $20.(Sinagra) THE NATIONAL, CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH (Tonight) The National is a group of New York-based Ohio natives who play a kind of pent-up, countrified indie rock that underplays its hand enough to seem modest. The Brooklyn quintet Clap Your Hands Say Yeah recalls the shamanic whine and thrum of the mid-1990s lo-fi rocker Neutral Milk Hotel and sometimes the paranoid quirkiness of the Talking Heads. 8:30, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111, $15 (sold out).(Sinagra) THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS (Thursday) This revved-up Vancouver outfits tight power-pop grandeur builds with a sort of time-release tension, until the voice of Neko Case cuts through like a triumphant skywriter. 5 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111, $20. (Sinagra) NEW YORK SALSA FESTIVAL: VICTOR MANUELLE, INDIA, TITO ROJAS, OSCAR DLEON, SONORA PONCEÑA (Tomorrow) This 30th annual collection of salsa musicians includes Victor Manuelle, one of the most important soneros of his generation, with brassy, hard-swinging declamations of love songs and soaring improvisations traded with the band. The brash-voiced India has teamed up with musicians like Eddie Palmieri, Marc Anthony and Tito Puente. Tito Rojas has been one of the leading Puerto Rican salsa singers since the 1980s, making hits with both ballads and dance tunes. The suavely forceful Venezuelan singer Oscar DLeon leads a high-powered dance band that holds on to the best aspects of 1970s and 80s salsa. La Sonora Ponceña has been one of the cornerstones of Puerto Rican salsa since it was founded in 1954. Its arrangements are at once transparent and propulsive, with pinpoint horns, percussion and keyboard behind ardent vocals. 7 p.m., Madison Square Garden, (212)465-6741, $39.50 to $ 99.50. (Pareles) NOUVELLE VAGUE (Tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday) These French multi-instrumentalists have hit upon a lucrative shtick, covering jittery post-punk gems like Joy Divisions dark, swirling Love Will Tear Us Apart as dispassionate bossa nova chill music. Tomorrow and Tuesday, 9:30 p.m., Joes Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212)239-6200, $18 to $20. Wednesday, 9 p.m., Canal Room, 285 West Broadway, at Canal Street, Chinatown, (212)941-8100; $15 in advance, $20 at the door. (Sinagra) ROLLING STONES (Tuesday) The bands newest album is its most stripped-down in 20 years. And as the 62-year-old sexpot Mick Jagger shouts Sweet Neo Con from stadium stages at what could be President Bushs most vulnerable moment, the Stones even seem politically relevant. 8 p.m., Madison Square Garden, (212)465-6741, $64.50 to $454.50. (Sinagra) SIGUR ROS, AMINA (Monday and Tuesday) The Icelandic atmospherists Sigur Ros continue to pursue the hope and dread of open expanse and conjure with their sung gibberish a kind of ur-poetry. Amina is an all-female string quartet that similarly muses on vastness. 8 p.m., Beacon Theater, 2124 Broadway, at 74th Street, (212)496-7070, $33.50 to $50. (Sinagra) REGINA SPEKTOR, DEVOTCHKA (Thursday) Ms. Spektors music is of the jaggedly quirky cabaret variety. It brings punk immediacy into a chamber setting, reveling in knotty rhymes and slightly unhinged melodrama. She is joined by the Gyspy punk band DeVotchKa. Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212)777-6800, $18.50 in advance, $20 at the door. (Sinagra) WIDE RIGHT (Tomorrow) This rocking bar band features one of the more winsome singer-guitarists around in the person of the chatty, no-nonsense frontwoman Leah Archibald. Ms. Archibald, a Buffalo transplant, makes life as a musician mom look easy while writing sometimes scathing, shrewd domestic portraits and observant odes to rust-belt culture. 8 p.m., Magnetic Field, 97 Atlantic Avenue, at Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights, (718)834-0069, $4. (Sinagra) THE WRENS, SPARROW (Thursday) The smart noise-rockers the Wrens write about life in their home state, New Jersey, but not with a smirk. With understated, meditative albums and intense, up-tempo live shows, they offer two different responses to suburban tensions. Their labelmate Sparrow plays this CMJ showcase at 10 p.m., with the Wrens at 1 a.m. Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212)260-4700, $15. (Sinagra) Cabaret Full reviews of recent cabaret shows: nytimes.com/music. ANNIE ROSS (Tomorrow and Wednesday) Cool, funny, swinging and indestructible, this 75-year-old singer and sometime actress exemplifies old-time hip in its most generous incarnation. Tomorrow at 7 p.m. and Wednesday at 9:15 p.m., Dannys Skylight Room, 346 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212)265-8133; $25, with a $12 minimum. (Stephen Holden) Jazz Full reviews of recent jazz concerts: nytimes.com/music. BAUHAUS QUARTET (Tuesday) Kevin Norton is a probing drummer, vibraphonist and composer, although not always in that order; his Bauhaus Quartet, which becomes a quintet here with the addition of the pianist Angelica Sanchez, exemplifies the taut intellectualism of jazzs far-left wing. 8 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, www.thestonenyc.com; cover, $10.(Nate Chinen) DAVE BINNEY AND FRIENDS (Through Sunday) Mr. Binney, a graceful yet gutsy alto saxophonist, enlists a handful of marquee collaborators, including the guitarist Adam Rogers and the drummer Brian Blade. Hes also joined by a pair of peerless tenor saxophonists: Chris Potter (tonight and Sunday) and Mark Turner (tomorrow). 9 and 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212)929-9883; cover, $10. (Chinen) *DAVE BRUBECK (Wednesday) Although now in his mid-80s, Mr. Brubeck still tours extensively with his quartet and has lately been composing works of grand ambition; this concert, part of the New York Jewish Heritage Festival, will feature his hourlong civil rights oratorio, The Gates of Justice, as well as a new a cappella piece based on the Ten Commandments. 8 p.m., Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (212)258-9595; $80.50 and $140.50. (Chinen) *DAVE BURRELL 65TH-BIRTHDAY CONCERT (Sunday) The pianist Dave Burrell has been a soft-spoken hero of the avant-garde for the last 40 years and still ranks among its most panoramic stylists. His first set here will spotlight his solo piano vocabulary, which extends as far back as Fats Waller; the second will feature a trio, with Michael Formanek on bass and Guillermo Brown on drums. 8 and 10 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, www.thestonenyc.com; cover, $10. (Chinen) JAMES CARTER ORGAN TRIO (Tuesday through Sept. 18) Mr. Carter, the irrepressibly charismatic saxophonist, leads a sturdy and occasionally surprising soul-jazz unit with the Hammond B-3 organist Gerard Gibbs and the drummer Leonard King; special guests include the Lionel Loueke Trio, which opens on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, who joins the ensemble on Thursday. 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village, (212)475-8592; cover, $25 at tables, with a $5 minimum, or $15 at the bar, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) GERALD CLEAVERS UNCLE JUNE (Wednesday) Dealing less in rhythm than in pulse, Mr. Cleavers drumming perfectly suits the fluid requirements of jazzs post-everything avant-garde; this ruminative project enlists the tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, the violinist Mat Maneri, the keyboardist Craig Taborn and the bassist Drew Gress. 10 p.m., Barbes, 376 Ninth Street, at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718)965-9177; cover, $8. (Chinen) GEORGE COLEMAN QUARTET (Tonight and tomorrow) Fluent and fiery hard-bop, from a well-traveled saxophonist with a soulfully modernistic style. 9 and 11 p.m., and 12:30 a.m., Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at 106th Street, Morningside Heights, (212)864-6662; cover, $25; minimum, $10.(Chinen) *DIET COKE WOMEN IN JAZZ FESTIVAL (Through Oct. 2) This laudable festival shines a spotlight on female instrumentalists and vocalists. Among the highlights of the coming week are an evening of solo piano with Marian McPartland, the beloved host of NPRs Piano Jazz (Tuesday); and two nights with the singer Rita Coolidge, who recently joined the Great American Songbook caravan (Wednesday and Thursday). 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 set Fridays and Saturdays, Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (212) 258-9595; cover, $30, with a minimum of $10 at tables, $5 at the bar. (Chinen) AVRAM FEFER TRIO (Tomorrow) Mr. Fefer is an adventurous saxophonist and clarinetist with a taste for bluesy colors, as he shows on the new CD Calling All Spirits (Cadence); hes backed here by the bassist Adam Lane and the drummer Igal Foni. 8 p.m., Community Garden at East Sixth Street and Avenue B, East Village; free. (Chinen) SATOKO FUJII QUARTET (Sunday) Since the late 1990s, the Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii has led a texturally oriented trio with the bassist Mark Dresser and the drummer Jim Black; here, as on the new CD Live in Japan 2004 (Polystar), that group is joined by Ms. Fujiis husband, the intense and accomplished trumpeter Natsuki Tamura. 8 p.m., Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, near Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212)358-7501; cover, $10, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) BARRY HARRIS QUINTET (Tonight and tomorrow night) A crisp and courtly pianist firmly in the bebop idiom, Mr. Harris appears here in a quintet featuring the veteran baritone saxophonist Charles Davis. 9 and 11, Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, (212)581-3080; cover, $30, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) STEFON HARRIS AND BLACKOUT (Through Sunday) Mr. Harris, a mallet percussion whiz, brings megawatt showmanship to this dance-floor hybrid; hes ably abetted by the alto saxophonist Casey Benjamin, the keyboardist Marc Cary, the drummer Terreon Gully and the bassist Darryl Hall. 8, 10 and 11:30 tonight; 8:30, 10:30 and 11:45 p.m. tomorrow; 8 and 10 p.m. on Sunday; Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street, (212)582-2121; cover, $27.50 to $30, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) VIJAY IYER QUARTET (Wednesday) A pianist and composer given to restive energies and rhythmic conundrums, Mr. Iyer leads a thoroughly modern quartet consisting of Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto saxophone, Stephan Crump on bass and Dan Weiss on drums. 7:30 p.m., Joes Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212)539-8778; cover, $15. (Chinen) DAVE KIKOSKI TRIO (Tonight and tomorrow night) Few jazz pianists are as well-rounded as Mr. Kikoski, whos backed by the stellar rhythm team of Ed Howard on bass and Victor Lewis on drums. 8 and 9:45, Kitano Hotel, 66 Park Avenue, at 38th Street, (212)885-7119; cover, $15, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) FRANK LACY QUARTET (Tonight and tomorrow night) Mr. Lacy is a trombonist with a free spirit but a taste for tonality; he goes for the gusto in this working band. 8, 10 and midnight, Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue South, above Bleecker Street, West Village, (212)255-3626; cover, $20, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) MALABY/SANCHEZ/RAINEY (Tomorrow) A collective trio that treads a middle ground between lyricism and abstraction, with Tony Malaby on saxophones, Angelica Sanchez on piano and Tom Rainey on drums. 9 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village, (212)989-9319; cover, $10, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) RUSSELL MALONE QUARTET (Through Sunday) Mr. Malone, one of the brightest and most gifted guitarists of the modern jazz mainstream, plays a weekend run with his working band; the resulting music will be fodder for a live CD. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. (with an additional 1:30 a.m. set tonight and tomorrow), Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212)576-2232; cover, $20 to $25. (Chinen) BOB MINTZER BIG BAND (Wednesday) Mr. Mintzer, a saxophonist and decade-long member of the Yellowjackets, has led this 16-piece outfit for roughly the same span; its a brightly brassy ensemble with a modernistic sheen. 8 and 10 p.m., Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue South, above Bleecker Street, West Village, (212)255-3626; cover, $15, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) *PAUL MOTIAN, JOE LOVANO, BILL FRISELL (Through Sept. 18) Mr. Motian, a drummer and composer, sets a tone for this blue-chip trio thats shadowy, slippery and open-ended as a koan; and theres no better place to see these musicians than at the Vanguard, where theyre playing for a full two weeks (except Monday, when the Vanguard Orchestra makes its weekly stand). 9 and 11 p.m. (with 12:30 a.m. set Saturdays), Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212)255-4037; cover, $20 ($25 Fridays and Saturdays), with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) BEN PEROWSKY QUARTET (Thursday) As a drummer, Mr. Perowsky is adept at a careering sort of propulsion; as a bandleader, he favors shifting layers and dry humor. His bandmates here are Chris Speed on clarinet and saxophone, Ted Reichman on accordion and Drew Gress on bass. 8 p.m., Barbes, 376 Ninth Street, at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718)965-9177; cover, $8. (Chinen) JEAN-MICHEL PILC TRIO (Wednesday through Sept. 18) Mr. Pilcs piano playing has a joyous bounce, no matter how dark or furious the extemporization; hes celebrating the release of a new album, Live at Iridium, New York (Dreyfus), with the bassist Thomas Bramerie and the drummer Mark Mondesir. 8 and 10 p.m. (8:30, 10:30 and 11:45 on Sept. 16; and 8, 10 and 11:30 on Sept. 17), Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street, (212)582-2121; cover, $25 to $27.50, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) *QUEST (Wednesday through Sept. 17) Formed in 1981 and disbanded a decade later, this acoustic quartet often shrouded its experimental ethos in gauzy introspection; now the saxophonist Dave Liebman and the pianist Richie Beirach, the groups founding core, are reuniting with the second-generation members Ron McClure (bassist) and Billy Hart (drummer) for what could be an intriguing update. 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, (212)581-3080; cover, $30, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) MATANA ROBERTS QUARTET (Wednesday) A husky-toned alto saxophonist and junior member of Chicagos Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Matana Roberts is at her best when responding to ensemble actions; she has a good sparring partner here in the cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum. 10 p.m., Zebulon, 258 Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718)218-6934; no cover. (Chinen) JOHN SCOFIELD BAND (Through Sunday) Thats What I Say (Verve), Mr. Scofields latest album, is a spirited and sprawling tribute to the music of Ray Charles; he treads that turf here with a quintet including Meyer Statham on vocals and trombone, Gary Versace on keyboards, John Benitez on bass and Steve Hass on drums. 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village, (212)475-8592; cover, $35 at tables, with a $5 minimum, or $20 at the bar, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) JALEEL SHAW QUINTET (Wednesday) As on the auspicious debut album Perspective (Fresh Sound New Talent), the alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw keeps good company; his working band includes the pianist Robert Glasper and the guitarist Lage Lund. 10 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212)929-9883; cover, $8. (Chinen) JEREMY STEIG QUARTET (Tonight) Mr. Steig is an accomplished flautist with a heavy jazz-rock pedigree; his group features the electric guitarist Vic Juris, with whom he has recently and fruitfully recorded. 9 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village, (212)989-9319; cover, $12, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) *TRUMPET SHALL SOUND (Through Sunday) To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Jazz Gallery, a space he helped establish, Roy Hargrove plays each night of this run with a different fellow trumpeter: Tom Harrell (tonight), Nicholas Payton (tomorrow night) and Marcus Belgrave (Sunday night). 9 and 10:30, Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, at Spring Street, South Village, (212)242-1063; cover, $20 to $30; $10 for members. (Chinen) EZRA WEISS QUARTET (Wednesday) On his new album, Persephone (Umoja), the pianist Ezra Weiss proves himself a confident composer and arranger in the progressive mainstream; his band includes Kelly Roberge on tenor saxophone. 6 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212)929-9883; no cover. (Chinen) *WILLIAMSBURG JAZZ FESTIVAL (Through Sunday) This grass-roots affair floods a small swath of Brooklyn with modern jazz, blending big names with local groups. Among the weekends highlights are the young Cuban keyboardist Manuel Valera, tonight 10:30 at Laila; the Dave Douglas Quintet, tonight at 11 at Galapagos; and Steve Coleman and the Five Elements, tomorrow night at 11 at Galapagos. Laila, 113 North Seventh Street, between Wythe and Berry Streets, Williamsburg, (718)486-6791. Galapagos, 70 North Sixth Street, between Kent and Wythe Streets, Williamsburg, (718)782-5188. A festival pass costs $15; wjazzfestival.com. (Chinen) Classical Full reviews of recent music performances: nytimes.com/music. Opera CAPRICCIO (Tomorrow) The New York City Operas current season will rest in good part on Stephen Lawlesss new production of Richard Strausss Capriccio, here with Pamela Armstrong as the Countess. 1:30 p.m., New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500; $45 to $110. A preperformance seminar at 10 a.m., $20 and $25. (Bernard Holland) MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Tonight) The New York City Opera makes a play for new audiences with a performance of Puccinis Madama Butterfly. This Opera-For-All event will also offer the actress Cynthia Nixon as host and include behind-the-scenes videos. 8 p.m., New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212)721-6500; $25; sold out. (Holland) PATIENCE (Tomorrow and Thursday) The director Tazewell Thompsons wildly costumed and zany production of Gilbert and Sullivans Patience was an audience favorite when it was introduced at the Glimmerglass Opera last year. The production has its debut at the New York City Opera tomorrow. This 1881 operetta invites the broad humor and snappy choreography that Mr. Tazewell has come up with. Gilbert and Sullivan poke fun at the aesthetics movement then championed by Oscar Wilde. A group of 20 lovesick maidens, who will only consider engagements to men of high-minded artistic sensibilities, are torn between two effete poets, Reginald Bunthorne and Archibald Grosvenor. But the rival poets find themselves smitten by the innocent milkmaid Patience, who cares nothing for their verses and believes in a truer, more romantic form of love. The musical theater actor and singer Michael Ball makes his City Opera debut as Reginald, with Kevin Burdette as Archibald and Tonna Miller as Patience. Gary Thor Wedow conducts. Tomorrow at 8 p.m., and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., New York State Theater, (212)721-6500; $45 t0 $120. (Anthony Tommasini) TOSCA (Tomorrow and Sunday) Diminutive, venerable and unbowed, the Amato Opera, a salty old-school denizen of New York, opens its 58th season this week with an even more venerable standby, Puccinis Tosca. Tomorrow night at 7:30, Sunday afternoon at 2:30, Amato Opera, 319 Bowery, at Second Street, East Village, , (212)228-8200; $30; 65+, students with ID and children, $25.(Anne Midgette) Classical Music ARGENTO CHAMBER ENSEMBLE (Tomorrow) This adventurous new music group has titled its season-opening concert French Connections, and the program includes premieres by Philippe Hurel, Michel Galante, Jacob Druckman and Michael Klingbeil. 8:30 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Manhattan, (212)501-3330, $12; students and 62+, $7. (Jeremy Eichler) BARGEMUSIC (Tonight, tomorrow, Sunday and Thursday) Great views and typically fresh performances help make this floating concert hall one of the citys more inviting settings for chamber music. Tonight, José Ramos Santana offers solo piano works by Albéniz and Héctor Campos Parsi. Tomorrow and Sunday, its piano trios by Beethoven, Mozart and Dvorak with Steven Beck, piano; Mark Peskanov, violin; and Clancy Newman, cello. And Thursday, an entire chamber orchestra will somehow cram itself on and around the tiny barge stage for works by Mozart, Bartok, Brahms and Hossein Alizadeh. Tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night at 7:30; Sunday at 4 p.m. Bargemusic, Fulton Ferry Landing next to the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, (718)624-2083, $35; Thursday, $50; 62+, $40. (Eichler) CANTATAS IN CONTEXT (Today) Mary Dalton Greer, a Bach specialist, leads the Orchestra of St. Lukes and the New York Baroque Soloists in the sixth season of this series, devoted to sacred works by Bach. The opening program here includes four cantatas for the feast of St. Michael (BWV 19, 50, 130 and 149). 3 p.m., St. Bartholomews Church, Park Avenue at 50th Street, (212)378-0248, $25 and $35; $15 for students and 60+.(James R. Oestreich) CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER (Thursday) The cellist David Finckel and the pianist Wu Han, a husband-and-wife team announced last year as music directors of the society, finally make their presence felt in performance, in the music of Smetana, Dvorak and Bartok, with the pianists Emanuel Ax and Charles Wadsworth, the percussionist Don Liuzzi and others. 7:30 p.m., Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, (212)875-5788. (Oestreich) COUNTER)INDUCTION (Tonight) This inventive new-music ensemble builds its concerts around both modern classics and works just off the composers desk. Tonight that combination includes Karel Husas Sonata a Tre, from the classics category, and recent works by Georges Aperghis, Eric Moe, Douglas Boyce, Alexandre Lunsqui and Eli Marshal. 8, Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street, Greenwich Village, (212)645-2800, suggested donation, $12.(Allan Kozinn) DIAMANDA GALAS (Tomorrow) Ms. Galas returns with her banshee soprano and extravagant vocal effects for an evening described as a sacred mass and titled Defixiones: Orders From the Dead. 8 p.m., Schimmel Center for the Arts, Pace University, 3 Spruce Street, between Park Row and Gold Street, Lower Manhattan, (212)279-4200, $15 to $35.(Holland) INTERPRETATIONS (Thursday) The Interpretations series, assembled by Thomas Buckner and presented by the adventurous World Music Institute, opens for the season with a characteristically diverse program of contemporary works. In this installment, the flutist Robert Dick and the pianist Ursel Schlicht share a bill with Yasunao Tone, a mixed-media and computer composer. 8 p.m. at Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Manhattan, (212)545-7536, $10. (Kozinn) MARI KIMURA (Tomorrow) This violinist and composer uses both a conventional (acoustic) violin and a MIDI instrument that triggers sounds from a computer. One of her projects is a series of programs called Rite, on which she has been collaborating with Yoshihiro Kanno, a composer based in Tokyo. Although both Mr. Kannos and Ms. Kimuras works use the latest digital technology, they draw on antique sounds as well: the performers on the current program include Tamami Tono, who plays the sho, a traditional Japanese mouth organ, and Bruce Gremo, who performs on the shakuhachi, a Japanese flute. 8 p.m., Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street, Greenwich Village, (212)645-2800, $15. (Kozinn) MEET THE COMPOSER AT THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY (Wednesday) Always on the lookout for new ways to get more attention for contemporary composers, the service organization Meet the Composer is starting a new four-concert series this fall showcasing a few highly respected composers who are highly underrepresented in the standard uptown concert scene. First up are Eve Beglarian and Corey Dargel, joined by the flutist Margaret Lancaster for a program of so-called electro-cabaret and art songs. 6:30 p.m., Mercantile Library, Second Floor Reading Room, 17 East 47th Street, Manhattan, (212)755-6710, $15.(Midgette) MOSTLY MODERN (Tonight, Monday and Thursday) Offering professional music with the intimacy of a house concert, the tiny hall-let of the Austrian Cultural Forum is the setting for this years Mostly Modern festival, which opens with a soprano, Anna Maria Pammer, and a pianist, Clemens Zeilinger, marking the 60th anniversary of Weberns death with an all-Webern program, and continuing with the chamber ensemble Die Reihe juxtaposing Vienna and New York with works by Cage and Feldman, Wellesz and Webern, and others. Friday and Monday nights at 8 (Pammer/Zeilinger); Thursday night at 8 (Die Reihe, continuing through next weekend), Austrian Cultural Forum, 11 East 52nd Street, Manhattan, (212)319-5300, free; reservations strongly recommended. (Midgette) MUSICIANS FOR HARMONY (Tuesday) This worthy organization was founded in a burst of musical idealism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Musicians donate their services for an annual concert that commemorates the victims and raises money for peace-related causes. This year, the program features an eclectic roster of classical and world musicians, including the Shanghai Quartet and members of the Guarneri Quartet; a string orchestra called the Knights; the Iranian musician Siamak Jahangiri performing a work by Hossein Alizadeh; and the bouzouki player Avram Pengas joining the ensemble Musique Sans Frontières. 7:30 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Manhattan, (212)501-3330, $25 to $125. (Eichler) Dance Full reviews of recent performances: nytimes.com/dance. ANIME DANCE THEATER (Tonight and tomorrow night) A new satirical dance comedy by Kyoko Kashiwagi, inspired by Japanese animations, that unfolds in a huge renovated commercial garage. 8, the Chocolate Factory, 5-49 49th Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, (718)482-7069; $15. (Jennifer Dunning) COMPAGNIA DANZE FRANCESCA SELVA (Tonight and tomorrow night) Based in Siena, Italy, the company is making its American debut in the ballet-trained Ms. Selvas Camminando-XYZ, inspired by simple walks and shifting realities. 8:30, Danspace Project at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street, East Village, (212)674-8194; $20. (Dunning) DANCENOW/NYC (Through Sept. 17) This grass-roots festival will present dance by everyone from green youngsters and hot newcomers to seasoned choreographers and performers at spaces throughout Manhattan. The festival opens with three programs featuring 35 groups and individuals (tonight and tomorrow afternoon and evening) at Dance Theater Workshop, 219 West 19th Street, Chelsea. Then its up to Marcus Garvey Park, 122nd Street and Mount Morris Park West, for a free outdoor program called Dance Harlem (Sunday) and another event at the Synod House of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, Morningside Heights (Tuesday). The festivals first week ends back downtown again at Joes Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village (Thursday). Tonight and Tuesday night at 7:30; tomorrow at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m.; Thursday at 9:30 p.m.; $10 (tomorrow afternoon); $15 (tonight, tomorrow and Tuesday and Thursday nights); (212)924-0077 or www.dancenownyc.org. (Dunning) FLAMENCO AND INDIAN MUSIC AND DANCE (Tonight through Sunday) The always provocative exploration of Spanish and Indian dance rhythms and roots continues with this program performed by the Andrea Del Conte Danza España and Satya Narayan Charka, a Kathak soloist, and Chandra Banerjee, who performs Bharata Natyam. Tonight (and Thursday and Friday nights through Oct. 7) at 8; tomorrow (and Saturdays through Oct. 8) at 3 and 8 p.m.; Sundays (through Oct. 9) at 4 p.m. Thalia Spanish Theater, 41-17 Greenpoint Avenue, Sunnyside, Queens, (718)729-3880; Thursdays and Fridays, $25; Saturdays and Sundays, $30; students and 65+, $27. (Dunning) NOÉMIE LAFRANCES AGORA (Tuesday through Sept. 18) A huge, abandoned old city pool is the latest setting for Ms. Lafrances imaginative site-specific dance. 8 p.m., McCarren Park Pool, Lorimer Street, between Driggs Avenue and Bayard Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, (718)302-5024 or www.sensproduction.org; $20 to $40; students and 65+, $15 to $18; children under 12 with an adult, $5 to $7. (Dunning) JENNIFER MULLER/THE WORKS (Tomorrow) A sampling, in an unusual setting, of choreography to be performed during the companys 30th-anniversary season, which opens later this month at the Joyce Theater. 2:15 and 3:15 p.m., Dahesh Museum of Art, 580 Madison Avenue, at 56th Street, (212)759-0606 or www.daheshmuseum.org. Free with museum admission: $9; students and 65+, $4; children under 12, free. (Dunning) RIVER TO RIVER: EVENING STARS (Wednesday and Thursday) This years version of this free mini-festival opens with two programs set to popular music. Wednesdays Crooners and Swooners lineup includes the Doug Elkins Dance Company, Ballet Hispanico, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and the Kansas City Ballet. Vinyl Favorites, on Thursday, features the Trisha Brown Dance company, the Ailey II dancers, nicholasleichterdance, the Parsons Dance Company, Cherylyn Lavagnino and Ronald K. Brown/Evidence. Take a blanket or chair. 7:30 p.m., Battery Park Lawn, just east of the Staten Island ferry terminal, Lower Manhattan, RivertoRiverNYC.com. (Dunning) Art Museums and galleries are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of recent art shows: nytimes.com/art. Museums *BROOKLYN MUSEUM: LUCE CENTER FOR AMERICAN ART VISIBLE STORAGE/STUDY CENTER Sleek vitrines house 1,500 objects from four departments, representing 15 centuries of art and design of the Americas. 200 Eastern Parkway, at Prospect Park, (718)638-5000. (Roberta Smith) COOPER-HEWITT NATIONAL DESIGN MUSEUM: EXTREME TEXTILES, through Oct. 30. Dont look for aesthetic pizazz in this intensely techy show of industrial fibers and fabrics, but dont rule it out. The shows raison dêtre is solely use, but a lot of whats on view, in the first museum display of material made to function in extreme conditions, is visually exciting. 2 East 91st Street, (212)849-8400.(Grace Glueck) METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: THE BISHOP JADES, through Feb. 12. Jade has been treasured since ancient times, though the almost preposterously exquisite objects on display in the Mets reinstalled galleries for Chinese decorative arts date from the 18th century, when the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) brought Chinese jade work to a peak of virtuosity. Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, (212)535-7710. (Holland Cotter) *MET: MATISSE: THE FABRIC OF DREAMS -- HIS ART AND HIS TEXTILES, through Sept. 25. This somewhat scattered yet astounding exhibition demonstrates that as African sculptures were to the Cubists, so textiles were to Matisse, and revolutionizes the understanding of his life and work. (See above.) (Smith) EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO: THE (S) FILES/THE SELECTED FILES 05, through Jan. 29. The definition of what Latino art means is changing in a post-identity-politics time, and this modest biennial, drawn mostly from unsolicited proposals submitted by artists in the greater New York area, is an indicator of what that change looks like. 1230 Fifth Avenue, at 104th Street, (212)831-7272. (Cotter) MUSEUM OF BIBLICAL ART: THE NEXT GENERATION: CONTEMPORARY EXPRESSIONS OF FAITH, through Nov. 13. Works in this juried show of artists who belong to the organization Christians in the Visual Arts range from traditional paintings and sculptures to an interactive video and photo documentation of a shamanistic performance in the woods. Ambitious, optically captivating collages by Mary Fielding McCleary and Anita Breitenberg Naylor are among the few pieces that exceed familiar generic limitations. 1865 Broadway, at 61st Street, (212)408-1500. (Ken Johnson) BRONX MUSEUM OF THE ARTS: AIM 25/ARTIST IN THE MARKETPLACE, through Oct. 30. This show is the culminating event of an annual 12-week museum residency that focuses on the mechanics of career development. The work is as diverse as the backgrounds of the more than 30 artists, who all live in New York, though many were born elsewhere, including Brazil, Croatia, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Libya, Mexico and the Philippines. 1040 Grand Concourse, at 165th Street, Morrisania, (718)681-6000. (Cotter) MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK: NEW YORK CHANGING: DOUGLAS LEVERE REVISITS BERENICE ABBOTTS NEW YORK, through Nov. 13. During the 1930s, the Modernist photographer Berenice Abbott photographed the architectural fabric of New York City with a keen eye for contrasts of new and old. Between 1997 and 2003, Douglas Levere returned to the scenes that she photographed and photographed them again. Seeing 50 of his paired with her originals is a fascinating education in how things change. 1220 Fifth Avenue, at 103rd Street, (212)534-1672. (Johnson) MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: MOUNT ST. HELENS: PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANK GOHLKE, through Sept. 26. A year after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington in 1980, this well-known landscape photographer began documenting the explosions effect on the surrounding terrain. His expansive black-and-white pictures are formally and technically impeccable, but because they err on the side of understatement, they only partly convey a sense of the volcanos destructive violence. 11 West 53rd Street, (212)708-9400. (Johnson) NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN: FIRST AMERICAN ART, through April 9. That American Indian art can provide the same aesthetic and emotional pleasure as European and American Modernism is the premise of this show, made up of 200 objects from the Charles and Valerie Diker Collection, and it affirms American Indian arts worthy aesthetic place in world culture. 1 Bowling Green, Lower Manhattan, (212)514-3700. (Glueck) NATIONAL ACADEMY MUSEUM: JEAN HÉLION, through Oct. 9. Hélions conversion, around 1940, from a suave, smartly synthetic mode of geometric abstraction to a like-minded figurative style doesnt put him in a league with great 20th-century apostates like Giacometti, Picabia or Guston. Still, he produced a weirdly fascinating body of work that influenced Americans before and after World War II. This meager show does not give a full account of his strengths or weaknesses, but is well worth a look. 1083 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street, (212)369-4880. (Smith) *NEUE GALERIE: WAR/HELL: MASTER PRINTS BY OTTO DIX AND MAX BECKMANN, through Sept. 26. War, the German artist Otto Dixs great graphic condemnation of battle, a portfolio of 50 etchings rife with grisly images of trench life and death, battlefield corpses, civilian bombings and other horrors, published after World War I, is paired here with Max Beckmanns Hell, 10 lithographs from 1918 that comment on wars brutality but also give a sardonic view of the inhumanities he saw as the hell of everyday existence. Their presentation together heightens the impact of each. 1048 Fifth Avenue, at 86th Street, (212)628-6200. (Glueck) P.S. 1 CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER: GREATER NEW YORK 2005, through Sept. 26. A youth-besotted, cheerful, immodestly ingratiating, finally disappointing survey of contemporary art, perusing a scene whose wide stylistic range, emphasis on drawing, persistent teenage infatuations and overall dexterousness are firmly entrenched characteristics of the marketplace. 22-25 Jackson Avenue, at 46th Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, (718)784-2084. (Michael Kimmelman) QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART: DOWN THE GARDEN PATH: THE ARTISTS GARDEN AFTER MODERNISM, through Nov. 6. This big, messy and uneven show, still a thought-provoking one for patient and interested viewers, surveys how artists like Vito Acconci, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Mel Chin, Ghada Amer, Stan Douglas and many more have cultivated gardens in fantasy and in reality. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, (718)592-9700.(Johnson) * STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM: SCRATCH: 2004-2005 ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE: WILLIAM CORDOVA, MICHAEL QUEENLAND AND MARC ANDRE ROBINSON, through Oct. 23. Rap, religion, Minimalism and Malcolm X all figure in this intricate, multilayered show of work by the three young residents, organized by the museums associate curator, Christine Y. Kim. 144 West 125th Street, (212)864-4500. (Cotter) UKRAINIAN MUSEUM: ALEXANDER ARCHIPENKO, through Sept. 18. This rare retrospective of work by the Ukrainian-born sculptor opens the handsome, much-expanded new quarters of this museum. The most exciting part is a beautifully illuminated room of Archipenkos most radical pieces, which inspired later artists like Henry Moore. 222 East Sixth Street, East Village, (212)228-0110. (Glueck) WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, LANDSCAPE, through Sept. 18. With only 20 works dispersed throughout the Whitneys second floor, this startlingly fresh installation of recent art from its collection uses space in an extravagant, exhilarating way, while weaving a cats cradle of intersecting meanings, emotions, forms and processes through the landscapes of American art and history. It turns out that the less you look at, the more you can see, especially in an arrangement orchestrated by someone who believes that the best tool for coaxing out an artworks polymorphous content is another piece of art. This someone is Donna De Salvo, the museums new associate director for programs and curator of collections; her Whitney debut should be seen by anyone interested in the craft and art of curating. 945 Madison Avenue, at 75th Street, (212)570-3600. (Smith) WHITNEY MUSEUM: REMOTE VIEWING, through Oct. 9. The vast information overload the world struggles with -- scientific theory, technological data, geopolitical facts, historical material and on and on -- is whipped into visual cosmologies by eight painters of widely different approaches and sensibilities. If the premise is fuzzy, the show has some sharp art, including Carroll Dunhams witty Solar Eruption, a giant, battered yellow sun that suggests a cell invaded by virus particles, its perimeter bursting with splatlike -- and sometimes unseemly -- extrusions. (See above.) (Glueck) *WHITNEY MUSEUM: ROBERT SMITHSON, through Oct. 23. Who knows whether Smithson is the most influential American postwar artist, as this show claims. Consisting mostly of drawings, photographs and films (he didnt make that many sculptures, not ones that could fit into a museum, anyway), this is the first full-scale overview of him in the country. It is consequently dry but still compelling testimony to a great exuberance cut drastically short when Smithson died at 35 in a plane crash in 1973. Self-appointed spokesman for earth art, and scavenger of dirt, shells, slag and other materials from the industrial landscape, he helped to shove Minimalism, Conceptualism and Pop in various messy new directions during the 1960s and early 70s. Today, in an era of crabbed imagination and short-term profiteering, the sheer chutzpah of an artist like him is instructive. (See above.) (Kimmelman) WHITNEY MUSEUM : BANKS VIOLETTE, through Oct. 2. In this labor-intensive installation, Romanticism, tragic violence and rock n roll are evoked as much by the detailed wall label as by the ghostly beams of a burned-out church made of gleaming salt. (See above.) (Smith) WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART AT ALTRIA: PAST PRESENCE: CHILDHOOD AND MEMORY, through Oct. 13. This modestly resonant show of works relating to juvenile experience presents a glass cabinet filled with 2,000 miniature white ceramic vessels by Charles LeDray; small, finely drawn, photo-based pictures of children by Peggy Preheim; drawings copied from hunting manuals by Robert Beck; and a politically suggestive chalkboard drawing by Gary Simmons. 120 Park Avenue, at 42nd Street, (917)663-2453. (Johnson) Galleries: Uptown BEYOND GEOGRAPHY: FORTY YEARS OF VISUAL ARTS AT THE AMERICAS SOCIETY Anyone who wants to view art from a hemispheric perspective should see this review of four decades of adventurous art exhibiting by an organization founded to promote understanding among the nations of North, South and Central America. Works here range from a beautiful, all-gold Inca mask to a sound installation by the Canadian avant-garde filmmaker Michael Snow. Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue, at 68th Street, (212)249-8950, through Oct. 8. (Johnson) LYONEL FEININGER (1871-1956), A SMALL RETROSPECTIVE OF WORKS ON PAPER Mostly based on Feiningers constant companion, a sketchbook in which he recorded his visual impressions, this show of about 70 small sketches, drawings and watercolors covers his career from 1892, before his artistic direction was clear, to 1953, three years before his death. Fired up by the architectural forms of sailboats, spired churches and soaring skyscrapers, he eventually developed a distinctive style combining radiant planes with lines and geometric forms. The show gives a partial but lively account of his journeys, geographical and aesthetic. Achim Moeller Fine Art, 167 East 73rd Street, (212)988-4500, through Sept. 16. (Glueck) Galleries: 57th Street BIRTH OF A CULTURE: 60S AND 70S SURF PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEROY GRANNIS Big, new color prints of surfing action shot during the sports golden age by a photographer who earned major awards for his work for surfing magazines and initiation into the International Surfing Hall of Fame. Bonni Benrubi, 41 East 57th Street, (212)888-6007, through Oct. 1. (Johnson) INTRODUCTIONS Three solo minishows: oblique, conceptually evocative photographs by Tim Davis; lurid and juicy paintings of ornate theater interiors by Emi Avora; and diverse drawings and photographs, some funny, some poetic, by Barry Ratoff. Greenberg Van Doren, 730 Fifth Avenue, (212)445-0444, through Sept. 30. (Johnson) *REPEAT PERFORMANCE More than 20 artists use repetition as their main formal device and many different kinds of materials. The show includes concentric circles drawn by Eva Hesse; black pinstripes painted by Frank Stella; solid glass orbs with opalescent surfaces attached to the wall by Tom Bell; colored wax copies of plastic tumblers by George Stoll; and botanically accurate leaves made entirely of staples by Alison Foshee. Anthony Grant, 37 West 57th Street, (212)755-0434, through Sept. 17. (Johnson) Galleries: Chelsea *JUSTIN LOWE This gallerys back room is basically just an extension of a store, but to round out a long, hot city summer, Mr. Lowe has turned it into a combination gallery, library and listening room. Printed Matter gallery, 535 West 22nd Street, (212)925-0325, through Sept. 24. (Cotter) ON VIEW: PHOTOGRAPHING THE MUSEUM Among 20 well-selected ways of picturing the museum are Elliot Erwitts view of a naked sculptural Diana aiming her arrow at an unsuspecting live male visitor; wax figures by Hiroshi Sugimoto and Diane Arbus; a specimen drawer full of cardinals (birds, that is) by Terry Evans; and the dreamlike image of three real foxes in a formal period room by Karen Knorr. Yancey Richardson, 535 West 22nd Street, (646)230-9610, through Sept. 17. (Johnson) *BILL OWENS: AMERICA In new 16-by-20-inch prints, Mr. Owenss photographs of white suburbanites from the 1970s remain poetically beguiling and dryly comical. James Cohan, 533 West 26th Street, (212)714-9500, through Sept. 24. (Johnson) Other Galleries ARTISTS AND PATRONS IN TRADITIONAL AFRICAN CULTURES: AFRICAN SCULPTURE FROM THE GARY SCHULZE COLLECTION Queensborough Community College has quietly assembled an impressive collection of African art. A year ago, the college inaugurated a permanent display of the collection in its campus gallery. And this summer the gallery is presenting a temporary exhibition of nearly 100 sculptures from a private collection. Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, the City University of New York, 222-05 56th Avenue, Bayside, Queens, (718)631-6396, through Sept. 30. (Cotter) EXILE, NEW YORK IS A GOOD HOTEL This new gallery, established by the German-based critic and curator Anke Kempkes, offers a spectacular view of the Empire State Building and a show of work by young artists from Berlin, Glasgow and Warsaw, along with a collaborative slide piece by the New Yorkers Ken Okiishi and Nick Mauss. Broadway 1602, 1182 Broadway, near 28th Street, Apt. 1602, (212)481-0362, through Sept. 16, by appointment. (Cotter) JULIAN OPIE: ANIMALS, BUILDINGS, CARS AND PEOPLE Outdoor sculptures in a coolly understated neo-Pop style, including cars, animals and a group of white skyscrapers with grids of black windows. City Hall Park, Lower Manhattan, (212)980-4575, through Oct. 15. (Johnson) SYLVIA SLEIGH Ms. Sleigh is best known for the male odalisques she painted in the 1970s. The ones in this seven-decade retrospective are comical and embarrassing but still wonderful documents of first-wave feminism, and so is the large 1977 group portrait of members of the all-female cooperative gallery A.I.R. The Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Livingston, Staten Island, (718)448-2500, through Oct. 2. (Johnson) Last Chance ALONG THE WAY: M.T.A. ARTS FOR TRANSIT This extensive survey of artworks commissioned over the last two decades by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is more that just a promotional event. Including paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures by dozens of well-known artists, it is a fascinating window onto an artscape usually only glimpsed by commuters in bits and pieces. UBS, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, at 51st Street, (212)713-2885, closing today.(Johnson) AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM: SELF AND SUBJECT From Grandma Moses depiction of herself beguiled by infant descendants to A.G. Rizzolis rendition of his mother as a Gothic cathedral, this refreshingly offbeat show of 20th-century self-taught artists covers a vivid range of portraits. 45 West 53rd Street, (212)265-1040, closing on Sunday. (Glueck) ANOTHER EXPO: BEYOND THE NATION STATE An international group of eight politically minded Conceptualists takes on nationalism. The most striking work is Marina Abramovics large staged photograph of herself sitting in a mournful posture on a pile of bloody bones. White Box, 525 West 26th Street, Chelsea, (212)714-2347, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) JOHN BEECH Mr. Beechs elegant, subtly humorous sculptures conjoin Minimalism and utilitarianism; a tall aqua box, for example, looks like a container for parts in a factory that Donald Judd might have built. Peter Blum, 99 Wooster Street, SoHo, (212)343-0441, closing tomorrow, by appointment. (Johnson) MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN: DUAL VISION: THE SIMONA AND JEROME CHAZEN COLLECTION A selection of fair to good paintings by artists like Hans Hofmann, Richard Pousette-Dart, John McLaughlin and Roy Lichtenstein and a collection of mostly mediocre ceramics and art glass create a disjunctive hybrid of an exhibition. 40 West 53rd Street, (212)956-3535, closing on Sunday. (Johnson) *MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: PIONEERING MODERN PAINTING: CÉZANNE AND PISSARRO The marriage of minds, sensibilities and influences that Cézanne and Pissarro shared is the subject of this rigorous, beautiful show. Unlike its predecessor, Matisse Picasso, it is less a grand opera than a lieder recital of deep-running, summer-green Schubertian pleasures, closing on Monday. (See above.) (Cotter) * NEW MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: SHANGRI-LA This film by Patty Chang, best known for her performance work, was made in China near the Tibet border. Loosely based on the 1930s novel Lost Horizons, Ms. Changs film amplifies and shatters whatever the utopian realness of Shangri-La is, and does so with wit and visual panache. 556 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212)219-1222, closing tomorrow. (Cotter) A.B. NORMAL Seven artists, including John Bock, Tim Hawkinson and Rirkrit Tiravanija, mostly deal in eccentric machinery. Best is a life-size hyperrealistic Zamboni made of rigid pale-green insulation foam by Chris Hanson & Hendrika Sonnenberg. Nyehaus, 15 Gramercy Park South, (212)473-4447, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) PRECIOUS MOMENTS Mall culture, with its peculiar poignancies, is the theme of Precious Moments, a smart, sad five-person show organized by the artist Josh Kline. Joymore, 236 Grand Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (646)270-0376, closing tomorrow. (Cotter) IRIS VAN DONGEN: AURELIA Most prominent among works playing with various styles are large, possibly ironic drawings of beautiful young women that look as if they were made for the covers of modern romance novels. Salon 94, 12 East 94th Street, (646)672-9212, closing on Thursday. (Johnson)

NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

The following list has been selected from titles reviewed since the Christmas Issue of December 1981. Such a list can only suggest the high points in the main fields of reader interest. Books are arranged alphabetically under subject headings. Quoted comments are from The New York Times Book Review. Autobiography & Biography BISMARCK. By Edward Crankshaw. (Viking. $19.95.) An eminently readable biography of the Iron Chancellor that is also a cautionary tale about political and military power. BOCCACCIO. By Thomas Bergin. (Viking. $25.) A comprehensive introduction to the life and works of the early Renaissance master. CAMUS. By Patrick McCarthy. (Random House. $17.95.) A new biography tracing Camuss private life and his career as a journalist, editor and theater director that presents an anguished, self-doubting man who was less heroic than the legend.

US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea Willing To Push On.

The bad news? That approach cant work. Despite disputes ranging from the Crimean peninsula to the Senkaku Islands, the US and its allies can still form a united front with Russia and China, said Amb. Glyn Davies, the State Department special. ���But at the same time, the obstacle to getting back to six-party talks is not that Japan and Korea have history problems, or that Chinas declaring an ADIZ [air defense identification zone], or that the Russians are in Crimea.

Russia: Should Anything Happen to Iran. This Will Be a.

While many Americans still believe that our government would not be crazy enough to attack Iran, economic ��� not national security ��� considerations may be driving the warmongers. In addition, Iran and Syria have had a��.

The Wrong War in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Despite what the Neo-con punditry that perpetually crowd the stage on Fox tell us over and over, a war with Iran will not be the walk in the park they promised the second act of our war on Iraq would be. And neither will a third act against ISIS.

Japans war history will shadow PMs US visit next week

Sasae said he expects Abe will speak about World War II, but added that Congress is not the right place to talk about other countries concerns over history. ���This is not. The U.S. has tens of thousands of troops based in Japan and South Korea, and.

The Listings: Nov. 18 -- Nov. 24

Selective listings by critics of The New York Times of new and noteworthy cultural events in the New York metropolitan region this week. * denotes a highly recommended film, concert, show or exhibition. Theater Approximate running times are in parentheses. Theaters are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of current shows, additional listings, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/theater. Previews and Openings THE GENTLEMAN DANCING-MASTER Opens Sunday. William Wycherleys Restoration satire receives a rare production, courtesy of the Pearl Theater Company (2:20). Pearl Theater, 80 St. Marks Place, East Village, (212) 598-9802. MR. MARMALADE Opens Sunday. See the world through the eyes of precocious children in Noah Haidles comedy about a wished-for family (1:50). Roundabout Theater Company, Laura Pels Theater, at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theater, 111 West 46th Street, (212) 719-1300. SEASCAPE Opens Monday. George Grizzard, Frances Sternhagen, Elizabeth Marvel and Frederick Weller star in this revival of Edward Albees interspecies drama about a couple who meet two talking lizards on the beach (1:45). Lincoln Center Theater, at the Booth Theater, 222 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. ABIGAILS PARTY Opens Dec. 1. The New Groups production of Mike Leighs comedy about a dinner party gone horribly wrong stars Jennifer Jason Leigh (2:15). Acorn Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 279-4200. CHITA RIVERA: THE DANCERS LIFE Previews start Wednesday. Opens Dec. 11. The star of Chicago and West Side Story relives many of her (and Broadways) greatest moments, with the help of a book by Terrence McNally (2:00). Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. CELEBRATION and THE ROOM Previews start Wednesday. Opens Dec. 5. Two short plays from opposite ends of Harold Pinters distinguished career (1:45). Atlantic Theater, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea, (212) 239-6200. THE COLOR PURPLE Opens Dec. 1. Alice Walkers Pulitzer Prizewinning book has become the basis for the first musical co-produced by Oprah Winfrey (2:30). Broadway Theater, 1681 Broadway, at 53rd Street, (212) 239-6200. MISS WITHERSPOON Opens Nov. 29. Veronica commits suicide and refuses to be reincarnated in Christopher Durangs new comedy (1:20). Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 279-4200. THE OTHER SIDE Opens Dec. 6. A new work by Ariel Dorfman (Death and the Maiden) about a couple living in a war-torn country waiting for their 15-year-old son to return home. Rosemary Harris and John Cullum star (2:00). Manhattan Theater Club, City Center Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, (212) 581-1212. ROPE Previews start Monday. Opens Dec. 4. The Drama Dept. and the Zipper Theater present a revival of Patrick Hamiltons drama inspired by the Leopold and Loeb murder case. David Warren directs (2:05). The Zipper Theater, 336 West 37th Street, (212) 239-6200. TIGHT EMBRACE Previews start Tuesday. Opens Dec. 6. Two kidnapped women struggle to survive in this new play about political violence by Jorge Ignacio Cortinas (2:00). Intar Theater at the Kirk on Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 279-4200. A TOUCH OF THE POET Opens Dec. 8. Gabriel Byrne, last on Broadway in A Moon for the Misbegotten, stars as an Irish tavern owner whose daughter falls in love with a wealthy American in one of Eugene ONeills last plays. Doug Hughes directs (2:30). Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, (212) 719-1300. THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL Opens Dec. 4. A revival of Horton Footes drama about a woman longing to return to her childhood home. Directed by the veteran actor Harris Yulin (2:15). Signature Theater, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 244-7529. Broadway ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR An uninspired revival of Alan Ayckbourns classic farce of marital misery and Christmas cheerlessness, directed by John Tillinger. The largely merely serviceable cast includes Paxton Whithead, Mireille Enos and the wonderful Deborah Rush, who sidesteps the usual clichés of playing drunk in splendid comic style (2:30). Biltmore Theater, 261 West 47th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Ben Brantley). CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG The playthings are the thing in this lavish windup music box of a show: windmills, Rube Goldberg-esque machines and the shows title character, a flying car. Its like spending two and a half hours in the Times Square branch of Toys R Us (2:30). Hilton Theater, 213 West 42nd Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS On paper this musical tale of two mismatched scam artists has an awful lot in common with The Producers. But if you are going to court comparison with giants, you had better be prepared to stand tall. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz, never straightens out of a slouch (2:35). Imperial Theater, 249 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) * DOUBT, A PARABLE (Pulitzer Prize, Best Play 2005, and Tony Award, Best Play 2005) Set in the Bronx in 1964, this play by John Patrick Shanley is structured as a clash of wills and generations between Sister Aloysius (Cherry Jones), the head of a parochial school, and Father Flynn (Brian F. OByrne), the young priest who may or may not be too fond of the boys in his charge. The plays elements bring to mind those tidy topical melodramas that were once so popular. But Mr. Shanley makes subversive use of musty conventions (1:30). Walter Kerr, 219 West 48th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) IN MY LIFE Joseph Brookss whimsical musical about heaven and earth works grotesquely hard to disguise its conventional heart. Mostly, its like drowning in a singing sea of syrup (1:45). Music Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) JERSEY BOYS From grit to glamour with the Four Seasons, directed by the pop repackager Des McAnuff (The Whos Tommy). The real thrill of this shrink-wrapped bio-musical, for those who want something more than recycled chart toppers and a storyline poured from a can, is watching the wonderful John Lloyd Young (as Frankie Valli) cross the line from exact impersonation into something far more compelling (2:30). The August Wilson Theater, 245 West 52nd Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) LATINOLOGUES Created and written by Rick Najera and directed by Cheech Marin, long since de-Chonged, this is a series of loosely linked monologues delivered in character by Mr. Najera and three other talented Latino performers. Mr. Najera and his compadres can be skillful slingers of one-liners, but the characters cooked up to transmit them are neither fresh nor fully realized. In contrast to the colorfully individualized portraits in John Leguizamos solo shows, the men and women of Latinologues are composites of worn, easy stereotypes (1:30). Helen Hayes Theater, 240 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Charles Isherwood) THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Love is a many-flavored thing, from sugary to sour, in Adam Guettel and Craig Lucass encouragingly ambitious and discouragingly unfulfilled new musical. The show soars only in the sweetly bitter songs performed by the wonderful Victoria Clark, as an American abroad (2:15). Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) A NAKED GIRL ON THE APPIAN WAY Could it be that the exhaustingly prolific Richard Greenberg has been even busier than anyone suspected? This clunky farce about the limits of liberalism, directed by Doug Hughes and starring a miscast Richard Thomas and Jill Clayburgh, suggests that Mr. Greenberg has been moonlighting as a gag writer for sitcoms and is now recycling his discarded one-liners (1:45). American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, (212) 719-1300. (Brantley) THE ODD COUPLE Odd is not the word for this couple. How could an adjective suggesting strangeness or surprise apply to a production so calculatedly devoted to the known, the cozy, the conventional? As the title characters in Neil Simons 1965 comedy, directed as if to a metronome by Joe Mantello, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their star performances from The Producers, and its not a natural fit. Dont even consider killing yourself because the show is already sold out (2:10). Brooks Atkinson Theater, 256 West 47th Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley). SPAMALOT (Tony Award, Best Musical 2005) This staged re-creation of the mock-medieval movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail is basically a singing scrapbook for Python fans. Such a good time is being had by so many people that this fitful, eager celebration of inanity and irreverence has found a large and lucrative audience (2:20). Shubert Theater, 225 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) * SWEENEY TODD Sweet dreams, New York. This thrilling new revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheelers musical, with Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone leading a cast of 10 who double as their own musicians, burrows into your thoughts like a campfire storyteller who knows what really scares you. The inventive director John Doyle aims his pared-down interpretation at the squirming child in everyone, who wants to have his worst fears both confirmed and dispelled (2:30). Eugene ONeill Theater, 230 West 49th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) SWEET CHARITY This revival of the 1966 musical never achieves more than a low-grade fever when whats wanted is that old steam heat. In the title role of the hopeful dance-hall hostess, the appealing but underequipped Christina Applegate is less a shopworn angel than a merry cherub (2:30). Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) SOUVENIR Stephen Temperleys sweet, long love letter of a play celebrates the unlikely career of Florence Foster Jenkins, a notoriously tone-deaf soprano socialite. Its a show that could easily have been pure camp and at over two hours, it still wears thin. But with Vivian Matalon directing the redoubtable Judy Kaye as Mrs. Jenkins, and Donald Corren as her accompanist, the plays investigative empathy turns the first act into unexpectedly gentle, affecting comedy (2:15). Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) * THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE The happy news for this happy-making little musical is that the move to larger quarters has dissipated none of its quirky charm. William Finns score sounds plumper and more rewarding than it did Off Broadway, providing a sprinkling of sugar to complement the sass in Rachel Sheinkins zinger-filled book. The performances are flawless. Gold stars all around. (1:45). Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) Off Broadway ALMOST HEAVEN: SONGS OF JOHN DENVER Almost 30 of John Denvers songs are rediscovered and reinvented, as the shows publicity material says, but not generally improved upon. But Nicholas Rodriguez hits the high notes of Calypso spectacularly (2:00). Promenade Theater, 2162 Broadway, at 76th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Neil Genzlinger) * ALTAR BOYZ This sweetly satirical show about a Christian pop group made up of five potential Teen People cover boys is an enjoyable, silly diversion (1:30). Dodger Stages, Stage 4, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200.(Isherwood) BACH AT LEIPZIG Itamar Mosess comedy is an ardent but hollow literary homage to Tom Stoppard stuffed with arcana about religious and musical squabbles in 18th-century Germany and knowingly feeble jokes. Despite the nimble gifts of a first-rate cast, the play never works up the farcical energy to lift us over the puddles of book-learning (2:15). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) BEOWULF Bob Flanagans luminous puppets of lizards and fish are wonderful, but they are relatively tangential to a so-called rock opera that is not sure whether it wants to be a childrens show or Jesus Christ Superstar, and fails at both. Humans who are less animate than the puppets try to sing their way through an uninspired enactment of this great epic (1:15). Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212) 727-2737. (Anne Midgette) BINGO Play bingo, munch on popcorn and watch accomplished actors freshen up a stale musical about game night (1:20). St. Lukes Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200.(Jason Zinoman) DRUMSTRUCK This noisy novelty is a mixed blessing. Providing a two-foot drum on every seat, it offers an opportunity to exorcise aggressions by delivering a good beating, and, on a slightly more elevated level, it presents a superficial introduction to African culture, lessons in drumming and 90 minutes of nonstop music, song and dancing by a good-natured cast (1:30). Dodger Stages, Stage 2, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Lawrence Van Gelder) FIVE COURSE LOVE This musical is merely pleasantly fluffy, and sometimes offensive, but Heather Ayers may make a star vehicle out of it, thanks to an energetic, versatile performance in five roles. She, John Bolton and Jeff Gurner search for love in five restaurants, with a too-generous portion of bad accents and phallic jokes along the way (1:30). Minetta Lane Theater, 18 Minetta Lane, Greenwich Village, (212) 307-4100.( Genzlinger) * FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT This production features the expected caricatures of ego-driven singing stars. But even more than usual, the show offers an acute list of grievances about the sickly state of the Broadway musical, where, as the lyrics have it, everything old is old again (1:45). 47th Street Theater, 304 West 47th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL A terrific cast keeps the generator running in this bright but flimsy contraption. A few of David Nehlss dozen ditties raise a hearty chuckle, like the valedictory anthem in which the shows heroines collectively vow to make like a nail and press on. But Betsy Kelsos book all but dispenses with plot, and substitutes crude cartoons for characters (2:00). Dodger Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) HAMLET Michael Cumpsty gives a forceful, intelligent reading of the title role in the Classic Stage Companys likably intimate production of Shakespeares tale of doom-struck Danes. Brian Kulicks production is heavy on the directorial gimmickry (smell the spray paint! watch the set be shredded!), leaving psychology and philosophy to fend for themselves (2:30). Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, East Village, (212) 279-4200. (Isherwood) HILDA Marie Ndiayes play is a psychodrama from which most of the psychology seems to have mysteriously evaporated, taking a lot of the drama with it. Ellen Karas stars as a bourgeois housewife whose obsession with her maid eventually unhinges her (1:20). Part of the Act French Festival. 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, (212) 279-4200. (Isherwood) IN THE AIR Historical melodrama about the 1918 flu epidemic is like a soft-focus film on the Lifetime channel (2:15). Theater 315, 315 West 47th Street, Clinton, (212) 868-4444. (Zinoman) INFERTILITY A harmless, insubstantial and highly amplified musical about the struggles of five people hoping to become parents (1:20). Dillons, 245 West 54th Street, (212) 868-4444. (Zinoman) JUNIE B. JONES A spirited entertainment (1:30). Theaterworks/NYC, at the Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 279-4200. (Van Gelder) MARION BRIDGE The Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor takes a quiet, honest look at three sisters as they face their mothers death. It is well acted and well directed, if too predictable in spots (2:20). Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street, (212) 868-4444. (Margo Jefferson) MEDEA The Jean Cocteau Repertorys cliché-ridden modern translation strains to be relevant (1:30). Bouwerie Lane Theater, 330 Bowery, near East Second Street, East Village, (212) 279-4200. (Zinoman) ONE-MAN STAR WARS TRILOGY With a storm trooper roaming the aisles and a woman in an Obi-Wan Kenobi get-up telling theatergoers to turn off their cellphones or they will be turned into cosmic dust, Charles Rosss sprint through Episodes IV through VI strives for the atmosphere of a Star Wars convention, but ends up achieving something like a religious revival (which is sort of the same thing). True believers will love how Mr. Ross, a self-confessed geek who plays every major role in under an hour, simulates R2D2, but everyone else will scratch their heads (1:00). Lambs Theater, 130 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Zinoman) ON SECOND AVENUE This genial show by the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater, celebrating Second Avenues theatrical heyday, somehow manages to be both a perfect ensemble production and a star vehicle for Mike Burstyn. The production, first seen last March and April, is in its second go-round (2:00). J.C.C. in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue, at 76th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Genzlinger) * ORSONS SHADOW Austin Pendletons play, about a 1960 production of Ionescos Rhinoceros, which was directed by Orson Welles and starred Laurence Olivier, is a sharp-witted but tenderhearted backstage comedy about the thin skins, inflamed nerves and rampaging egos that are the customary side effects when sensitivity meets success (2:00). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) Radio City Christmas Spectacular Diminished though it may be by the absence of its orchestra in its 73rd season, it remains prime entertainment (1:30). 50th Street and Avenue of the Americas, (212) 307-1000. (Van Gelder) RFK This solo show written and starring Jack Holmes is a reasonably accurate historical portrait, but the performance, unfortunately, lacks the charisma and charm that made the real Bobby Kennedy a star (1:35). Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street, at Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 253-9983. (Jonathan Kalb) SEE WHAT I WANNA TO SEE A hot-and-cold chamber musical by Michael John LaChiusa, based on stories by Ryuonsoke Akutagawa, that considers the nature of truth and belief. The shows film-noir-style first half is more chilly than chilling. But its second act, set in the shadow of 9/11, throbs affectingly with a hunger for faith. With Idina Menzel and Marc Kudisch (2:00). The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) * A SOLDIERS PLAY This movingly acted revival of Charles Fullers Pulitzer Prizewinning drama from 1981, directed by Jo Bonney and featuring Taye Diggs, uses the clean-lined conventions of murder mysteries to elicit unsettlingly blurred shades of racism, resentment and self-hatred (1:55). Second Stage Theater, 307 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212) 246-4422. (Brantley) THIRD Heidi is having hot flashes. In this thoughtful, seriously imbalanced comedy, Wendy Wasserstein takes her archetypal heroine (most famously embodied in 1988 in The Heidi Chronicles) into the fog of menopausal, existential uncertainty. The wonderful but miscast Dianne Weist plays a feminist college professor forced to reconsider everything she stands for. Though Daniel Sullivans staging is too easygoing to build tension, the play exhales a poignant air of autumnal rue (2:00). Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) Off Off Broadway BELLY OF A DRUNKEN PIANO In this splendidly imperfect cabaret, Stewart DArrietta howls and growls convincingly through Tom Waitss three-decade song catalog, backed by a snappy trio. His patter and his piano playing are variable, but Mr. DArrietta makes a genial tour guide through Mr. Waitss wee-hours world (1:45). Huron Club at SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, between Avenue of the Americas and Varick Street, (212) 691-1555. (Rob Kendt) BARTLEBY, THE SCRIVENER Herman Melvilles exquisitely existential short story has been beautifully brought to life at the Blue Heron Theater. From the set, which looks like a Victorian illustration, complete with desks with inkpots and plumes, to the characters dressed in antic black-and-white (reminiscent, say, of a Phiz drawing for a Dickens novel) (1:40). Blue Heron Arts Center, 123 East 24th Street, (212) 868-4444. (Phoebe Hoban) BIG APPLE CIRCUS -- GRANDMA GOES TO HOLLYWOOD Long on sweetness, rich in color and highly tuneful, but short on eye-popping, cheer-igniting wows (2:10). Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street, (212) 307-4100. (Van Gelder) COWBOY V. SAMURAI This adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac is set in a small Western town, where an Asian-American English teacher and an Anglo-Saxon gym teacher with cowboy leanings vie for the love of a sophisticated woman (1:45) National Asian American Theater Company, at the Rattlestick theater, 224 Waverly Place, Greenwich Village, (212) 352-3101. (Jefferson). DOÑA ROSITA LA SOLTERA (DOÑA ROSITA THE SPINSTER) Watching Repertorio Españols Dona Rosita the Spinster is a bit like finding a dried flower pressed in a book: charming, archaic and just a bit musty, even though the lead is played by Denise Quiñones -- Miss Universe, 2001. Frederico García Lorcas poetic play has a predictable premise; a beautiful young woman waits in vain for the handsome cousin she is engaged to. Luckily, the tragicomedy has some laughs (2:00). In Spanish with live simultaneous translation via headsets. Repertorio Español, at the Gramercy Arts Theater, 138 East 27th Street, (212) 225-9920. (Hoban) Long-Running Shows AVENUE Q R-rated puppets give lively life lessons (2:10). Golden, 252 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Cartoon made flesh, sort of (2:30). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, (212) 307-4747. (Brantley) CHICAGO Irrefutable proof that crime pays (2:25). Ambassador Theater, 219 West 49th Street, (212) 239-6200.(Brantley) FIDDLER ON THE ROOF The Shtetl Land pavilion in the theme park called Broadway. With Rosie ODonnell and Harvey Fierstein. (2:55). The Minskoff Theater, 200 West 45th Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) HAIRSPRAY Fizzy pop, cute kids, large man in a housedress (2:30). Neil Simon Theater, 250 West 52nd Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) THE LION KING Disney on safari, where the big bucks roam (2:45). New Amsterdam Theater, 214 West 42nd Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) MAMMA MIA! The jukebox that devoured Broadway (2:20). Cadillac Winter Garden Theater, 1634 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) MOVIN OUT The miracle dance musical that makes Billy Joel cool (2:00). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Who was that masked man, anyway? (2:30). Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) THE PRODUCERS The ne plus ultra of showbiz scams (2:45). St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) RENT East Village angst and love songs to die for (2:45). Nederlander Theater, 208 West 41st Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) * SLAVAS SNOWSHOW Clowns chosen by the Russian master Slava Polunin are stirring up laughter and enjoyment. A show that touches the heart as well as tickles the funny bone (1:30). Union Square Theater, 100 East 17th Street, Flatiron district, (212) 307-4100.(Van Gelder) * THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) Is there such a thing as stand-up existentialism? If not, Will Eno has just invented it. Stand-up-style comic riffs and deadpan hipster banter keep interrupting the corrosively bleak narrative. Mr. Eno is a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation (1:10). DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) WICKED Oz revisited, with political corrections (2:45). Gershwin Theater, 222 West 51st Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) Last Chance CAMBODIA AGONISTES A musical about the Khmer Rouge? It works better than you might think in this revival of a 1992 play: Cambodias recent history is painted in broad strokes of parody intermingled with a tragic story line. But the most vivid performer on stage is a real-life Cambodian dancer, Sam-Ouen Tes, who doesnt have a speaking role but communicates more than this slightly pale though well-meaning piece (1:30). West End Theater, 263 West 86th Street, (212) 279-4200. Pan Asian Repertory Theater, at the West End Theater, in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, 263 West 86th Street, (212) 279-4200, closing Sunday. ( Midgette) MANIC FLIGHT REACTION Sarah Schulmans intermittently zingy play is an awkward mixture of cultural satire and earnest psychodrama about love and responsibility. Deirdre OConnell gives a warm, engaging performance as a reformed rebel with a colorful past that bleeds into the present in sensational ways (2:00). Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 279-4200, closing Sunday. (Isherwood) THE SALVAGE SHOP Jim Nolans moving, old fashioned drama, about a fraught father-and-son relationship in a small coastland town in Ireland, delivers an emotional punch (2:30). The Storm Theater, 145 West 46th Street, (212) 868-4444, closing tomorrow. (Zinoman) THE TAMING OF THE SHREW What could be more apt than the all-female Queens Company tackling Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew, perhaps the most famous war-of-the-sexes comedy ever? But just because Petruchio (and everyone else) is played by a woman doesnt mean that this is a feminist diatribe. In this not very tame production, Bianca is played by an inflatable doll (1:50). Queens Company, Walker Space, 46 Walker Street, between Broadway and Church Street, TriBeCa, (212) 868-4444, closing Sunday. (Hoban) Movies Ratings and running times are in parentheses; foreign films have English subtitles. Full reviews of all current releases, movie trailers, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/movies. * AFTER INNOCENCE (No rating, 95 minutes) Calm, deliberate and devastating, Jessica Sanderss documentary After Innocence examines the cases of seven men wrongly convicted of murder and rape and exonerated years later by DNA evidence. It confirms many of your worst fears about the weaknesses of the American criminal justice system. (Stephen Holden) * BEE SEASON (PG-13, 104 minutes) A genuinely felt, finely made adaptation of the Myla Goldberg novel about an 11-year-old girl with an ineffable gift for summoning up perfectly strung-together words. With Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Max Minghella and the wonderful newcomer Flora Cross as the family nearly undone by that gift. (Manohla Dargis) BROOKLYN LOBSTER (No rating, 90 minutes) Kitchen-sink neorealism set in Sheepshead Bay: although well acted by Danny Aiello and Jane Curtin, too much of the film plays like a tedious case history from a business school textbook. (Holden) CAPE OF GOOD HOPE (PG-13, 107 minutes) Set in gorgeous Cape Town, Mark Bamfords energizing first feature revolves around a group of animal-shelter workers and their significant counterparts, as they contend with varying states of loneliness and gaping voids in their lives. A genuinely uplifting, satisfying and memorable film. (Laura Kern) * CAPOTE (R, 114 minutes) Philip Seymour Hoffmans portrayal of Truman Capote is a tour de force of psychological insight. Following the novelist as he works on the magazine assignment that will become In Cold Blood, the film raises intriguing questions about the ethics of writing. (A. O. Scott) CHICKEN LITTLE (G, 80 minutes) The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Well, its not as bad as that. Almost, though. (Scott) DERAILED (R, 110 minutes) A glossy and often risible bit of trash about an adulterous affair gone bad, bad, bad, starring the invaluable Clive Owen and an uncomfortable-looking Jennifer Aniston. (Dargis) * THE DYING GAUL (R, 105 minutes) Craig Lucass screen adaptation of his bitter Off Broadway revenge tragedy, is a sublimely acted film and a high point in the careers of its three stars, Campbell Scott, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Sarsgaard, who play a bisexual Hollywood studio executive, his wife and a young screenwriter. (Holden) ELLIE PARKER (No rating, 95 minutes) This corrosive deadpan comedy, crudely filmed in digital video, follows the misadventures of an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. Naomi Watts, in the title role, delivers a small, brave, acting tour de force. (Holden) GAY SEX IN THE 70s (No rating, 72 minutes) Joseph Lovetts nostalgic paean to the erotic utopia of his youth might be more accurately titled Anonymous Gay Male Sex in the 70s in Manhattan. Within that narrow framework, the film is quite successful, using archival photographs, clips from pornographic films and television commercials, and interviews to evoke the period between June 1969, when the Stonewall riots brought homosexuality out of the shadows, to June 1981, when the AIDS epidemic began. (Dana Stevens) GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN (R, 134 minutes) This lumbering vehicle for the rap star 50 Cent blends gangster intrigue with follow-your-dream striving. The story is a mess, and the star is no actor, but a fine supporting cast and Jim Sheridans warm-hearted direction make it watchable. (Scott) * GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (PG, 90 minutes) George Clooney, with impressive rigor and intelligence, examines the confrontation between the CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow (a superb David Strathairn) and Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (himself). Plunging you into a smoky, black-and-white world of political paranoia and commercial pressure, the film is both a history lesson and a passionate essay on power, responsibility and the ethics of journalism (Scott) JARHEAD (R, 123 minutes) Sam Mendess film about marines waiting for action in the first gulf war is often vivid and profane, like the Anthony Swofford memoir on which it is based, and some of the performances crackle with energy. But the film as a whole feels strangely detached and -- even more strangely, given its topical resonance -- irrelevant. (Scott) KISS KISS, BANG BANG (R, 103 minutes) Clever and dumb at the same time, this hectic pastiche of Los Angeles. noir conventions offers opportunities for Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan to have a good time with hard-boiled dialogue, and the audience to have a few laughs watching them. The pictures self-conscious manipulations of tone and chronology might have seemed fresh and witty 10 years ago, but probably not even then. (Scott) THE LEGEND OF ZORRO (PG, 126 minutes) Like most sequels, this successor to The Mask of Zorro feels obliged to outperform its forerunner by being bigger, faster and more spectacular. That translates into busier, sloppier, less coherent and more frantic. (Holden) * NINE LIVES (R, 115 minutes) The director Rodrigo Garcias suite of fleeting but intense moments in the lives of nine women is an extraordinarily rich and satisfying film, the cinematic equivalent of a collection of Chekhov short stories. The brilliant cast includes Sissy Spacek, Robin Wright Penn, Holly Hunter and Amy Brenneman. (Holden) NORTH COUNTRY (R, 123 minutes) A wobbly fiction about a real pioneering sex-discrimination case, North Country is an unabashed vehicle for its modestly de-glammed star, Charlize Theron, but its also a star vehicle with heart -- an old-fashioned liberal weepie about truth and justice. (Dargis) * PARADISE NOW (PG-13, 90 minutes, in Arabic and Hebrew) This melodrama about two Palestinians, best friends from childhood, chosen to carry out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv is a superior thriller whose shrewdly inserted plot twists and emotional wrinkles are calculated to put your heart in your throat and keep it there. (Holden) * PRIDE & PREJUDICE (PG, 128 minutes) In this sumptuous, extravagantly romantic adaptation of Jane Austens 1813 novel, Keira Knightleys Elizabeth Bennet exudes a radiance that suffuses the movie. This is a banquet of high-end comfort food perfectly cooked and seasoned to Anglophilic tastes. (Holden) PRIME (PG-13, 105 minutes) Actually, pretty mediocre. A thin romantic comedy that nonetheless has its charms, most of them provided by Uma Thurman as a divorced 37-year-old who falls for a 23-year-old who happens to be her therapists son. (Scott) SAW II (R, 91 minutes) Jigsaw, the sicko known for masterminding twisted life-or-death games, returns for a sequel that doesnt really compare to its fine predecessor, though it still manages to be eye-opening (and sometimes positively nauseating) in itself. (Kern) * SHOPGIRL (R, 107 minutes) This delicate, deceptively simple film, taken from Steve Martins novella, spins perfect romance out of loneliness, compromise and the possibility of heartbreak. As a young retail clerk adrift in Los Angeles, Claire Danes gives a flawless performance, and Mr. Martin and Jason Schwartzman, as the very different men competing for her affection, bring gallantry, farce and sweetness to this funny, sad, insightful movie. (Scott) * THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (R, 88 minutes) Mining his own childhood, Noah Baumbach has put together an unsparing, funny portrait of a family in crisis and a young man trying to figure out his parents and himself. Superbly written and acted, especially by Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels as a pair of divorcing writers. (Scott) USHPIZIN (PG-13, 91 minutes, in Hebrew) In this groundbreaking collaboration between secular and Orthodox Israelis, two roustabouts barge into the home of a Hasid and his wife and make comic trouble. (Holden) * WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (G, 85 minutes) The stop-motion pooch and his cheese-loving master, back again at feature length. Silly and sublime. (Scott) THE WEATHER MAN (R, 102 minutes) Yet another movie about a middle-age man gazing into the void of his life; this one was directed by Gore Verbinski and features a fine Nicolas Cage.(Dargis) ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE (PG, 113 minutes) In this extraterrestrial fantasy, adapted from a Chris Van Allsburg story, a magical board game sends two squabbling young brothers into space to fend off invaders and learn the meaning of brotherhood. The movie is sweeter, gentler and more family-friendly than Jumanji, to which it is the unofficial sequel. (Holden) Film Series CHILDREN IN THE 20TH CENTURY (Through Tuesday) Symphony Space Thalia Films international program of films focusing on problems that affect children concludes with Luis Buñuels first international hit, Los Olvidados (1950), about a teenager in the slums of Mexico City, and Victor Gavirias Rodrigo D: No Futuro (1990), about a teenager in the slums of Medellín, Colombia. Both films will be shown on Sunday and Tuesday, Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212) 864-5400; $10. (Anita Gates) GENA ROWLANDS: AN INDEPENDENT SPIRIT (Through Sunday) This series from BAMcinématek concludes this weekend with three 1980s films. In Tempest (1982), Paul Mazurskys Shakespearean adaptation, Ms. Rowlands stars with John Cassavetes, her husband, as a modern Prosperos wife. In Woody Allens Another Woman (1988), she plays a New Yorker who eavesdrops on psychotherapy sessions. And in Love Streams (1984), the last film in which she and Cassavetes appeared together, they play a brother and sister struggling with their lives. BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100; $10. (Gates) A LUMINOUS CENTURY: CELEBRATING NORWEGIAN CINEMA (Through Nov. 29) The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Norwegian Film Institute have organized this 29-film program representing Norways century-old movie industry. This weekends films include Leif Sindings Defenceless (1939), about orphans used as slave labor on farms; An Enemy of the People (2005), Erik Skjoldbjoergs update of Ibsens classic; Arne Skouens Nine Lives (1957), about the World War II hero Jan Baalsrud; and Next Door (2005), Pal Sletaunes dark comedy about a young mans very strange neighbors. Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, Manhattan, (212) 875-5600; $10. (Gates) A MOVING CAMERA: KENJI MIZOGUCHI (Through Tuesday) BAMcinémateks series of seven films by Mizoguchi (1898-1956), renowned for his painterly filmmaking and his brilliant direction of women, concludes with a prewar masterpiece and Mizoguchis last film. Mondays feature is The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939), about the doomed relationship of a kabuki actor and a servant girl. Tuesdays is Street of Shame (1956), sympathetic overlapping portraits of prostitutes in postwar Tokyo. BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100; $10. (Gates) NO VISA REQUIRED: FILMS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST (Through tomorrow) The TriBeCa Film Institute and ArteEasts program concludes tomorrow with The Lizard (2004), an Iranian comedy about an escaped convict who disguises himself as a mullah. Cantor Film Center, New York University, 36 East Eighth Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 941-3890; $10. (Gates) POETRY AND RIGOR: THE FILMS OF GIANNI AMELIO (Through Nov. 30) The Museum of Modern Art and Cinecittà Holding are sponsoring an exhibition of 12 films, beginning tonight with Stolen Children (1992), introduced by Mr. Amelio, the Cannes Film Festival grand jury prizewinner about a policeman transporting two siblings to an orphanage. Other films this weekend include Lamerica (1994), Mr. Amelios neorealist drama set in post-Communist Albania; and The Keys to the House (2004), about a father reunited with his disabled son. 11 West 53rd Street, (212) 708-9400; $10. (Gates) Pop Full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music. RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS (Tonight) Seemingly reinvigorated by his new band, the prolific (and hotheaded) alt-country songwriter Ryan Adams has some strong new material that offers stylistic restlessness as a sign of depth and demonstrates his honky-tonk versatility. 8, TriBeCa Performing Arts Center, Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, (212) 509-0300; free with ticket (details at www.musicdowntown.org). (Laura Sinagra) AMERICAN ANALOG SET (Tonight, tomorrow night and Sunday) A more ethereal version of Death Cab for Cutie, this Austin band plays wistful, conspiratorial pop thats more hum than drone. The group has said this tour will be its last. Tonight at 9, Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 230-0236; $14 (sold out). Tomorrow at 10 p.m., Sunday at 11 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700; $12 in advance, $14 at the door. (Sinagra) ANIMAL COLLECTIVE (Sunday) These moody junkyard folk-poppers find a kind of romance in wails and clatter. Their cracked prog jams and urban pastoral chant-alongs map a landscape where fantastical beasts gather for ritual rocking around trashcan campfires. Excepter and Amandine also play. 8 p.m., Webster Hall, 125 East 11th Street, East Village, (212) 353-1600; $18 in advance, $20 at the door. (Sinagra) INDIA.ARIE, RAUL MIDON (Tonight) India.Aries combination of soul and folk stylings and be-yourself uplift paved the way for groups like Floetry. The vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Raul Midon has contributed his talents to the work of many Latin pop superstars. He plays his own material here. 8 p.m., Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street, Harlem, (212) 531-5305; $45. (Sinagra) BUJU BANTON (Tuesday) Buju Banton is possessed of one of the best voices and hit catalogs in dancehall. Unfortunately, the purveyor of the anti-gay screed Boom Bye Bye cant seem to leave the topic alone, as he proved at this summers Reggae Carifest. 8 p.m., B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 997-4144; $30 in advance, $35 at the door. (Sinagra) CLEM SNIDE (Tonight) Though Clem Snides nasal wiseacre frontman Eef Barzelay increasingly shows his soft side with pretty tunes influenced by love and fatherhood, this Brooklyn indie rocker hasnt lost his trademark snark. Tonight, hes playing solo. 8, Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, near Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 358-7503; $12 in advance, $15 at the door. (Sinagra) THE CLIENTELE (Wednesday) This London indie-pop group fills out its sound on recent material, adding strings to its formula -- a mix of modern ironic poses with wistful nostalgia for classic rock n roll and AM radio trifles. Annie Hayden opens. 8 p.m., Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212) 219-3132; $14. (Sinagra) DONNA THE BUFFALO (Tomorrow) Donna the Buffalo is not named after its fiddler and singer, Tara Nevins. Its good-natured rock leans toward the Appalachian side of country music, though it also dips into reggae and Cajun music, with songs that ponder love and humanitys place in the universe. 9 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111; $16 in advance, $18 at the door. (Jon Pareles) ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN (Sunday) Goth rock never goes out of style, but its current boost is good for the Echo and the Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch, one of the genres first legitimate babes. The band has new songs but will appease black-clad fans with agitated favorites like The Cutter and The Killing Moon. Innaway opens. 7 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800; $22.50 in advance, $25 at the door (sold out). (Sinagra) ROBBIE FULKS, JON SPENCER (Tonight) The latest album by Chicagos country curveballer Robbie Fulks again prompts head shaking as to why this off-off-Opry wiseacre isnt a more famous songwriter (or at least a little bigger and richer). As alt-country fans know, hes a crackerjack guitarist and a charismatic performer to boot. The alt-punk bluesman Jon Spencer also plays, with his band Heavy Trash. 7:30, Housing Works Used Book Cafe, 126 Crosby Street, SoHo, (212) 334-3324; $25. (Sinagra) GUSTER (Tonight and tomorrow night) Guster, a band from Boston, has followed the Dave Matthews Bands playbook for building an audience: touring constantly and singing unabashedly earnest folk-rock songs about the painful uncertainties of friendship, love and growing up. 8, Nokia Theater, 1515 Broadway, at 44th Street, ticketmaster.com or (212) 307-7171;$35. (Pareles) H.I.M. (Tonight) This Finnish goth rock bands bid for Stateside success has been the pet cause of TV skate-rat Bam Margera. Now it finally gets a chance to show off its metallic riffs and the infernal majesty of the singer Ville Valo , who wears his heartagram (the bands romantically satanic heart and pentagram symbol) on his sleeve. Finch and Skindred also play. 6, Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34th Street, Manhattan, (212) 279-7740; $28. (Sinagra) IDA, MICHAEL HURLEY (Sunday) With their dreamy folk-pop, the trio Ida combine aching harmonies and a supple sense of play. They perform this free in-store show with one of their quirky antecedents, the folkie Michael Hurley. 7 p.m., Sound Fix Records, 110 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 388-8090; free. (Sinagra) RICKIE LEE JONES, VIC CHESNUTT (Tomorrow) Ms. Joness Southwestern hippie roots give her urban-bohemian jazz leanings a trippy whimsy. You hope this outdoor set will cull from both the swooping multipartite reveries and the ersatz streetcorner jive of her 1970s releases, as well as the best of her songful later albums. Recent material by the Southern Gothic storyteller Vic Chesnutt leans to his darker side. 8 p.m., TriBeCa Performing Arts Center, Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, (212) 509-0300; free with ticket (details at www.musicdowntown.org). (Sinagra) LCD SOUNDSYSTEM (Wednesday) With songs like Losing My Edge and Daft Punk Is Playing at My House, the Brooklyn producer and LCD leader James Murphy has proven himself a talented practitioner and master theorist of retro-chic sound, especially the current vogue for refashioning early 80s dance-punk. 7 p.m., Nokia Theater, 1515 Broadway, at 44th Street, ticketmaster.com or (212) 307-7171; $20. (Sinagra) AIMEE MANN, KEREN ANN (Sunday) Ms. Manns recent concept album about two addicts in the 70s who meet at the Virginia fairgrounds features the astute, sad lyrics and low-key but enduring melodic hooks that this singer-songwriter is known for. The chanteuse Keren Ann applies her velvety voice to jazz-inflected, rainy day urban valentines. Her lolling tunes ponder love and travel, admitting that the strongest memory of a visited place is often the homesickness endured there. 8 p.m., TriBeCa Performing Arts Center, Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, (212) 509-0300; free with ticket (details at www.musicdowntown.org). (Sinagra) RHETT MILLER (Tuesday and Wednesday) The leader of the once cocky and speedy, then honest and rootsy rock band the Old 97s, Rhett Miller is still writing near-genius tunes though he often leans on formal craft. 7 p.m., Joes Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 539-8778 or (212) 239-6200; $20. (Tuesday sold out) (Sinagra) SHARAM NAZERI (Sunday) Mr. Nazeri holds listeners rapt as he sings Kurdish songs, Persian classical music and Sufi songs based on the poems of Rumi; his voice can take on the humble clarity of Gregorian chant, or it can leap and swoop and ululate. 7 p.m., Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan, (212) 840-2824 or (212) 545-7536; $30 to $50. (Pareles) NEW SOUNDS FROM POLAND (Tomorrow) This glimpse into new Polish music features sets by the accordion-based group the Motion Trio, and Lautari, an improvisatory ensemble inspired by folk traditions of Poland, Romania and Macedonia. 8 p.m., Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212) 864-5400; $26. (Sinagra) THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS (Tonight) The Southern rock band North Mississippi All-Stars plays an asymmetrical, cantankerous blues from the hill country near where the members grew up, then turn it into jam-band music. 8, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111; $20 in advance, $22 at the door. (Pareles) SAM CHAMPION (Tuesday) Local indie rock has been largely dominated by neo-formalist technicians as of late, making this quartets looser approach, which harkens back to the slacker ennui epitomized by Pavement, a welcome addition. 8 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700; $10. (Sinagra) RICHARD SHINDELL, LUCY KAPLANSKY (Tonight) In Richard Shindells character studies, finely observed details suddenly add up to a larger picture that can be compassionate or troubling; he writes about a Civil War widow, an interrogator trying to turn a witness, a fugitive phoning his family. Lucy Kaplansky shares the bill. 8:30 p.m., Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800; $32 to $38 (sold out). (Pareles) CARLY SIMON, BEN TAYLOR, SALLY TAYLOR (Tuesday) Carly Simons hits like Anticipation and Youre So Vain endure as evergreen go-girl inspirationals. She plays after opening sets by her children Ben and Sally Taylor. 8 p.m., Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Time Warner Center, Broadway at 60th Street, (212) 258-9800; $95 to $150. (Sinagra) TRISTEZA (Tonight) This San Diego band plays instrumental music that augments rock with electronica. 9, Northsix, 66 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 599-5103; $10. (Sinagra) U2, PATTI SMITH (Monday and Tuesday) After 2000s thrilling All That You Cant Leave Behind (Interscope), U2s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Interscope) focuses on what humans can live without: namely, intercontinental ballistic missiles and third-world debt. The punk rock icon Patti Smith convenes her band to show young acolytes like the Fiery Furnaces how its done in this year marking the 30th anniversary of her incendiary, poetic album Horses (Arista). 8 p.m., Madison Square Garden, (212) 465-6741: $54 to $169.50. (Sinagra) UMPHREYS MCGEE (Tonight and tomorrow night) Umphreys McGee has twin guitars and some jam-band roots, but its songs are more elaborate than the usual head-bobbing vamps; theyre full of meter-shifting convolutions and jazzy twists that move close to progressive rock. 9, Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800; $22.50, $25 at the door. (Pareles) VODoU DRUMS AND DANCES OF HAITI (Tonight) The Afro-Haitian group La Troupe Makandal performs ritual drumming and chants in the vodou style. The Haitian vocalist Emeline Michel appears as special guest. 8, Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212) 864-5400; $25. (Sinagra) DAR WILLIAMS (Tomorrow) This adorable coffeehouse singer-songwriter combines a sweet voice with that rare quality of seeming like a real person. 8 p.m., Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street, Manhattan, www.concertstonight.com, (212) 307-7171; $45 and $50. (Sinagra) Cabaret Full reviews of recent cabaret shows: nytimes.com/music. BARBARA CARROLL (Sunday) Even when swinging out, this Lady of a Thousand Songs remains an impressionist with special affinities for Thelonious Monk and bossa nova. 2 p.m., Oak Room, Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212) 419-9331; $55, including brunch at noon. (Stephen Holden) * BILL CHARLAP AND SANDY STEWART (Tonight and tomorrow night) The profound, unadorned performances of standards by the jazz pianist Bill Charlap and his mother, the singer Sandy Stewart, are as deep as cabaret gets nowadays; not to be missed. 9 and 11:30, Oak Room, Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212) 419-9331; $50 cover, with a $50 prix fixe dinner at the early shows and a $20 minimum at the late shows. (Holden) ANNIE ROSS (Tomorrow) Cool, funny, swinging and indestructible, this 75-year-old singer and sometime actress exemplifies old-time hip in its most generous incarnation. 7 p.m., Dannys Skylight Room, 346 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212) 265-8133; $25, with a $12 minimum. (Holden) SINGING ASTAIRE (Tomorrow and Sunday) This smart, airy revue, which pays tribute to Fred Astaire, has returned, featuring Eric Comstock, Hilary Kole and Christopher Gines. 5:30 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, (212) 581-3080; $30, with a $10 minimum. (Holden) STEVE TYRELL (Tonight and tomorrow night, and Tuesday through Thursday) Mr. Tyrell has one of those where-have-I-heard-it-before growls that sounds great on a movie soundtrack but loses its charm in a club as he rolls standards off the assembly line as if they were all the same song. 8:45, with additional shows at 10:45 tonight and tomorrow night, Cafe Carlyle, Carlyle Hotel, 35 East 76th Street, Manhattan, (212) 744-1600; $95 tonight and tomorrow; $85 Tuesday through Thursday. (Holden) Jazz Full reviews of recent jazz concerts: nytimes.com/music. ERIC ALEXANDER QUARTET WITH VON FREEMAN (Tuesday through Nov. 27) Mr. Alexander is one of the leading young inheritors of a muscular tenor saxophone style associated with the 1950s; the octogenarian Mr. Freeman, dropping in from his native Chicago, is one of the unsung but widely emulated heroes of that style. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 set on Friday and Saturday, Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (212) 258-9595; $30, with a minimum of $10 at tables, $5 at the bar. (Nate Chinen) OMER AVITAL GROUP (Wednesday) The bassist Omer Avital, a staple of the West Village club Smalls during its pre-millennial first run, has recently returned after a spell in his native Israel. He performs here with several no-nonsense players: the tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, the pianist Omer Klein and the drummer Jonathan Blake. 8 p.m., Smalls, 183 West 10th Street, West Village, (212) 675-7369; cover, $20. (Chinen) ROY AYERS BAND WITH BOBBI HUMPHREY (Through Sunday) Mr. Ayers, a vibraphonist, and Ms. Humphrey, a flutist, helped precipitate the 1970s boom in Afro-centric jazz-funk; that sounds refurbished cachet has made both artists newly relevant in recent years. 8 and 10 p.m., Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street, (212) 582-2121; cover, $32.50 to $35, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) MAURICE BROWN QUINTET (Tonight and tomorrow night) Mr. Brown, a young trumpeter recently displaced from the New Orleans scene, plays an extroverted strain of modern jazz that borrows from soul as well as bop; his partners here are Derek Douget on tenor saxophone, Jonathan Baptiste on piano, Peter Washington on bass and Billy Drummond on drums. 8 10, Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue South, at Bleecker Street, West Village, (212) 255-3626; cover, $20, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) JAMES CARNEY GROUP (Tonight and Tuesday) Mr. Carney, a sharp keyboardist and an imaginative conceptualist and composer, leads an ensemble consisting of fellow bandleader-composers: Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Jerome Sabbagh on saxophones, Chris Lightcap on bass, and either Shane Endsley or Mark Ferber on drums. Tonight at 10 and 11:30, Kavehaz, 37 West 26th Street, Manhattan, (212) 343-0612; no cover. Tuesday at 9 and 10:30 p.m., Koze Lounge, 676 Fifth Avenue, at 20th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 832-8282; cover, $7.(Chinen) STEPHAN CRUMPS ROSETTA TRIO (Wednesday) An intriguing string-based ensemble, featuring the compositions and bass playing of Mr. Crump, and the guitar work of Liberty Ellman (acoustic) and Jamie Fox (electric). 8 p.m., Barbes, 376 Ninth Street, at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 965-9177; cover, $8. (Chinen) LOU DONALDSON QUARTET (Through Sunday) Bebop, blues and boogaloo are all fair game for the veteran alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, who receives strong support here from Dr. Lonnie Smith on Hammond B-3 organ and Randy Johnston on guitar. 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, West Village, (212) 255-4037; cover, $20 to $25, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) SCOTT DUBOIS GROUP (Sunday) Mr. Dubois, a young guitarist equally devoted to intricate compositional forms and spacious free improvisation, leads an ensemble stocked with kindred souls: the saxophonists Tony Malaby and Jason Rigby, the bassist Eivind Opsvik and the drummer Mark Ferber. 9:30 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 929-9883; cover, $7. (Chinen) DAVID GILMORE QUARTET (Monday) Mr. Gilmore favors the clean guitar tone of George Benson, but his playing tends more toward rhythmic aggression and sharp corners; his cohesive band includes George Colligan on keyboards, Brad Jones on bass and Derrek Phillips on drums. 10 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 929-9883; cover, $10. (Chinen) JOHN HART TRIO (Tonight) The guitarist John Hart approaches both standards and originals with the same modern sensibility; his rhythm section consists of Bill Moring on bass and Anthony Pinciotti on drums. 7 and 9, Enzos Jazz at the Jolly Hotel Madison Towers, 22 East 38th Street, at Madison Avenue, (212) 802-0600; cover, $15, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) MARK HELIASS OPEN LOOSE (Tonight) Together with the tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby and the drummer Gerald Cleaver, the bassist and composer Mark Helias walks a line between form and freedom, confirming that there can be rigor in both. 9, Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village, (212) 989-9319; cover, $10, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) JAZZ BATTLES AT DIZZYS CLUB (Tomorrow) Invoking the tradition of cutting-room sessions at an unlikely hour, Dizzys Club plays host to three free Saturday matinees: a warm-up round with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra rhythm section; a face-off between the trombonists Andre Hayward and Steve Davis; and a showdown featuring the baritone saxophonists Joe Temperley and Gary Smulyan. 1, 2 and 3 p.m., Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (212) 258-9595; no cover. (Chinen) ILONA KNOPFLER (Tuesday) Ms. Knopfler is an effervescent chanteuse who divides her time between Paris and Atlanta; her recent album Life the Life (Mack Avenue) places her translucent vocals in a variety of jazz settings. 8 and 10 p.m., Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue South, at Bleecker Street, West Village, (212) 255-3626; cover, $15, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) * LEE KONITZ QUARTET (Wednesday through Nov. 26) Mr. Konitz lends his venerable reputation and dry-martini alto saxophone to this ensemble, which features the resourceful bop-leaning guitarist Peter Bernstein. 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, (212) 581-3080; cover, $30, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) FRANK LACYS VIBE TRIBE (Tonight) Mr. Lacy is a trombonist with a free spirit but a taste for tonality; this midsize ensemble, not quite a big band, features such team players as the saxophonists Abraham Burton and Salim Washington and the pianist Dave Kikoski. 9 and 10:30, Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, at Spring Street, South Village, (212) 242-1063; cover, $15, members, $12. (Chinen) ADAM LEVY TRIO/ STEVEN BERNSTEINS MILLENNIAL TERRITORY ORCHESTRA (Monday) The guitarist Adam Levy, best known for his association with Norah Jones, draws upon a broader dynamic range in his trio with the bassist Todd Sickafoose and the drummer Ben Perowsky; the MTO, a little big band led by the slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein, dusts off an obscure swing-era repertory with showmanship and irreverence. 8 p.m., Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, near Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 358-7501; cover, $12. (Chinen) * BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO (Tuesday through Nov. 27) With Day Is Done (Nonesuch), the pianist Brad Mehldau has renovated the sound of his longstanding trio, with considerable help from the powerfully expressive drummer Jeff Ballard; the groups luminous brand of lyricism has survived, but its repertory is more pop-inflected, and its rhythmic push more pronounced. 9 and 11 p.m., with a 12:30 set on Nov. 25 and 26, Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212) 255-4037; cover, $25, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) BEN MONDER GROUP (Thursday) In the hands of Mr. Monder, the electric guitar is a coloristic instrument first and foremost; his fine recent album, Oceana (Sunnyside), showcases his dizzyingly proficient solo workouts and his coolly convoluted pieces for trio. 9 p.m., Barbes, 376 Ninth Street, at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 965-9177; cover, $8. (Chinen) OSCAR NORIEGA TRIO (Tonight) Mr. Noriega, a clarinetist and saxophonist, taps into raw but focused energies in this group with the bassist Trevor Dunn and the drummer Tom Rainey; theyre joined by the versatile singer Allyssa Lamb. 8, Barbes, 376 Ninth Street, at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 965-9177; cover, $8. (Chinen) GREG OSBY (Through Sunday) Tomorrow and Sunday, Mr. Osbys hard-charging trio with the bassist Matt Brewer and the drummer Jeff (Tain) Watts will reprise material from Channel Three, a strong recent Blue Note album; tonight and tomorrow, Mr. Osby will lead his current quartet, with Cory Smythe on piano, Mr. Brewer on bass and Rodney Green on drums. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 set tonight and tomorrow night, Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232; cover, $25. (Chinen) MARCUS ROBERTS TRIO (Through Sunday) Mr. Roberts has been an exemplar of blues-based jazz piano since his 1980s tenure with Wynton Marsalis; the bassist Roland Guerin and the drummer Jason Marsalis round out his excellent working trio. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 set Fridays and Saturdays, Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (212) 258-9595; $30, with a minimum of $10 at tables, $5 at the bar.(Chinen) * ROSWELL RUDDS 70TH-BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (Sunday) Mr. Rudd is a veteran trombonist who closely heeds an exploratory muse; on his new album, Blue Mongol (Sunnyside), he finds a common language with throat singers from Mongolia. But he celebrates his 70th birthday more traditionally, with a reunion of Elis Chosen Six, a Dixieland group with which he played in the 1950s at Yale. 3 p.m., Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, Chelsea, (212) 620-5000; $15. (Chinen) * LUCIANA SOUZA QUARTET (Tonight) Ms. Souza, a Brazilian turned New Yorker, hones a personal and highly intelligent variety of jazz singing in this ensemble, with Adam Rogers on guitar, Scott Colley on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. 9:30,, Joes Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 539-8778; cover, $20, with a two-drink minimum. (Chinen) RORY STUART QUARTET (Tomorrow) Mr. Stuart is a guitarist with a lithe and harmonically literate style; his ensemble features the smart, somewhat reclusive Mark Shim on tenor saxophone and the sterling rhythm team of Francois Moutin and Ari Hoenig on bass and drums. 9 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village, (212) 989-9319; cover, $12 (students, $9), with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) * TOOTS THIELEMANS AND KENNY WERNER (Through Sunday) The Dutch harmonica master Toots Thielemans and the American pianist Kenny Werner have recorded fruitfully together in recent years; here theyll focus on Brazilian music, an area of specialty for Mr. Thielemans, in an all-star ensemble featuring the guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves and the percussionist Airto Moreira. 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village, (212) 475-8592; cover, $35 at tables, with a $5 minimum or $20 at the bar and a one-drink $5 minimum.(Chinen) WYNTON WITH STRINGS: 25TH YEAR CELEBRATION (Tonight and tomorrow night) Backed by his quartet and a string orchestra, the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis plays romantic jazz standards with a tender sort of effulgence. 8, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500; $30 to $130. (Chinen) Classical Full reviews of recent music performances: nytimes.com/music. Opera CARMEN (Tomorrow and Wednesday) Shes back. After an initial flurry of less well-known Carmens at the Met this season, Denyce Graves is taking up one of her signature roles for a run of performances into December. And Marcello Giordani, with Don José, is coming into a role that should allow him to shine. Ana Maria Martinez, a young soprano with a burgeoning international career, makes her company debut as Micaëla. 8 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000; $220 tickets remaining tomorrow; $26 to $175 on Wednesday. (Anne Midgette) THE LITTLE PRINCE (Today, tomorrow and Sunday) Francesca Zambellos production, with bright, sure sets by Maria Bjornson, is gorgeous. And Rachel Portmans opera is opulent, with a veritably lush orchestra and a large childrens chorus. All of this is an odd fit for the spareness of Antoine de Saint-Exupérys beloved book, which inspired it, but it makes for a colorful spectacle -- though it would lose nothing by being half an hour shorter. Tonight at 8, Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 1:30, New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500; remaining tickets, $79 tonight, $25 to $65 tomorrow and $45 to $65 on Sunday. (Midgette) LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (Tomorrow) Jonathan Millers spare, elegant production affords Mozarts music ample room to breathe. The solid cast includes Luca Pisaroni, Lisa Milne, Peter Mattei and Hei-Kyung Hong. Sandra Piques Eddy replaces Joyce DiDonato as Cherubino. 1:30 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000; $42 to $220. (Jeremy Eichler) LA TRAVIATA (Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday) The venerable Amato Opera may seat scarcely more than 100, but it cant be accused of cowardice. Its current run, now in its final weekend, is one of the hardest operas for soprano in the repertory, Verdis Traviata. Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30, Sunday afternoon at 2:30, Amato Opera, 319 Bowery, at Second Street, East Village, (212) 228-8200; $30; 65+, students and children, $25. (Midgette) TURANDOT (Tomorrow) If your idea of a stimulating evening is watching a beefy and clearly none too intelligent prince devoting himself singlemindedly to winning the heart of a creepy harridan -- and, O.K., singing Nessun Dorma along the way -- the companys venerable Beni Montresor staging (now directed by Beth Greenberg) is back on the boards. Its strong cast includes Lori Phillips in the title role, Philip Webb as Calaf and Guylaine Girard as Liù. 8 p.m., New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500; $25 to $120. (Allan Kozinn) Classical Music AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Tonight) Witold Lutoslawskis orchestral works have slipped into the standard repertory to a great extent, but programs focusing on his music exclusively are rare. Leon Botstein has assembled a great overview, from the classic Musique Funèbre (1958) to the increasingly popular violin concerto Chain 2 (1985). Included as well as are two symphonies, the First (1947) and the Third (1983). 8, Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500; $25 to $53. (Kozinn) BARGEMUSIC (Tonight, tomorrow, Sunday and Thursday) Vladimir Stoupel, a pianist, is holding forth this week, alone and with friends, at this intimate chamber hall on a converted coffee barge. Tonight, Mr. Stoupel plays a program of five Scriabin sonatas (Nos. 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10). He spends the rest of the weekend playing works by Schubert, Bach, Schumann and Joan Tower with Judith Ingolfsson, the violinist, and on Thursday, he is joined by Mark Peskanov, the violinist, and Peter Bruns, the cellist, for a program of Haydn and Brahms. Tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night at 7:30; Sunday at 4 p.m.; Bargemusic, Fulton Ferry Landing next to the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, (718) 624-2083; $35; $25 for students. (Kozinn) JENNIFER CHECK (Tuesday) She does small roles at the Met but has a big voice to watch. This young soprano, an alumna of the Mets Lindemann program and already presented in New York by the Marilyn Horne Foundation, won first place in the Young Concert Artists auditions this year, and as a result is giving her Carnegie recital debut with a program of Purcell, Richard Strauss, Schumann and others. Laura Ward is the piano accompanist. 7:30 p.m., Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800; $25 and $35. (Midgette) CHOIR OF ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA AND PIFFARO (Tonight) Kent Tritle leads his superb choir, with accompaniment from Piffaro, a fine period-instrument band, in music of the German Baroque. Included are Schützs Ich danke dem Herrn (SWV 34), Praetoriuss Nun komm der Heiden Heiland and Scheidts Hymnaria. 8, with a preconcert organ recital by Scott Warren at 7. Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, 980 Park Avenue, at 84th Street, (212) 288-2520; $25 to $45. (Kozinn) EARLY MUSIC NEW YORK (Tomorrow and Sunday) Arguing that although public church performances of the time were sung by men, women sang sacred music in convents and secular music at court, this venerable ensemble has taken to presenting an annual concert sung and played by women. This years installment is an overview of sacred and secular works by the Franco-Flemish masters of the 15th and 16th centuries, among them Dufay, Binchois, Ockeghem, Obrecht and Josquin. Tomorrow at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, at 112th Street, Morningside Heights, (212) 280-0330; $40. (Kozinn) JUPITER SYMPHONY CHAMBER PLAYERS (Monday) In the spirit of its idiosyncratic founder, Jens Nygaard, this feisty ensemble offers programs that combine oddities and either familiar works or lesser-known scores by well-known composers. This week the focus is on virtuoso playing and includes music by Boccherini, Paganini, Respighi, Verdi, Rossini and Gambaro. 2 and 7:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 West 66th Street, Manhattan, (212) 799-1259; $10 to $25. (Kozinn) NEW JUILLIARD ENSEMBLE (Tuesday) This student group, led by Joel Sachs, plays difficult music in virtually every contemporary style, and usually does it with assurance and polish. This program, part of the season-long celebration of the Juilliard Schools centenary, includes the premiere of Adam Schoenbergs Chiaroscuro, as well as works by Agustín Fernández, Liu Sola, Miguiel del Aguila and Virko Baley. 8 p.m., Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, (212) 769-7406; free, but tickets are required. (Kozinn) PRISM QUARTET (Tonight) This fine veteran saxophone ensemble tackles the rock-influenced music of the Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis, including Postnuclear Winterscenario No. 10 and Pitch Black for saxophone quartet and boom box. 8:30, Thalia at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212) 864-5400; $21, students and 65+, $18. (Eichler) REBEL (Sunday) Rebel, one of the more successful operatives in New Yorks accident-prone early-music world, brings music for recorders and strings to the Music Before 1800 series. 4 p.m., Corpus Christi Christi Church, 529 West 121st Street, Morningside Heights, (212) 666-9266; $25 to $40; $20 to $35 for students and 62+. (Bernard Holland) PAULA ROBISON (Tomorrow) This excellent flutist and her audiences never seem to tire of music by Vivaldi, and she is sure to play it here with her usual flair. But it would also be good, for a change, to find out what else is on her musical mind. 7 p.m., Temple of Dendur, Metropolitan Museum of Art, (212) 570-3949; $60. (James R. Oestreich) ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Tonight and tomorrow night) The highly touted David Robertson makes his first New York appearance as music director of the orchestra, tonight centering on music of Debussy (and paintings of Monet) and tomorrow presenting works by Mozart, Mahler and Morton Feldman. 8, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800; tonight, $10 to $35; tomorrow, $23 to $79.(Oestreich) ANTTI SIIRALA (Tonight) Antti Siirala, a busy and successful veteran of the piano competition wars in Britain, brings four Beethoven piano sonatas, including Les Adieux and the delectable little F sharp major Sonata. 8, Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, Metropolitan Museum of Art, (212) 570-3949; $40. (Holland) BAIBA SKRIDE (Sunday) Lincoln Center brings back its series of casual Sunday morning concerts followed by a reception. Here, this young Latvian violinist is accompanied by her sister Lauma in works by Schubert, Prokofiev, Copland and Ravel. 11 a.m., Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, Manhattan, (212) 721-6500; $20. (Eichler) Dance Full reviews of recent performances: nytimes.com/dance. American Ballet Theater Studio Company and Sean Curran: Works and Process (Sunday and Monday) This ongoing series at the Guggenheim Museum allows a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process; in this case the choreographer Sean Curran will talk to Kathleen Moore about making a work for Ballet Theaters junior division, and the dancers will perform excerpts from the piece. 8 p.m., 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street, (212) 423-3500; $24 or $18 for members, 65+ and students. (Roslyn Sulcas) BALLET MESTIZO (Tonight through Sunday) Opening tonight for a one-month engagement, the company performs Colombian folk dance and music. Tonight and tomorrow night at 8; Sunday at 4 p.m. (weekends through Dec. 11), Thalia Spanish Theater, 41-17 Greenpoint Avenue, Sunnyside, Queens, (718) 729-3880 or www.thaliatheatre.org; $25 (tonight); $30 (other nights); students and 65+, $27. (Jennifer Dunning) THE BARNARD PROJECT (Tonight through Sunday) Student dancers from Barnard College will perform works by Ori Flomin, David Parker and Donna Uchizono. Tonight at 7:30; Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dance Theater Workshop, 219 West 19th Street, Chelsea, (212) 924-0077 or www.dtw.org; $25; $15 for students and 65+. (Dunning) * BATSHEVA DANCE COMPANY (Through Nov. 27) Israels leading modern-dance company performs Mamootot, a new work by Israels leading choreographer, Ohad Naharin, presented by the Next Wave festival in an extremely intimate space. Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30; Sunday and Nov. 27 at 3 p.m., tomorrow and Nov. 26 at 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 26 at 9:30 p.m., James and Martha Duffy Performance Space, Mark Morris Dance Center, 3 Lafayette Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100 or www.bam.org; $40 (sold out).(John Rockwell) BODYVOX (Tonight through Sunday) In Civilization Unplugged the choreographers Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland whimsically visit technological evolution. Tonight at 8, tomorrow at 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea, (212) 242-0800 or www.Joyce.org; $36. (Jack Anderson) CHASHAMA: TRANSIT (Today through Sunday) Eleanor Dubinsky explores travel in a free dance piece with simultaneous video projections from five cities throughout the world, in a storefront and gallery space. (This weekend and next.) Today through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. (open rehearsals) and 5 to 9 p.m. (performances), Chashama Window Gallery, 266 West 37th Street, Manhattan., www.chashama.org (Dunning) CREACH/COMPANY (Tonight through Sunday night) An all-male group directed by Terry Creach offers a theatrical collage of choreographic portraits of men featuring dramatic interactions among dancers, readings from performers diaries and the depiction of what Mr. Creach calls a broken-hearts club of guys. 8, Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer Street, (212) 334-7479; $15; $12 students and 65+.(Anderson) SAVION GLOVER (Tonight) This distinguished tap stylist will perform to music by choreographers as various as Bach and Piazzolla in Classical Savion. 8, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark, (888) 466-5772 or www.njpac.org; $20 to $56. (Dunning) JANE GOLDBERG: BELLY TAP FOR WORLD PEACE (Tonight through Sunday night) Known as the originator of the tap and schmooze school of dance, Ms. Goldberg is also a performer who embodies a good deal of recent tap history. (Weekends through Nov. 26.) 8, Blue Mountain Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, Chelsea, (212) 393-1182; suggested donation, $15 to $25 (Dunning) GOLDEN DRAGON ACROBATS (Tonight through Sunday and Wednesday) Direct from China, with cables to twirl on, hoops to spin and bodies to twist to pretzel shapes. (Through Jan. 1.) Tonight at 7, tomorrow and Wednesday at 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday at noon and 5 p.m., New Victory Theater, 209 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 239-6200 or www.newvictory.org; $10 to $50. (Dunning) HEATHER HARRINGTON DANCE COMPANY (Tonight through Sunday night) Ms. Harrington fills the sanctuary stage-space with toys and childrens songs, incorporated by the composer Quentin Chiappetta, in her new Devils Playground. 8:30, Danspace Project, St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street, East Village, (212) 674-8194 or www.danspaceproject.org; $15 or T.D.F. vouchers. (Dunning) RENNIE HARRIS (Tomorrow and Sunday) Mr. Harris, whose choreography is an imaginative merger of hip-hop and concert dance, will present two works-in-progress, PrinceScareKrows Road to the Emerald City and Origins of Man, a collaboration with Rodney Mason. Reservations required. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. (PrinceScareKrow); tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. (Origins), Aaron Davis Hall, City College, West 135th Street and Convent Avenue, Hamilton Heights, (212) 650-7100 or www.aarondavishall.org; $20 (PrinceScareKrow); free (Origins). (Dunning) STUART HODES, GUS SOLOMONS JR. AND ALICE TEIRSTEIN (Today) Age has not withered nor custom staled the charms of these veteran performers, who will show Three Oh Three at this lunchtime series, which includes discussion with the audience. Noon, Buttenwieser Hall, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue, (212) 415-5500; free. (Sulcas) JAZZ TAP ENSEMBLE (Tuesday through Nov. 27) Lynn Dally, director of this troupe of young tappers, offers a slew of new works -- two accompanied live by the jazz vocalist Kate McGarry. Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. (no show on Thursday), Friday at 2 and 8 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, Chelsea, (212) 242-0800; $40. (Sulcas) LABAN/BARTENIEFF INSTITUTE FOR MOVEMENT STUDIES (Tuesday) Under the title Dancers and Cultural Identity, the institute presents works by choreographers from the United States, Brazil, Cuba, France and Korea. 8 p.m., St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street, East Village, (212) 643-8888; $20. (Rockwell) * NEW YORK CITY BALLET (Through Feb. 26) The winter season gets under way with a gala offering Peter Martinss Fearful Symmetries and Robbinss N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, along with a new pas de deux by Albert Evans. The annual run of The Nutcracker is from Nov. 25 through Dec. 30, followed by the regular repertory season Jan. 3 through Feb. 26. Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500 after Monday; $20 to $100; for gala tickets, (212) 870-5585. (Rockwell) THE SHUA GROUP (Tomorrow and Sunday) A Jersey City contemporary dance company presents three works that offer collaborations with a saxophonist and a video artist. In 1000 nows audience members are invited onstage. Scary. 8 p.m., ghe Construction Company, 10 East 18th Street, Buzzer 3, Flatiron District, (212) 924-7882; $15; students and 65+, $10. (Sulcas) JOHANNES WIELAND (Tonight through Sunday night) A program of new works includes choreographic commentaries on the nature-versus-nurture debate, the forming and breaking of relationships and the power of images as presented in the media. 8, Ailey Studios at the Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street, Clinton, (347) 329-5526 or reservations@johanneswieland.org; $20; students, $15. (Anderson) Art Museums and galleries are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of recent art shows: nytimes.com/art. Museums AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM: OBSESSIVE DRAWING, through March 19. In the museums first emerging talent show, one of the five artists selected is 83, lives in a home for the elderly in Pennsylvania and stopped painting two years ago because of failing eyesight. Overall, the work in the exhibition is abstract and spare, giving the problematic outsider category a new spin. 45 West 53rd Street, (212) 265-1040. (Holland Cotter) Asia society: Vietnam: Destination for the New Millennium -- The Art of Dinh Q. LE, through Jan. 15. Born in Vietnam, Mr. Le moved to the United States at 11 and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York. This small exhibition presents high-concept photographic and sculptural works about the Vietnam War and its effects, as well as a pair of sculptures representing communications satellites that satirize Vietnams plans to enter the space age. 725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street, (212) 288-6400.(Ken Johnson) Brooklyn Museum: Edward Burtynsky: Manufactured Landscapes, through Jan. 15. Large, expertly made color images by a Canadian photographer show industrial subjects like marble quarries in India, a tire dump in California and modern development in China. 200 Eastern Parkway, at Prospect Park, Brooklyn, (718) 638-5000. (Johnson) * THE FRICK COLLECTION: MEMLINGS PORTRAITS, through Dec. 31. Just over 30 portrait paintings by Hans Memling survive from the 15th century. Of those, about 20 are now on view at the Frick Collection. Thats a whale of a lot of paintings by any major early northern European artist to be in any one place at one time, and there is little question that this show will figure on any short list of outstanding events of the year. 1 East 70th Street, (212) 288-0700. (Cotter) GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM: RUSSIA!, through Jan. 11. This survey of nine centuries of Russian art ranges from 13th-century religious icons to a smattering of 21st-century works, achieving its astounding effect without resorting to a single egg, or anything else, by Fabergé. It immerses us in two enormous, endlessly fascinating narratives: the history of painting and the history of Russia, forming a remarkable tribute to the endurance of the medium and the country, and the inescapable interconnectedness of art and life. 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street, (212) 423-3600. (Roberta Smith) * JAPAN SOCIETY: HIROSHI SUGIMOTO: HISTORY OF HISTORY, through Feb. 19. A very personal, whimsical exhibition by this well-known Japanese photographer, who incorporates into his work artifacts that he has collected, particularly from East Asia and Japan. Mr. Sugimotos reach is long, and his range is broad, from fossils to textiles to undersea dioramas to Japanese calligraphy to the Trylon and Perisphere (a minisculpture) that symbolized the New York Worlds Fair of 1939. It may not be all that enlightening, but as an artists personal survey, it comes off. 333 East 47th Street, (212) 832-1155. (Grace Glueck) * JEWISH MUSEUM: THE JEWISH IDENTITY PROJECT: NEW AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY, through Jan. 29. Whos Jewish, who isnt, and, by the way, what is a Jew, anyway? They are not easy questions, as this intense who-are-we exploration makes clear. Ten projects by 13 artists try to help break the stereotype of American Jews as uniformly white, middle-class and of European descent. Using photography and video, they have interpreted their missions broadly, from the Korean-born Nikki S. Lees meticulous staging of a Jewish wedding with herself as the bride, to Andrea Robbins and Max Bechers look at the thriving shtetl established by Lubavitcher Hasidic Jews in the rural community of Postville, Iowa. 1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd Street, (212) 423-3200. (Glueck) * Metropolitan Museum of Art: FRA ANGELICO, through Jan. 29. An exhibition as rare as it is sublime brings the divine Angelico down to earth, showing how he had the best of both worlds, using the innovations of the Renaissance to parlay the radiant colors, gilded surfaces and doll-like figures of Gothic art into a final flowering. Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, (212) 535-7710. (Smith) * MET: THE PERFECT MEDIUM: PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE OCCULT, through Dec. 31. Hands down, the most hilarious, not to mention the most charming, exhibition the Met has done in years: an assemblage of 19th-century and early-20th-century spirit photographs, séance reportage and other examples of transparent tomfoolery. Like all examples of great humor, it is, at heart, also a sneakily serious affair. Its subjects include the depths of human gullibility and the conjuring power of photography, whose technology, we may forget in the cynical day of digital manipulation and Photoshop, seemed unfathomable to so many people a century and more ago. The exhibitions deeper subject is the dreamer in all of us. (See above.) (Michael Kimmelman) * Met: VINCENT VAN GOGH: THE DRAWINGS, through Dec. 31. Think again before deciding youve got a case of van Gogh fatigue and skipping this exhibition -- not just because the focus is on drawings, which on the whole are less well-known than the paintings and were so important to the early spread of his reputation, but also because in the flesh, great art, no matter how often it has been dully reproduced or mistaken for a price tag or overrun by crowds, retains its dignity and originality and utter strangeness. Frankly, the whole show, even including the bad drawings, is unforgettable. (See above.) (Kimmelman) * Museum of Modern Art: Beyond the Visible: The Art of Odilon Redon, through Jan. 23. The timing was off for the big Odilon Redon retrospective in Chicago in 1994. The art worlds mind was on identity politics and neo-conceptualism. Fin-de-siècle drawings of moony monsters and lamp-bright flowers existed on some other planet. Now theres another Redon survey, smaller, very beautiful, culminating in his lush, pixilated late paintings. And the timing for it is just right. 11 West 53rd Street, (212) 708-9400. (Cotter) * Museum of Modern Art : ELIZABETH MURRAY, through Jan. 9. Here is the complete range of shape-shifting, dizzily colored pictures that Elizabeth Murray has produced over four decades. The colors are noisy, the harmonies pungent, the scale big and bold. While art-world fashion has drifted here and there, Ms. Murray has stuck to her craft, with all its difficulties and at the occasional cost of failure and neglect. Her show is a meaty, openhearted, eye-popping event. (See above.) (Kimmelman) neue galerie: Egon Schiele: The Ronald S. Lauder and Serge Sabarsky Collections, through Feb. 20. This extensive exhibition mostly of works on paper gives an informative account of the regrettably brief career of one of the 20th centurys great draftsmen and romantic rebels. Schieles self-portraits and drawings and watercolors of sexy young women still burn with fires of narcissistic yearning, erotic desire and bohemian dissent. 1048 Fifth Avenue, (212) 628-6200. (Johnson) * P.S. 1: Peter Hujar, through Jan. 16. When Peter Hujar died in 1987, he was a figure of acute interest to a small group of fans and unknown to practically everyone else. His photographs of desiccated corpses in Sicilian catacombs and studio portraits of New Yorks downtown demi-monde were a gorgeous shock, and their cocktail of Nadar, Weegee and Vogue shaped the work of many younger artists. This surveyish sampling includes several of his recurrent themes: portraits of people and animals, landscapes, still-lifes and erotica. Sensuality and mortality are the binders throughout, inseparable. 22-25 Jackson Avenue, at 46th Street, Long Island City, Queens, (718) 784-2084.(Cotter) * P.S. 1: The Painted World, through Jan. 30. Though this 23-artist exhibition of mostly contemporary abstractionists lacks bite as a whole, every individual painter in it is worthy of attention. In addition to ancestral figures like Myron Stout and Moira Dryer, the show includes Philip Taaffe, Mary Heilmann and Chris Martin. (See above.) (Johnson) * WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: OSCAR BLUEMNER: A PASSION FOR COLOR, through Feb. 12. Not exactly a well-known name today, except to devotees of American Modernism, this German-born architect-turned-painter (1867-1938) was one of the major American artists of the early 20th century. Most of his compositions are unpeopled landscapes depicting houses and building fragments in brilliantly stylized settings in which trees, clouds, smokestacks, telephone poles, water and snow are rendered as rhythmic and dramatic shapes that play off one another almost musically. 945 Madison Avenue, at 75th Street, (212) 570-3676. (Glueck) * Whitney Museum of American Art: THE ART OF RICHARD TUTTLE, through Feb. 5. For 40 years, Richard Tuttle has murmured the ecstasies of paying close attention to the worlds infinitude of tender incidents, making oddball assemblages of prosaic ephemera, which, at first glance, belie their intense deliberation and rather monumental ambition. Out of cord, tin, Styrofoam, florists wire and bubble wrap he has devised objects whose status is not quite sculpture or drawing or painting but some combination of the three, and whose exquisiteness is akin to that of jewelry. His outstanding retrospective is a cross between a kindergarten playroom and a medieval treasury. (See above) (Kimmelman) Galleries: 57th Street EDWARD MAYER: DRAWING OUT A single work designed for and occupying the entire front exhibition space of this gallery, Drawing Out looks both sturdy and fragile, a skeletal open-work modular passageway 18-feet-long, put together as if from a giant Erector set. At once disciplined architecture and intuitive sculptural drawing, the piece invites you to enter and explore it, while conveying a disturbing sense of matter out of place. How often do you get to view a drawing from the inside out? Zabriskie Gallery, 41 East 57th Street (212) 752-1223, through Dec. 3. (Glueck) TOM WESSELMANN: WORKS ON PAPER, RETROSPECTIVE Typed as a Pop artist early on for his portrayals of commercial foodstuffs as well as of stylized womens bodies (or parts thereof) that mingled classic odalisque and sexy pinup, Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004) had other strings to his bow, among them an interest in landscape and, later in his career, large abstract cutouts in metal. His provocative nude icons are here in abundance, but also evident is his interest in Matisse, Picasso and Mondrian. This lively show of 44 works on paper, arranged by his daughter, Kate, also reveals that Wesselmann was a compulsive draftsman, producing and revising many color and compositional studies for his finished works. Maxwell Davidson Gallery, 724 Fifth Avenue, (212) 759-7555, through Dec. 23. (Glueck) Galleries: Chelsea Mona Hatoum: Mobile Home The playful side of this often politically motivated sculptor prevails. The centerpiece, Mobile Home, is an arrangement of domestic objects strung on fine cables between metal traffic barriers; it takes a moment to realize that the toys, chairs, suitcases and other items are slowly rolling back and forth on tiny wheels. An installation upstairs consists of a circle of slowly pulsing light bulbs plugged into intricately interwoven cables. Alexander and Bonin, 132 10th Avenue, between 18th and 19th Streets, (212) 367-7474, through Dec. 22. (Johnson) James Hayward A veteran Los Angeles-based abstract painter selected for this show by Mike Kelley, Mr. Hayward presents a recent series of single-color paintings made of extremely thick, crisscrossing brush strokes. The optical and tactile combine to exceptionally satisfying effect. Cue, 511 West 25th Street, (212) 206-3583, through Dec. 3. (Johnson) Mel Leipzig A Trenton-based realist who began exhibiting in the mid-1960s, Mr. Leipzig paints affectionate, exhaustively detailed portraits of people in their homes or workplaces with a deliberately unpolished touch. One subject is a man with a shaved head and a goatee relaxing on his living room sofa in the midst of an amazingly extensive collection of sports memorabilia. Henoch, 555 West 25th Street, (917) 305-0003, through Dec. 3. (Johnson) * Ann Lislegaard: Bellona (after Samuel R. Delany) An entrancing animated video based on a famous science-fiction novel tours a mazelike series of empty rooms. Murray Guy, 453 West 17th Street, (212) 463-7372, through Dec. 3. (Johnson) Kim Simonsson Under the influence of Japanese manga cartoons, this Finnish ceramicist makes large, monochromatic sculptures of wide-eyed, otherworldly girls and deer. Nancy Margolis, 523 West 25th Street, (212) 242-3013, through Nov. 26. (Johnson) Other Galleries Hans Hofmann: The Legacy Hofmann was one of the few who made it into the art history hall of fame as both teacher and painter. Along with three works by the master himself, this exhibition presents abstract and semi-abstract paintings by disciples who were either directly taught or deeply influenced by him, including Ludwig Sander, Robert De Niro, Louisa Matthiasdottir and Laurie Fendrich. The Painting Center, 52 Greene Street, SoHo, (212) 343-1060, through Dec. 24. (Johnson) * If Its Too Bad to Be True, It Could Be Disinformation Old-style political art said yes or no, told you what to do. New-style political art, as often as not, obscures its intentions, makes you wonder what its up to and goes for confusion, as in this shrewd, dematerialized group exhibition on the subject of disinformation, a passive form of political deceit that tells lies through the omission of facts. The idea is that the less people know about what their government is doing, the less likely they are to raise a fuss. Apexart, 291 Church Street, TriBeCa, (212) 431-5270, through Nov. 26. (Cotter) * André KertEsz From tiny, wonderfully intense pictures made in the teens in Budapest, where Kertesz was born in 1894, to formally acute views of Paris in the 20s and 30s, to emotionally and metaphorically resonant images of New York, where he lived from 1936 to his death in 1985, this beautiful exhibition covers the career of a giant of 20th-century photography. International Center of Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas, at 43rd Street, (212) 857-0000, through Nov. 27. (Johnson) Ray Mortenson: Cedars/Sea and Sky Alternating between the land and sea of Rhode Island, this quietly gripping show of mostly small black-and-white photographs presents soft and misty images of bushy cedars and extraordinarily clear and luminous pictures of ocean waves. Janet Borden, 560 Broadway, at Prince Street, SoHo, (212) 431-0166, through Dec. 4. (Johnson) * THE SPLENDOR OF THE WORD: MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS AT THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY Few objects encapsulate their times like the exquisite full-service concentrations of text, image and decoration that are illuminated manuscripts, and few institutions in North America have as many great ones as New York Citys favorite library. New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue, at 42nd Street, (212) 869-8069, through Feb. 12. (Smith) System in Chaos: New Art Brut From the Czech Republic Four fascinating Czech outsiders: Zdenek Koseks small, congested bubble diagrams chart unfathomable verbal associations; Lubos Plnys expansive, finely detailed drawings offer delirious lessons in human anatomy; Zbynek Semeraks small, delicately busy works on paper convey what seems to be a medieval iconography of religion and architecture; and Leos Wertheimers large drawings portray locomotives with mechanical precision. Cavin-Morris, 560 Broadway, at Prince Street, SoHo, (212) 226-3768, through Nov. 26. (Johnson) Robert Therrien, Table and Six Chairs In a vast corporate atrium stand a table and six chairs that are wholly ordinary-looking except for their gigantic size -- the chair backs rise to almost nine feet, and the top of the table is over six feet. Mr. Therrien transformed his own kitchen furniture into painted metal monuments that make the viewer feel like the protagonist of Jack and the Beanstalk. The Atrium of 590 Madison Avenue, at 56th Street, (212) 980-4575, through Nov. 28. (Johnson) Last Chance Eighth Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition The old-fashioned art of botanical illustration lives on, as evinced by this selection of finely made drawings and watercolors by more than 40 artists. Many are routinely competent, but some, like a small, intense picture of a gnarly root ball by Jean Emmons, are remarkable for both what and how they represent. The Horticultural Society of New York, 128 West 58th Street, (212) 757-0915, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) Landscape: Myth and Memory Miniature ruins built of tiny bricks on rocky landscapes made of clay by Charles Simmonds; large, faux-antique photographs of Egyptian pyramids by Lynn Davis; an enormous, crusty book by Anselm Kiefer open to the photographic image of ancient architectural remains; and archetypal circles painted and photographed by Richard Long all add up to a nicely choreographed collective fantasy about primordial civilizations. Senior & Shopmaker, 21 East 26th Street, (212) 213-6767, closing on Wednesday. (Johnson) PLAIN OF HEAVEN Organized by Creative Time, this show of mostly site-specific installations insinuates a reverberating, poetic Minimalism into the darkened spaces of a former meatpacking plant. The efforts of Corey McCorkle, O. Winston Link, Leandro Erlich, Helen Mirra, Gordon Matta-Clark, William Forsythe and Saskia Olde-Wolbers are noteworthy. A sound piece by Trisha Donnelly will engulf the building for the last 20 minutes of the shows run. 832 Washington Street, at Gansevoort Street, West Village, (212) 206-6674, closing on Sunday. (Smith)

Why dont Amtrak trains have seat belts?

This has long been a concern, said Deborah Hersman, former head of the National Transportation Safety Board, in an appearance on Fox and Friends. When you look at the environment on trains, they arent required to restrain passengers, luggage. Its a.

10 lessons from Bushs fiasco in Iraq - Daily Kos

Were talking about post-hostilities control over a piece of geography thats fairly significant with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems.. But after the administrations zombie lie about a mythical Saddam and Al Qaeda link was repeatedly debunked, Bush had to acknowledge in a December 2008 interview with Martha Raddatz of ABC News that it was the American presence that drew Al.. But Iraq is not Germany, Japan and South Korea.

Notable Books of the Year 1992

This list has been selected from books reviewed since the Christmas Books issue of December 1991. It suggests only high points in the main fields of reader interest, and it does not include titles chosen by the editors of The Book Review as the Best Books of 1992. Books are arranged alphabetically under subject headings. Art, Music & Popular Culture THE AGE OF MISSING INFORMATION. By Bill McKibben. (Random House, $20.) Two dramatic, intertwined reports -- one an account of the world as reflected in a 24-hour period in the Adirondacks, the other an account of the world as broadcast on 103 television channels in a single day.

Dish Network Exposes Fox News as Nothing More than a.

But as we all know its only a matter of time before this dispute is settled and Fox News returns to Dish Networks airwaves to push their nonsense. Though in. And while Im sure its not, it should be an absolute embarrassment to Fox News that Dish Network essentially exposed them for what they are ��� just a conservative entertainment channel masquerading as a news network.. He is too black for the south, too smart for the Midwest, and too dumb for the coasts.

Palin Wonders If Flight 370 Flew Directly to Heaven - The.

Sarah Palin claimed today that Malaysia Flight 370 may have vanished because it mistakenly flew too high and ended up in heaven. During an appearance on Fox News last night, Sean Hannity asked the former��.

South Korea, China and Japan revive talks after historical, territorial disputes

The problems related to history are not about the past, but are about the present, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the news conference. He said. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida avoided talking about contentious issues during the.

Sony Hack Should Be Considered An Act Of War - Business.

Were obviously not going to bomb North Korea, but could we launch a cyberattack against their institutions? Could we shut down their Internet access? Aitel wrote. From a technical standpoint, we could do all of those��.

Allies Are Not Like Facebook Friends: US Should Drop.

The vast majority of U.S. allies are security liabilities, tripwires for conflict and war.. South Korea now has 40 times the GDP and twice the population of the North, yet Washington is responsible for the Souths defense.. Israel is a perfect example of a good ally, they do take our money but dont need our troops, and are smart enough to fully not trust us with anything they deem important unless they want it on CNN or FOX news at 5pm, or want some sticky fingered��.

THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: The 2nd Presidential Debate; The Presidential Candidates 2nd Debate: These Are the Differences

Following is a transcript of the presidential debate last night in St. Louis between President Bush and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, as recorded by The New York Times. The moderator was Charles Gibson of ABC News. The questioners were potential voters who said they were undecided. MR. GIBSON -- Good evening. From the Field House at Washington University in St. Louis, Im Charles Gibson of ABC News and Good Morning America. I welcome you to the second of the 2004 presidential debates between President George W. Bush, the Republican nominee, and Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee. The debates are sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.. Transcript of second, town hall-style debate between Pres Bush and Sen John Kerry; photo (L)

The Listings

Selective listings by critics of The New York Times of new and noteworthy cultural events in the New York metropolitan region this week. * denotes a highly recommended film, concert, show or exhibition. Theater Approximate running times are in parentheses. Full reviews of current shows, additional listings, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/theater. Previews and Openings WORK Opens tomorrow. Corporations take another beating in this satire of the cubicled life. Directed by Jim Simpson (1:30). Flea Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, (212)226-2407. B.F.E. Opens Tuesday. A kooky Asian-American family tries to escape its stifling home life, while a serial killer stalks its neighborhood in Arizona (1:45). Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212)279-4200. AFTER THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC Opens Wednesday. Elaine Mays three one-acts make up a new comedy on Broadway (remember those?) about married couples and aging singles looking for love. Its being called a play about life in the new millennium. Daniel Sullivan directs (2:00). Manhattan Theater Club, at the Biltmore Theater, 261 West 47th Street, (212)239-6200. BIRDIE BLUE Previews start Thursday. Opens June 23. S. Epatha Merkerson stars as the title character in this memory play about a woman whose life changed tragically on the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was killed (1:30). Second Stage Theater, 307 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212)246-4422. THE CHERRY ORCHARD Opens June 15. Is it a comic tragedy or a tragic comedy? Renew that old debate at Tom Donaghys new adaptation of Chekhovs last play (2:00). Atlantic Theater Company, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea, (212)239-6200. THE CONSTANT WIFE Previews start today. Opens June 16. When a wife discovers that her husband is cheating with her best friend, she takes unusual measures. Roundabouts revival of Somerset Maughams comedy of manners stars Kate Burton and Lynn Redgrave (2:15). American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, (212)719-1300. DRUMSTRUCK Opens late May/early June. The gimmick of this new spin on Stomp, which includes 11 percussionists from West and South Africa, is that every audience member plays his or her own drum during the show. David Warren directs (1:25). Dodgers Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. MANUSCRIPT Previews start Wednesday. Opens June 12. A manuscript holds the key to success and fame in Paul Grellongs comedy, directed by Bob Balaban (2:00). Daryl Roth Theater, 101 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)239-6200. THE PARIS LETTER Opens June 12. A repressed Wall Street investment banker (is there any other kind?) has a long, hard fall in Jon Robin Baitzs new drama, which spans four decades (2:00). Roundabout Theater Company, at the Laura Pels Theater, 111 West 46th Street, (212)719-1300. Broadway ALL SHOOK UP In a pint-size theater with a campy young cast, All Shook Up might be a moderate hoot. Inflated to Broadway proportions, its a mind-numbing holler (2:10). Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, (212)307-4100. (Ben Brantley) BROOKLYN THE MUSICAL Try to imagine a sanitized Hair or a secular Godspell, with a helping of funky 70s disco, all filtered through the vocal pyrotechnics of American Idol (1:45). Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Robert Goulet is now striding gallantly through this garish revival of the Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical. Although he is not too agile, Mr. Goulet brings a subdued professionalism to the role of Georges, the owner of a transvestite nightclub on the Riviera who is facing a rising soufflé of domestic conflict (2:30). Marquis, 1535 Broadway, between 45th and 46th Streets, (212)307-4100. (Charles Isherwood) CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG The playthings are the thing in this lavish windup music box of a show: windmills, Rube Goldberg-like machines and the shows title character, a flying car. Its like spending two and a half hours in the Times Square branch of Toys R Us (2.30). Hilton Theater, 213 West 42nd Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS On paper, this tale of two mismatched scam artists has an awful lot in common with The Producers. But if you are going to court comparison with giants, you had better be prepared to stand tall. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz, never straightens out of a slouch (2:35). Imperial, 249 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) *DOUBT, A PARABLE (Pulitzer Prize, Best Play 2005). Set in the Bronx in 1964, this play by John Patrick Shanley is structured as a clash of wills and generations between Sister Aloysius (Cherry Jones), the head of a parochial school, and Father Flynn (Brian F. OByrne), the young priest who may or may not be too fond of the boys in his charge. The plays elements bring to mind those tidy topical melodramas that were once so popular. But Mr. Shanley makes subversive use of musty conventions (1:30). Walter Kerr, 219 West 48th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) FIDDLER ON THE ROOF From the moment it sounds its first word in this placid revival, the voice of Harvey Fierstein (who has replaced Alfred Molina in the central role of Tevye) makes the audience prick up its ears. Whether it fits comfortably into the Russian village of Anatevka is another issue. But at least it brings a bit of zest to this abidingly bland production (2:55). Minskoff, 200 West 45th Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) THE GLASS MENAGERIE This revival suggests that to recollect the past is to see life as if it had occurred underwater, in some viscous sea. Folks drown in this treacherous element. Unfortunately, that includes the shows luminous but misdirected and miscast stars: Jessica Lange and Christian Slater (2:30). Barrymore, 243 West 47th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) *GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Highly caffeinated bliss. Watching Joe Mantellos hopping revival of David Mamets play about a dog-eat-dog real estate office is like having espresso pumped directly into your bloodstream. But whats a little lost sleep when youve had the chance to see a dream-team ensemble, including Liev Schrieber and Alan Alda, pitching fast-ball Mamet dialogue with such pure love for the athletics of acting (1:45)? Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, 242 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) JACKIE MASON: FRESHLY SQUEEZED Jackie Mason has so cunningly manufactured and marketed his dyspeptic comic persona -- the herky-jerky movements used to embellish the routines, the voice thats like a sinus infection with a bad back -- that he may soon be able to refine all actual jokes out of his act, and still slay em. Thats chutzpah. And quite a talent, too (2:05). Hayes, 240 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) JULIUS CAESAR Those cruel forces of history known as the dogs of war are chewing up everything in their path in this tragedy: friends, Romans, countrymen, blank verse and even the noblest movie star of them all. Thats Denzel Washington, who plays the conflicted Brutus (2:40). Belasco, 111 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Love is a many-flavored thing, from sugary to sour, in Adam Guettel and Craig Lucass encouragingly ambitious and discouragingly unfulfilled new musical. The show soars only in the sweetly bitter songs performed by the wonderful Victoria Clark, as an American abroad (2:15). Beaumont, Lincoln Center, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) *ON GOLDEN POND Placing a powerhouse like James Earl Jones in Ernest Thompsons teary, sentimental comedy about an elderly couples summer of healing suggests a German shepherd in a poodle-sized dog house. Yet rather than make his surroundings feel small and artificial in this surprisingly fresh revival, Mr. Joness natural grandeur forces the play to find room for his sweeping emotional breadth (2:15). Cort, 138 West 48th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) *THE PILLOWMAN For all its darkness of plot and imagery, Martin McDonaghs tale of a suspected child murderer in a totalitarian state dazzles with a brightness now largely absent from Broadway. Exquisitely directed and designed, The Pillowman features top-of-the-line performances from Billy Crudup, Jeff Goldblum, Zeljko Ivanek and Michael Stuhlbarg (2:40). Booth, 222 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) 700 SUNDAYS This one-man memoir of a play by Billy Crystal has been set up to suggest a night of home movies with a buddy from your high school days who is equal parts attention-grabbing showoff and softhearted sweetie pie. You would be hard-pressed to find a Broadway show with a more artfully calculated comfort factor (2:20). Broadhurst, 235 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) SPAMALOT This staged re-creation of the mock-medieval movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail is basically a singing scrapbook for Python fans. Still, it seems safe to say that such a good time is being had by so many people that this fitful, eager celebration of inanity and irreverence will find a large and lucrative audience (2:20). Shubert, 225 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) STEEL MAGNOLIAS Despite an ensemble featuring high-profile veterans of stage, film and television, sitting through this portrait of friendship among Southern women, set in a beauty parlor in small-town Louisiana, is like watching nail polish dry (2:20). Lyceum, 149 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE The capricious gods of casting have not been kind to Tennessee Williams of late. This staging, starring an erratic Natasha Richardson as Blanche, is not the hazy mess that the current Glass Menagerie is. But it, too, suffers from fundamental mismatches of parts, especially John C. Reillys sexually unmagnetic Stanley (2:45). Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, (212)719-1300. (Brantley) SWEET CHARITY This revival of the 1966 musical, directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, never achieves more than a low-grade fever when whats wanted is that old steam heat. In the title role of the hopeful dance-hall hostess, the appealing but underequipped Christina Applegate is less a shopworn angel than a merry cherub (2:30). Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) *THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE The happy news for this happy-making little musical is that the move to larger quarters has dissipated none of its quirky charm. William Finns score sounds plumper and more rewarding than it did Off Broadway, providing a sprinkling of sugar to complement the sass in Rachel Sheinkins zinger-filled book. The performances are flawless. Gold stars all around. (1:45). Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) *WHOS AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Everybody ultimately loses in Edward Albees great marital wrestling match of a play from 1962. But theatergoers who attend this revealingly acted new production, starring a superb Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin, are destined to leave the Longacre feeling like winners (2:50). Longacre Theater, 220 West 48th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) Off Broadway *ALTAR BOYZ This sweetly satirical show about a Christian pop group made up of five potential Teen People cover boys is an enjoyable, silly diversion (1:30). Dodger Stages Stage 4, 340 West 50th Street, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) THE ARGUMENT Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, co-author of the post-9/11 play Omnium Gatherum, aims to personalize another hot-button issue here, but its not likely that any serious thought, old or new, is going to be provoked by this whiny debate between two uninteresting types about the ever-sensitive topic of abortion. He wants the baby; she doesnt. It is hard to care (1:30). The Vineyard Theater, 108 East 15th Street, (212)353-0303. (Isherwood) BEAST ON THE MOON Richard Kalinoskis musty romantic drama depicts the fractious marriage of two survivors of the mass killings of Armenians during World War I. Larry Mosss production is respectable and effective, but the performances by Omar Metwally and Lena Georgas are exhaustingly busy (2:00). Century Center for the Performing Arts, 111 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) CAPTAIN LOUIE The York Theater is serving a charming, child-size slice of Broadway with Captain Louie, a one-hour musical based on the 1978 picture book The Trip by Ezra Jack Keats. A talented young cast performs music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, an Oscar and Grammy winner whose credits include Pocahontas, The Prince of Egypt and the current Broadway hit Wicked (1:00). The York Theater Company at the Theater at Saint Peters, 619 Lexington Avenue, at 54th Street, (212)868-4444. (Miriam Horn) FLIGHT: THE RISE AND FALL OF CHARLES LINDBERGH Garth Wingfields droning bio-play transforms Charles Lindberghs journey from tickertape hero to disgraced Nazi sympathizer into a sort of talking newspaper, minus op-ed pages, lively writing and the weather report. With Gregg Edelman playing the everyman pilot turned celebrity, and Brian DArcy James on hand to personify a series of slimy reporters (2:00). Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village, (212)279-4200. (Isherwood) HENRY FLAMETHROWA John Bellusos timely drama about a girl in a coma who may or may not heal the sick engages the issues raised during the Terri Schiavo media circus. Its a thought-provoking and ambitious play (starring Tim Daly), but unfortunately, there are no characters in it you can believe in (1:30). Studio Dante, 257 West 29th Street, Chelsea, (212)279-4200. (Jason Zinoman) *HOWIE THE ROOKIE Mark ORowes blood-and-guts-filled comic yarn, which features two baroque monologues climaxing in sudden, irresistible bursts of mayhem, tells a gangland story set in working-class Dublin. Despite being overproduced, the play, displaying traces of David Mamet and Quentin Tarantino, packs a wallop (1:50). Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, Clinton, (212)868-4444. (Zinoman) *HURLYBURLY If you are going to inhabit a wasteland, you might as well be thoroughly wasted. That seems to be the first rule of survival for the characters who have been brought so vibrantly and unforgivingly to life in this smashing revival of David Rabes 1984 play. But thanks to a terrific cast, theatergoers are likely to experience a heady buzz of excitement and clarity, which any of the desperate characters onstage would kill for (3:15). 37 Arts, 450 West 37th Street, Manhattan, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) THE MAIDS It is no small feat to find the chill in Jean Genets 1947 play about two maids who fantasize about killing their boss, but Jean Cocteau Repertory manages it. Credit an eye-opening performance by Amanda Jones as Solange, the dominant of the pair (2:00). Bouwerie Lane Theater, 330 Bowery, at Bond Street, (212)279-4200. (Neil Genzlinger) MISS JULIE Anders Cato directs a new adaptation by Craig Lucas. Marin Hinkle, as Miss Julie, and Reg Rogers, as her fathers uppity valet Jean, spar and flirt, humiliate each other and humble themselves as expected, in the traditional kitchen, with the designated disastrous results. Chances are you wont believe a word of it (1:35). Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, Greenwich Village, (212)868-4444. (Isherwood) MORTAL LADIES POSSESSED Linda Marlowes admirable but difficult one-woman show is based on a 1974 collection of Tennessee Williamss short stories. The adaptation is sometimes awkward and the transitions hard to follow, but Ms. Marlowe captures the characters pathos and fragility nicely (1:20). 59E59Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan, (212)279-4200. (Anita Gates) THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS! The musical is the happy narcissist of theater; parody is the best form of narcissism. All it needs are smart writers and winning performers. Thats what we get in this case (1:30). Dodger Stages, Stage 5, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200. (Margo Jefferson) *ORSONS SHADOW Austin Pendletons play, about a 1960 production of Ionescos Rhinoceros directed by Orson Welles and starring Laurence Olivier, is a sharp-witted but tenderhearted backstage comedy about the thin skins, inflamed nerves and rampaging egos that are the customary side effects when sensitivity meets success (2:00). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, Greenwich Village, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) *THE PASSION OF THE CRAWFORD For his slight but still tasty new show, John Epperson has decided to allow his voiceless alter ego, Lypsinka, to commune intimately and at length with one of her spiritual forebears, Joan Crawford. The centerpiece is a pointed but never vicious re-creation, or rather an interpretation, of a live interview Crawford gave at Town Hall in 1973 (1:30). Zipper, 336 West 37th Street, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) THE PULL OF NEGATIVE GRAVITY A Welsh man with no seeming interest in politics is badly injured in the Iraq war and discovers that returning home will not be so easy. In this bruising, intimate and overly familiar play, which is part of the Brits Off Broadway festival, Jonathan Lichtenstein beautifully portrays how the war destroyed one rural family (1:30). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, (212)279-4200. (Zinoman) SCORE The subject of this one-man show is Leonard Bernstein and music, and the performer, Tom Nelis, and the director, Anne Bogart, get Lenny -- now brilliant, now flamboyant, now superficial, now physically responding to recorded music (1:30). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212)239-6200. The show is in repertory with Songs From an Unmade Bed. (Anne Midgette) SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER This comedy, written more than two centuries ago by Oliver Goldsmith, doesnt have much to say today, and Charlotte Moore, the director of the Irish Repertory Theaters production, wisely doesnt try to pretend otherwise. Instead she lets the actors play with the audience, a restrained glee that is hard to peg at first but ultimately pays off with some great laughs (2:30). Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, (212) 727-2737. (Genzlinger) SLAVAS SNOWSHOW A giggle of clowns chosen by the Russian master Slava Polunin is stirring up laughter and enjoyment. A show that touches the heart as well as tickles the funny bone (1:30). Union Square, 100 East 17th Street, (212)307-4100. (Lawrence Van Gelder) SONGS FROM AN UNMADE BED Slight but pithy, this humorous revue of 18 songs with lyrics by Mark Campbell and music by 18 different composers takes a sardonic and explicit look at gay life in New York: Sex with an actor. What was I thinking? (1:10). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212)239-6200. In repertory with Score. (Midgette) TERRORISM Every element of everyday existence participates in the title activity of this smart, snarling shaggy dog of a play by the Siberian-born Preyskyakov brothers. But while Will Frearss production makes its thematic points clearly, it is still searching for a style that convincingly blends Slavic urgency and ennui (1:20). The Clurman Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, (212)279-4200. (Brantley) *THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) Is there such a thing as stand-up existentialism? If not, Will Eno has just invented it. Stand-up-style comic riffs and deadpan hipster banter keep interrupting the corrosively bleak narrative. Mr. Eno is a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation (1:10). DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) TROLLS Dick DeBenedictis and Bill Dyers semi-terrific musical is about gay men who arent as young as they used to be. With a glorious opening, likable characters, affecting but derivative music, humor that ranges from tired to classic, too much sentiment and just enough irreverence, the show is worth seeing but needs some work (1:35). Actors Playhouse, 100 Seventh Avenue South, at Fourth Street, (212)239-6200. (Gates) WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS Peggy Guggenheim, doyenne of the 20th-century art world, becomes the latest public figure to be exhumed onstage in this one-woman show starring the formidable Mercedes Ruehl. Written by Lanie Robertson, the play is gaudy and moderately fun (1:40). Promenade, Broadway at 76th Street, (212)239-6200. (Isherwood) Off Off Broadway KNOCK ON WOOD Thanks to Steven Spielberg and Bob Dole, the bar is fairly high these days for war stories, and Samuel Calderon comes nowhere near clearing it with Knock on Wood, a monologue about his perfectly ordinary service in the Israeli military during the Yom Kippur War. He sees a few moderately distressing sights, his friend is injured, and thats about it (1:30). 13th Street Repertory, 50 West 13th Street, (212)352-3101. (Genzlinger) PLANET BANANA If you think womens gymnastics would be more interesting if performed in outfits from the Victorias Secret catalog, then Planet Banana is the place for you. Featuring incongruous stunts, moderately difficult circus routines and a sketchy searching-for-love story, the show is as enjoyable as it is raucous (1:25). Ars Nova, 511 West 54th Street, (212)868-4444. (Genzlinger) UNCLE JIMMYS DIRTY BASEMENT This strange brew of Catskills humor, heavy metal and filthy-minded puppets has developed a cult following downtown, and its bizarre band rocks out to some of the most bombastically silly songs since Spinal Taps Big Bottom. But when the music stops, the show meanders without an involving story (1:15). Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, (212)477-5288. ( Zinoman) Long-Running Shows AVENUE Q R-rated puppets give lively life lessons (2:10). Golden, 252 West 45th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Cartoon made flesh -- sort of (2:30). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street , (212)307-4747. (Brantley) BLUE MAN GROUP Conceptual art as family entertainment (1:45). Astor Place Theater, 434 Lafayette Street, (212)254-4370. (Brantley) CHICAGO Irrefutable proof that crime pays (2:25). Ambassador, 219 West 49th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) HAIRSPRAY Fizzy pop, cute kids, large man in a housedress (2:30). Neil Simon Theater, 250 West 52nd Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) THE LION KING Disney on safari, where the big bucks roam (2:45). New Amsterdam Theater, 214 West 42nd Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) MAMMA MIA! The jukebox that devoured Broadway (2:20). Cadillac Winter Garden Theater, 1634 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) MOVIN OUT The miracle dance musical that makes Billy Joel cool (2:00). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) NAKED BOYS SINGING Thats who they are. Thats what they do (1:05). Julia Miles Theater, 414 West 55th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Gates) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Who was that masked man, anyway? (2:30). Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) THE PRODUCERS The ne plus ultra of showbiz scams (2:45). St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, (212)239-6200. (Brantley) RENT East Village angst and love songs to die for (2:45). Nederlander Theater, 208 West 41st Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) STOMP And the beat goes on (and on), with percussion unlimited (1:30). Orpheum Theater, Second Avenue at Eighth Street, East Village, (212)477-2477. (Brantley) WICKED Oz revisited, with political corrections (2:45). Gershwin, 222 West 51st Street, (212)307-4100. (Brantley) Last Chance DESSA ROSE Its easy to admire Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime) for their belief in the humanist potential in musical theater. But their new show isnt likely to win many converts to the cause (2:30). Newhouse, Lincoln Center, (212)239-6200, closing on Sunday. (Isherwood) THE FALL Through Kenneth Nowells looking glass, Hamlet is reversed, and a daughter, Jill, is driven mad by her mothers ghost. Was the mothers expected death natural or an act of murder by her father, who too quickly married her mothers sister? A strong cast and superb director, Kate Marks, manage a tone that teeters effectively between the tragic and the hilarious, and one is left unexpectedly shaken (1:40). The Looking Glass Theater, 422 West 57th Street, Clinton, (212)307-9467, closing on Sunday. (Honor Moore) KING A Het Laaglands variation on the legend of King Arthur for children features five energetic actors, 40 tiny chairs, several a cappella musical numbers, occasional swordplay and frequent inspiring affirmations. The show is inventive and full of physical energy, but in the end may be a little too talky for its intended audience (1:20.) New Victory Theater, 209 West 42nd Street, (212)239-6200, closing on Sunday. (Gates) MEMORY HOUSE Dianne Wiests warm, engaging performance provides the juicy filling in Kathleen Tolans play about a tense standoff between a mother and her teenage daughter over their differing philosophies of life. As she bakes a pie -- from scratch, mind you -- Ms. Wiest performs the still more challenging feat of keeping our sympathies keenly attuned to the appealing emotional undercurrents in Ms. Tolans slight but sensitively drawn two-hander (1:30). Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, (212) 279-4200, closing on Sunday. (Isherwood) A PICASSO Jeffrey Hatchers play is a formulaic two-hander set in occupied Paris in 1941. Pablo Picasso (Dennis Boutsikaris) is brought in for interrogation by the severe Miss Fischer (Jill Eikenberry), who works for the German cultural ministry (1:10). City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, (212)581-1212, closing on Sunday. (Isherwood) *SHOCKHEADED PETER A gorgeous nasty picture book of a musical, in which badly behaved Victorian tots come to ghastly ends. Inspired by Heinrich Hoffmanns droll collection of grisly bedtime stories, Shockheaded Peter is both the silliest and most sinister show in town. It is also one of the smartest (1:40). Little Shubert Theater, 422 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212)239-6200, closing on Sunday. (Brantley) *THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD Working off a template popularized by Anna Deveare Smith, this engaging, smart and scrupulously balanced docudrama is an oral history of the gentrification of Carroll Gardens. Deanna Pacelli convincingly portrays an F Train full of ethnic types who document how the neighborhood moved from crack to baguettes (1:00). Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue, at East Ninth Street, East Village, (212)477-5288, closing on Sunday. (Zinoman) Movies Ratings and running times are in parentheses; foreign films have English subtitles. Full reviews of all current releases, movie trailers, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/movies. A LOT LIKE LOVE (PG-13, 107 minutes) A film that isnt half bad and every so often is pretty good, filled with real sentiment, worked-through performances and a story textured enough to sometimes feel a lot like life. (Manohla Dargis) THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (R, 89 minutes) Low-key creepy rather than outright scary, this remake of the soporific 1979 horror flick is a modest improvement on the original. But this time dont get attached to the family dog. (Dargis) BORN INTO BROTHELS (Not rated, 85 minutes, in Bengali) A lovely documentary about children of prostitutes in Calcutta. (A.O. Scott) BROTHERS (R, 113 minutes, in Danish) This gripping psychological drama is Susanne Biers second film to examine events worthy of Greek tragedy through a contemporary therapeutic lens; wartime trauma and sibling rivalry collide. (Stephen Holden) CRASH (R, 107 minutes) A gaggle of Los Angeles residents from various economic and ethnic backgrounds collide, sometimes literally, in the course of a hectic 36-hour period. Well-intentioned, impressively acted, but ultimately a speechy, ponderous melodrama of liberal superstition masquerading as realism. (Scott) DOMINION PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST (R, 115 minutes) The solemn, high-minded attempt to redeem The Exorcist franchise is the movie equivalent of retrieving the eggshells, coffee grounds and banana peels from the trash and presenting them as art; the ingredients still stink. (Holden) *ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM (Not rated, 110 minutes) This sober, informative chronicle of the biggest business scandal of the decade is almost indecently entertaining, partly because it offers some of the most satisfying movie villains in quite some time. Recommended for everyone except those likely to be in the Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling jury pools. (Scott) *FUNNY HA HA (Not rated, 89 minutes) Twenty-somethings looking for love, direction and fulfilling work -- this smart, cheaply made first feature is low-key, note-perfect and sneakily artful. (Scott) *THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY (PG, 103 minutes) In this hugely likable, long-awaited film of Douglas Adamss beloved book, the world comes to an end not just with a bang, but also with something of a shrug. Nicely directed with heart and sincerity by the newcomer Garth Jennings, the film features Martin Freeman, a sensational Sam Rockwell and some gloriously singing dolphins. (Dargis) *THE HOLY GIRL (Not rated, 106 minutes; in Spanish) The Argentine director Lucrecia Martels second feature is an oblique, feverish exploration of religious ecstasy and adolescent sexuality. Hard to classify, other than as a miraculous piece of filmmaking. (Scott) HOUSE OF WAX (R, 105 minutes) Not the depilatory sequel to Beauty Shop, but rather a remake of the 1953 Vincent Price creep show, with Paris Hilton, Elisha Cuthbert and a bunch of guys menaced by maniacs in the Louisiana backwoods. Grisly and slow. (Scott) THE INTERPRETER (PG-13, 123 minutes) A political thriller, both apolitical and unthrilling, notable for two accomplishments: turning the United Nations into a movie set, and, even more remarkably, giving Nicole Kidman the opportunity to embody the suffering of Africans everywhere. (Scott) JIMINY GLICK IN LALAWOOD (R, 90 minutes) This frantic comic hodgepodge built around Martin Shorts popular Comedy Central character is an intermittently funny free-for-all that suffers from attention deficit disorder. (Holden) KICKING AND SCREAMING (PG, 90 minutes) A so-so family sports comedy with Will Ferrell acting goofy, and Robert Duvall (as the father of Mr. Ferrells character and a rival youth soccer coach) parodying his performance in The Great Santini. The story follows a venerable Hollywood formula: its lesson is that winning isnt everything, but of course once you learn this lesson, youll win big, anyway. (Scott) KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (R, 145 minutes) A plaintive period epic from Ridley Scott, starring Orlando Bloom, about the bloody orgies of piety known as the Crusades. The film proves yet again that it takes an actor as self-serious as Russell Crowe to carry the weight of Mr. Scotts ambitions; it also takes a story Mr. Scott himself can really believe in. (Dargis) KINGS AND QUEEN (No rating, 150 minutes, in French) A film about a hapless man and a woman who is alternately, perhaps even simultaneously, a mistress, monster, mother, murderer, object of lust and subject of loathing, this latest work from the wildly talented French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin is essential viewing. (Dargis) KUNG FU HUSTLE (R, 95 minutes, in Mandarin and Cantonese) This kinetic, exhausting, relentlessly entertaining film throws scraps of a half-century of international pop culture into a fast-whirling blender. (Scott) LADIES IN LAVENDER (PG-13, 104 minutes) Two dames of the British empire (Judi Dench and Maggie Smith) inhabit spinster sisters in Cornwall who nurse a handsome Polish violinist back to health in 1936. Amiably bogus. (Holden) LAYER CAKE (R, 104 minutes) Directed by Matthew Vaughn, making a smoothly assured debut, and written by J.J. Connolly, this is the newest in British gangland entertainment and the tastiest in years. The star of this show is the very good British actor Daniel Craig, who slices through Layer Cake like a knife. (Dargis) *LOOK AT ME (PG-13, 110 minutes; in French) A delicious comedy, as tart as it is sweet, of ambition, miscommunication and egoism. Set in a Paris that seems to be populated entirely by artists and writers, the film affectionately tweaks the bad manners and complacency of Frances intellectual elite. (Scott) MA MÈRE (NC-17, 110 minutes, in French) Avid sensation-seeking in this film is such a grim affair that after a short while, the spectacle of its aimless characters bending themselves out of shape in the pursuit of depravity mutates from titillating to pathetic to laughable. (Holden) MAD HOT BALLROOM (PG, 105 minutes) This documentary follows fifth graders from three very different New York City public schools as they prepare to compete in a ballroom dancing tournament. The sight of 10-year-olds trying to master the graceful, grown-up motions of the fox trot and the tango is charming, and the glimpses of their lives in and outside of school are fascinating, though unfortunately the film offers not much more than glimpses. (Scott) MINDHUNTERS (R, 106 minutes) This thriller reimagines Agatha Christies Ten Little Indians as Eight Little Profilers: a team of would-be F.B.I. agents, isolated at a training compound to solve a simulated crime, soon realize that a real serial killer walks among them. The film may find a cult audience among fans of schlock cinema seeking a giggle and a scream. (Dana Stevens) MONSTER-IN-LAW (PG-13, 102 minutes) Jane Fonda finds a zany, good-natured verve in a dragon-lady caricature that mirrors a comedy so desperate to avoid offending that it runs in panic from every issue it brings up but refuses to address. (Holden) *MYSTERIOUS SKIN (Not rated, 99 minutes) Gregg Araki, one-time bad boy of the New Queer Cinema, has made a heartbreaking and surpassingly beautiful film out of Scott Heims clear-eyed novel about two Kansas boys dealing with the consequences of their sexual abuse by a Little League coach. Superb performances, especially by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. (Scott) OLDBOY (R, 118 minutes; in Korean) The latest in dubious pulp-fiction cool, Oldboy centers on a seemingly ordinary businessman, Dae-su (the terrific Choi Min-sik), who, after being mysteriously imprisoned, goes on an exhausting rampage, seeking answers and all manner of bloody revenge. (Dargis) PALINDROMES (Not rated, 100 minutes) The same backward and forward: dud. (Scott) ROBOTS (PG, 89 minutes) This computer-animated films setting, a world made entirely for and by clanky mechanical gizmos, is rendered with impressive skill and imagination. Otherwise, its the usual junkyard assemblage of celebrity voices, lame pop-cultural allusions and heartwarming lessons. (Scott) SAHARA (PG-13, 130 minutes) It may not be Raiders of the Lost Ark, but this screen adaptation of Clive Cusslers sprawling African adventure yarn is a movie that keeps half a brain in its head while adopting the amused, cocky smirk of the Indiana Jones romps. (Holden) SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL: THE JOURNEY OF ROMÉO DALLAIRE (no rating, 91 minutes) The unsettling documentary follows Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian commander of the tiny United Nations peacekeeping force stationed in Rwanda in 1994 as he returns to that African country 10 years after mass slaughter of 800,000 during his watch. (Holden) SIN CITY (R, 126 minutes) Based on the comic book series of the same name by Frank Miller, this slavishly faithful screen adaptation tracks the ups and downs of tough guys and dolls. Sin City has been made with such scrupulous care and obvious love for its genre influences that its a shame that the movie is kind of a bore. (Dargis) 6IXTYNIN9 (R, 118 minutes) The Thai director Pen-ek Ratanarjuangs propulsive black comedy follows an unemployed secretary (Lalita Panyopas) as she struggles to begin a new life with money stolen from a local gangster. Despite drama-school performances and clear signs of budget constraint (most of the action takes place inside the same modest apartment), 6ixtynin9 ramps up the body count with energy, wit and a sustained awareness of the economically depressed world outside the frame. (Jeannette Catsoulis) *STAR WARS III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (PG-13, 142 minutes) George Lucas saved the best -- or at least one of the best -- for the end. Or for the middle. In any case, the saga is now complete, and has regained much of its original glory. (Scott) *3-IRON (not rated, 87 minutes; in Korean) A pop fable of urban loneliness that showcases the Korean director Kim Ki-Duks witty sense of form. Its a thoroughly modern movie with elements of silent film, a love story shot with horror-film techniques, and a charming blend of style and sentiment. (Scott) *TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE (R, 95 minutes) This intimate portrait of the legendary octogenarian cinematographer Haskell Wexler, filmed by his son, is an artistic father-son power struggle for control of a movie being made. It is the richest documentary of its kind since Terry Zwigoffs Crumb. (Holden) *À TOUT DE SUITE (Not rated, 96 minutes; in French) This downbeat homage to the French New Wave is a small, nearly perfect film that follows the sad chain of events when a headstrong 19-year-old art student goes on the lam with a Moroccan bank robber. (Holden) 2009 LOST MEMORIES (R, 136 minutes; in Korean and Japanese) A beautifully designed and ambitious example of Korean cinema, this film confronts the political and racial enmity between Korea and Japan with astonishing directness and originality. Blending action, time travel and heartfelt drama, the film posits a future in which Japan has conquered Korea and won World War II. (Catsoulis) WALK ON WATER (Not rated, 104 minutes) The director Eytan Fox takes on the controversial subject of Israeli nationalism in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Despite an implausible climax, this movies quiet intelligence sneaks up on you. (Stevens) WILD SAFARI 3-D: A SOUTH AFRICAN ADVENTURE (Not rated, 45 minutes) A choppy tour of South African flora and fauna. Kids will love the romping lion cubs and elephant calves, while adults will be grateful by this travelogues vibrancy and brevity. (Ned Martel) XXX: STATE OF THE UNION (PG-13, 94 minutes). A wildly silly action flick in which all that stand between the American people and the yoke of tyranny are big guns, bigger breasts, the thud-thud-thud of commercial rap and the multiplatform artist known as Ice Cube (né OShea Jackson). (Dargis) Film Series THE BEST OF THE AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL (Through Tuesday) BAMcinemateks festival schedule includes Dirt for Dinner (2000), from Nigeria and Germany, about the first black German policeman, who turned to crime; Madame Brouette (2002), a feminist melodrama from Senegal; and Soldiers of the Rock (2003), about miners in South Africa. Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718)636-4100; $10. (Anita Gates) EYE AND EAR CONTROLLED (Through June 11) The Anthology Film Archives three-week series of rare music films continues with George Manupellis Ride Dr. Chicago Ride tonight; Cry Dr. Chicago and a program of videos by Robert Ashley tomorrow night; and three Michael Snow films, including Rameaus Nephew, on Sunday. The composer Alvin Lucier, who plays Dr. Chicago, and Mr. Ashley will make appearances. At 32 Second Avenue, East Village, (212)505-5181; $8; students and 65+, $6; members, $5. (Gates) MOMA INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF FILM PRESERVATION (Through June 26) The Museum of Modern Art will be screening, among other films, Bernardo Bertoluccis autobiographical second film, Before the Revolution (1964), a reconstruction of the Russian-release version of Sergei Eisensteins classic Battleship Potemkin (1925) and a recently rediscovered English-language version of Jacques Tatis comedy Mon Oncle (1958). At 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan, (212)708-9400; $10; 65+, $8; students, $6. (Gates) FRANÇOIS OZON RETROSPECTIVE (Through June 5) The Museum of the Moving Image is honoring Mr. Ozon, the genre-bending French director of Swimming Pool and Under the Sand. The event closes with a personal appearance by Mr. Ozon. At 35th Avenue at 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, (718)784-0077. Museum admission: $10; 65+ and students, $7.50. (Gates) MICHAEL POWELL: BEAUTY UNENDING (Through Tuesday) The Film Society of Lincoln Centers major centennial tribute to this British director continues through the end of the month. Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center, (212)875-5600. Tickets: $10; students, $7; members, $6; children and 65+, $5. (Stevens) THE TWO OF US (Through June 9) Film Forum is showing Claude Berris 1967 classic about a Jewish boy in occupied France. Alain Cohen plays the boy, and Michel Simon the elderly man with whom he is sent to the country to live. This is a new 35-millimeter print with new subtitles, to be shown with Mr. Berris Oscar-winning 1962 short, Le Poulet, about a boy and his rooster. At 209 West Houston Street, South Village, (212)727-8110. Tickets: $10; members, $5. (Gates) Pop Full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music. ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD HART (Thursday). Syncopated fingerpicking and a sly rasp of a voice show Alvin Youngblood Harts blues roots, but theres no telling which way hell decide to stretch them with his band Muscle Theory. 7:30 p.m., Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, Manhattan, (212)576-1155. $18 in advance; $20 at the door. (Jon Pareles) *BEENIE MAN, VYBZ KARTEL (Saturday) Two of dancehall reggaes biggest names come to town for what should be a manic, exuberant night of shouting and singing, by turns silly and ferocious. Vybz Kartel specializes in witty, rapid-fire narratives, whereas Beenie Man is less single-minded: an astonishingly versatile performer, he can go from a pop sing-along to an a cappella sex rhyme to an infectious dance track in a matter of minutes -- and often does. 10 p.m., Elite Ark, 900 Sheffield Avenue, at Wortman Avenue, Canarsie, Brooklyn, (718)649-6535. $40 in advance sold out; only $50 tickets left. (Kelefa Sanneh) BRAZILIAN GIRLS (Wednesday) Boasting zero members from Brazil and only one girl (the multilingual surrealist jazz singer Sabina Sciubba), this downtown quartet, arising from the arty Nublu club scene, plays its erotic, electronica-inflected reggae and bossa novas on keyboards, computers, bass and drums. 9 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212)777-6800. $20; $25 at the door. (Laura Sinagra) RICHARD BUCKNER (Tuesday) Women and booze keep letting Richard Buckner down, and his glum, scuffed-up voice is just right for songs that bring together the depressive sides of honky-tonk country and singer-songwriter confessionals. 7:30 p.m., Pianos, 158 Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212)420-1466. $10; $12 at the door. (Pareles) CORDERO (Tomorrow) Mixing the open atmospherics of the Southwest with the gritty feel of the Brooklyn art scene, the bilingual Ani Cordero, who has worked with Calexico and Giant Sand, and her band make guitar rock that gives urban brashness some borderland mystery. 11:30 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212)260-4700. $10. (Sinagra) CHARANGA SOLEIL (Tonight) Pulling together an Afro-Caribbean diaspora, Charanga Soleil mixes the courtly Cuban charanga (for a group including flute and violin) with touches of Congolese guitar rumba, West African kora, Haitian rara drumming and more. The band was assembled by Al Angeloro, a longtime world-music disc jockey. 7:30 p.m., Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, Manhattan, (212)576-1155. $15. (Pareles) CURLEY TAYLOR & ZYDECO TROUBLE (Saturday) The accordionist Curley Taylor modernizes his Louisiana two-steps with hints of funk in the rhythm and rhythm-and-blues in the vocals, singing country boy, city thoughts. A Lets Zydeco show, with dance lessons at 7 p.m., live music at 8. La Belle Epoque, 827 Broadway, above 12th Street, (212)685-7597 or (212)254-6436. $18. (Pareles) EDMAR CASTAÑEDA (Tonight and Tomorrow) The Colombian harp was not often heard in a jazz context until Mr. Castañeda, a teenage prodigy, began nudging its limits in the mid-90s. 8 and 10 p.m. and 12 a.m., Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue South, West Village, (212)255-3626. $20. (Sinagra) FREESTYLE FEVER (Sunday) This party celebrates freestyle, the homegrown Latin pop genre that flourished in the 1980s but still hasnt -- thank goodness -- gone away. Headliners are to include K7 featuring TKA, Lisette Melendez and the former Sweet Sensation singer Betty. (Visit copacabanany.com for the complete lineup.) 10 p.m., the Copacabana, 560 West 34th Street, Manhattan, (212)239-2672. $25 in advance; more at the door. (Sanneh) DARK STAR ORCHESTRA (Tonight and Tomorrow) You never know which full Grateful Dead live set this cover band will perform until the show gets under way. Fans informally compete in guessing the original date and site. 8 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212)777-6800. $26.50; $30 at the door. (Sinagra) DB AND STAKKA (Tomorrow) The drum n bass DJ DB was a popularizer of hard, breakbeat techno, founding a label and record store dedicated to this pulverizing, ominous micro-genre. 10 p.m., Rothko, 116 Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, (212)475-7088, or www.rothkonyc.com, $10. (Sinagra) EDAN (Tuesday) The Boston indie rap polymath Edan distinguishes himself by doing it all -- DJ-ing, rapping and creating his own sample-based tracks that pay homage to late-80s hip-hop. The Other Music record store brings him into town for a performance and extended DJ set. 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., APT, 419 West 13th Street, West Village, (212)414-4245. $5.(Sinagra) *ROBBIE FULKS (Wednesday) The latest album of curveball Chicago country by Robbie Fulks once again prompts head shaking as to why this off-off-Opry wiseacre isnt a more famous songwriter (or at least a little bigger and richer). As alt-country fans know, hes a crackerjack guitarist and a charismatic performer to boot. 10 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212)260-4700. $10; $12 at the door. (Sinagra) GLASS CANDY (Tonight) With a name that brilliantly recalls suburbias deadliest home décor, these theatrical Portland no-wavers appropriately perform their fractured dance music in Lits hipster dungeon. 9 p.m., Lit Lounge, 93 Second Avenue, near Fifth Street, East Village, (212)777-7987. $6. (Sinagra) GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN (Monday) If the idea of eight puerile Ali G dress-alikes rapping about whose mother has a penis appeals, these cheeky Welshmen deliver, slinging silly rhymes over thin, ironic beats. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111. $15; $17 at the door. (Sinagra) JUAN LUIS GUERRA (Tonight and Saturday) This Dominican merengue superstar guitarist has also gained fame as a sometimes controversial populist spokesman on Latin American social issues. Increasingly, his music has incorporated Afropop rhythms into the traditional merengue form. 8 p.m., Madison Square Garden, (212)465-6741. $59.50-99.50.(Sinagra) HALLUCINOGEN ( Tonight) Since the 1999 release of Twisted (Twisted), a hallmark of electronicas psychotropic Goa trance style, Hallucinogens Simon Posford has moved further into a slicker, more cleanly produced brand of dance dub. 10 p.m., Spirit, 530 West 27th, Chelsea, (212)268-9477. $30. (Sinagra) MIHO HATORI, SHOTNEZ, WHITE HASSLE (Tomorrow) Hatori, former vocalist for the experimental popists Cibo Matto, has a new solo record. Shotnez finds members of Gogol Bordello, Firewater and Big Lazy boogie-ing at the crossroads of the American South and the Middle East. White Hassle offers a punk take on blues and skiffle and features former members of Railroad Jerk and Skeleton Key. Hatori at 8 p.m.; Shotnez at 10 p.m.; White Hassle at 12 a.m. Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, near Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212)358-7501. $10. (Sinagra) *THE HOLD STEADY (Tomorrow) This great Brooklyn band is to celebrate its great new album, Separation Sunday (French Kiss), with a free concert in a Williamsburg record shop; arrive early, so you can see Craig Finns face while he delivers his sly but urgent rants over 1970s-era riff-rock. 3 p.m., Sound Fix, 110 Bedford Avenue, at North 11th Street, (718)388-8090. Free. (Sanneh) *THE HOMOSEXUALS (Monday and Tuesday) Though this seminal London bands stylistic forays placed them on a par with other polestars of 70s and 80s British art punk, they never rose to name-drop prominence. Last years three-disc compilation of everything they ever recorded (they never released a full-length LP) gave them some deserved due. Monday at 7:30 p.m., Pianos, 158 Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212)420-1466. $15; $18 at the door. Tuesday at 11 p.m., Rothko, 116 Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, (212)475-7088 or www.rothkonyc.com. $10. (Sinagra) JULIETTE & THE LICKS (Saturday) Rilo Kileys Jennie Lewis isnt the only child actress named Lewis reinventing herself as a rocker. The Cape Fear and Natural Born Killers star Juliette is having a ball touring with rock festivals and screeching girl-power anthems in the Courtney Love vein. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111. $13 to $15. (Sinagra) *RILO KILEY, PORTASTATIC (Tonight) This band combines the expansive American longing for Bruce Springsteen with the bedroom introspection of early Liz Phair. The frontwoman Jennie Lewiss humanized star power makes for a surprisingly explosive live show. The Superchunk leader Mac MacCaughans long-standing side project Portastatic opens. 8 p.m., Webster Hall, 125 East 11th Street, East Village, (212)353-1600. $18; $20 at the door. (Sinagra) *KRAFTWERK (Wednesday) Back in the 1970s, four German rockers billed themselves as the man-machine. They abandoned standard instruments for blipping synthesizers and ticking synthetic drums and sang in determinedly emotionless voices about the robotic pleasures of the modern world. They returned in the late 90s to capitalize on the techno scene they helped inspire, and they have recast their old songs from analog to digital. 6:30 p.m., Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34th Street, Manhattan, (212)564-4882. $45; $47 day of. (Pareles) LADYBUG (Tonight) The soothing yet strong female rapper from the groovy mid-90s hip-hop bebop group Digable Planets will release a solo album before her old trio tries a reunion later this year. The new songs by this mother of four are tinged with Afro-Brazilian rhythms and speak of spiritual struggle. 11 p.m., Knitting Factory Main Space, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212)219-3132. $15. (Sinagra) LOUIS THE XIV (Thursday) Like the metal parodists the Darkness, this energetic San Diego band riffs on glam-rock excess for hipster fans who find the groups anthems to flagrant groupie sex as hilarious as Spinal Tap. 9 p.m., Warsaw, 261 Driggs Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, (718)387-5252. $16; $18 at the door.(Sinagra) KYP MALONE, KIM AND MATT (Tonight) With his ethereal falsetto and coronal afro, Kyp Malone is known to many as a vocalist-guitarist in the spacy New York group TV on the Radio. For years, though, he was a fixture in San Franciscos indie scene. Lately hes been doing his own thing. The poppers Kim and Matt fill out the bill. 8 p.m., Sin-e, 148 Attorney Street, at Stanton Street, Lower East Side, (212)388-0077. $10. (Sinagra) LEO NOCENTELLI, ZIGABOO MODELISTE, ROBERT WALTER AND DOUG WIMBISH (Tonight) Leo Nocentelli has been scratching the backbeat and teasing the blues for decades as the guitarist in the Meters, the great New Orleans funk band. Hes jamming here with the Meters drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, the Greyboy All-Stars jazz funk keyboardist Robert Walter and the Living Color bassist and dub artist Doug Wimbish. 10:30 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212)997-4144. $20. (Pareles) PLAID (Thursday) A laptop set from the British duo of Ed Handley and Andy Turner, purveyors of the opaque, at times aloof, techno associated with the once seminal Warp label. Their experience making cerebral electronic music stretches back to membership in the influential mid-90s act Black Dog Productions. 9 p.m., Rothko, 116 Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, (212)475-7088, or www.rothkonyc.com $20. (Sinagra) *THE RAVEONETTES (Tuesday) Clearing away the garage noise of its debut, this Danish duo strives for pure 60s pop classicism. Its new album incorporates rock history, from girl groups to surf rock to punk, as well as historic rock in the form of cameos by Ronnie Spector, Suicides Martin Rev and the Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker. 9 p.m., Maxwells, 1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, (201)653-1703. $15; sold out. (Sinagra) ROCK AND ROLL CIRCUS (Sunday) The downtown party mavens Georgie Seville, DJ Justine D., Michael T. and friends celebrate their fifth year of libidinous holiday eve dress-up bashes. Theres a circus theme, but you suspect that the DJs will stick to the preferred mix of disco and danceable post-punk, both old and neo. 10 p.m., Roxy, 515 West 18th Street, Manhattan, (212)645-5156. $15 with Web site discount; $25 without. (Sinagra) SOUKOUS STARS (Sunday) Soukous is the Congolese music that sends guitars twining over a lilting rumba beat, and the Soukous Stars include the guitarist Lokassa Ya Mbongo; the bassist Nguoma Lokito; and the more recent addition, the guitarist Chico Mawatu, not to mention four female dancers. 9:30 p.m., Joes Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212)239-6200. $20. (Pareles) THE STRAWBS (Tomorrow) This British progressive folk-rock bands alumni include pre-Fairport Convention Sandy Denny and pre-Yes Rick Wakeman. The group has a new album, its first collection of new songs in 25 years. 7 p.m.0 and 9:30, Joes Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212)539-8777. $30. (Sinagra) *WIDE RIGHT (Today) One of the more winsome singer-guitarists around is this rocking bar bands chatty, no-nonsense frontwoman, Leah Archibald. This Buffalo transplant makes life as a musician mom look easy while penning sometimes scathing, shrewd domestic portraits and observant odes to rust-belt culture. 8 p.m., Magnetic Field, 97 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn Heights, (718)834-0069. $4. (Sinagra) THE WRENS (Tonight) They may write about life in their home state, New Jersey, but its not with a Fountains of Wayne smirk. With their routinely understated, meditative albums and their intense, up-tempo live shows, these noise-artist indie rockers offer two different, entirely appropriate responses to suburban tensions. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212)533-2111. $15. (Sinagra) Cabaret Full reviews of recent cabaret shows: nytimes.com/music. *KAREN AKERS (Tonight and tomorrow) Classic romantic ballads gracefully rendered by a statue come to life. Oak Room, Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212)419-9331. At 9 and 11:30 p.m. Cover is $50; a $50 prix fixe dinner is required at the early shows; otherwise, a $20 minimum. (Stephen Holden) BARBARA CARROLL (Sundays at 2 and 8 p.m.) Even when swinging out, this Lady of a Thousand Songs remains an impressionist with special affinities for Thelonious Monk and bossa nova. Oak Room (see above). Cover: $55 at 2, including brunch at noon; $42 at 8, plus a $15 minimum; an $80 dinner-and-show package is available. (Holden) *BARBARA COOK (Tonight) Now 77, this great lyric soprano pays tribute to her longtime musical director, Wally Harper, who died last October, and other friends who are gone. Ms. Cooks performances are master classes in life as well as in singing. Cafe Carlyle, Carlyle Hotel, 35 East 76th Street, Manhattan, (212)744-1600. At 8:45 p.m. Cover: $90; no minimum. (Holden) *BLOSSOM DEARIE (Tomorrow and Sunday) To watch this singer and pianist is to appreciate the power of a carefully deployed pop-jazz minimalism combined with a highly discriminating taste in songs. Dannys Skylight Room, 346 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212)265-8133. Tomorrow night at 7; Sunday night at 6:15. Cover: $25, with a $15 minimum; a $54.50 dinner-and-show package is available. (Holden) JULIE WILSON (Tonight and tomorrow) The 80-year-old queen mother of cabaret transforms songs into half-spoken dramatic monologues, some witty, others heartbreaking. At 7 p.m., Helens, 169 Eighth Avenue, near 18th Street, Chelsea, (212)206-0609; $25 cover, $15 minimum. (Holden) Jazz Full reviews of recent jazz concerts: nytimes.com/music. BALLIN THE JACK (Tonight) The clarinetist and saxophonist Matt Darriau heads this midsize ensemble, which spikes its swing-era repertory with madcap irreverence. 10 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village; (212)929-9883; $8. (Nate Chinen) THE BEAT CIRCUS (Tonight) This Boston-based septet teases out affinities between carnival music, burlesque and the theatrical side of the jazz avant-garde -- using a palette that includes slide trumpet, accordion, banjo, and musical saw. 10 p.m., Zebulon, 258 Wythe Avenue, between Metropolitan Avenue and North Third Street, Williamsburg; (718)218-6934; no cover. (Chinen) STEVE DAVIS QUINTET (Tonight and tomorrow) Hard-bop is this trombonists native tongue, but an apprenticeship with the keyboardist Chick Corea has attuned him more to texture; his band includes both piano and vibraphone. 8 and 9:45 p.m., Kitano Hotel, 66 Park Avenue at 38th Street; (212)885-7119; $15; minimum, $10. (Chinen) BOBBY FEW/AVRAM FEFER (Tomorrow) Mr. Few, a pianist with credentials in the post-Coltrane avant-garde, joins Mr. Fefer, a next-generation saxophonist, for an evening of mostly free-improvised dialogue. 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, South Village; (212)242-1063; $15; members, $10 (Chinen) NED GOOLD TRIO (Tonight and tomorrow night) Ned Goold may be best known as a tenor saxophonist in the Harry Connick Jr. Orchestra, but hes best heard in trio, with bass and drums behind him. 8 p.m., Smalls, 183 West 10th Street, West Village; www.fatcatjazz.com; $10, with a two-drink minimum. (Chinen) *WYCLIFFE GORDONS THE BIG FOUR (Through Sunday) The dynamic trombonists new band, with the pianist Johnny ONeal, the bassist Reginald Veal and the drummer Herlin Riley. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 set tonight and tomorrow, Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Manhattan; (212)258-9595; $30, plus a $10 minimum at the tables, $5 at the bar. (Ben Ratliff) *THE HEATH BROTHERS (Tuesday through next Sunday) Just over a month after losing their brother Percy, the saxophonist and composer Jimmy Heath and the drummer Albert (Tootie) Heath honor his memory by soldiering on. Tootie marks his 70th birthday on Tuesday, and the engagement will feature a pair of youthful special guests: the trumpeter Sean Jones (from Tuesday through Thursday) and the guitarist Russell Malone (from Friday through Sunday). 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., with an additional set at 11:30 on Friday and Saturday; Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Manhattan; (212)258-9595; $30, with a minimum of $10 at the tables, $5 at the bar. (Chinen) MARK HELIASS OPEN LOOSE (Tomorrow) Together with the tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby and the drummer Gerald Cleaver, the bassist and composer Mark Helias walks a line between form and freedom, confirming that there can be rigor in both. 9 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village; (212)989-9319; $10. (Chinen) RODNEY JONES BAND (Tonight and tomorrow) A nimble, clean-toned guitarist, Mr. Jones has lately leaned to the funky side, as hell demonstrate during this live recording session with the Hammond B-3 whiz Brian Charette. 9 and 11 p.m., and 12:30 a.m., Smoke, 2751 Broadway at 106th Street, Manhattan; (212)864-6662; $25. (Chinen) RENÉ MARIE (Tonight through Sunday) A soulful jazz singer and a vibrant performer with a growing book of sturdy original tunes. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 p.m. set tonight and Saturday, Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan; (212)576-2232; $25; $20 on Sunday. (Chinen) JOHN McNEIL/BILL McHENRY QUARTET (Tonight) Mr. McNeil, a trumpeter, and Mr. McHenry, a tenor saxophonist, hail from different generations but share an attraction to unfettered harmonic terrain; hence this newly formed piano-less quartet. 9 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village; (212)989-9319; $10. (Chinen) *PAUL MOTIAN TRIO 2000 +1 (Tuesday through next Sunday) The lean, suggestive drumming of Paul Motian has been a common thread on several fine recent albums, along with his dreamlike compositions. Both the playing and the pen have a chance to shine in this acoustic ensemble, with Chris Potter, saxophonist; Masabumi Kikuchi, pianist; and Larry Grenadier, bassist. 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, West Village; (212)255-4037; $30. (Chinen) FRANÇOIS MOUTIN GROUP (Monday) Mr. Moutin, a Paris-bred bassist and composer, delivers kinetic post-bop with a frontline of trumpeter Lew Soloff and tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm. 10 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street; (212)929-9883; $10. (Chinen) NEW BREW (Tonight through Sunday) Separately, Mike Clark and Lenny White were percussive architects of 1970s fusion; their collaboration includes the pioneering funk trombonist Fred Wesley and the probing alto saxophonist Gary Bartz. 8, 10 and 11:30 tonight and tomorrow night, 8 and 10 on Sunday, Iridium Jazz Club, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street; (212)582-2121; $30 tonight and Sunday night, $32.50 tomorrow night, with a $10 minimum all nights. (Chinen) *NICHOLAS PAYTON QUINTET (Tonight and tomorrow) The trumpeter Nicholas Payton first grabbed the jazz worlds attention with his remarkable feeling for early New Orleans jazz and more recently made an obstinately spacey funk record, but he has spent most of his professional time dealing with the rich languages of post-1960 jazz. Here hell be mining that territory. 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Manhattan; (212)581-3080; $35; with a $10 minimum (Ratliff) MATANA ROBERTS QUARTET (Thursday) A husky-toned alto saxophonist and junior member of Chicagos AACM, Matana Roberts is at her best when responding to ensemble actions; she has a good sparring partner here in the cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum. 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, South Village; (212)242-1063; $12; members, $10. (Chinen) ADAM ROGERS QUINTET (Tonight) The guitarist Adam Rogers favors a strain of contemporary jazz thats rock-inflected but avoids the trappings of fusion. His group consists of like-minded players: Chris Potter, saxophonist; Jacob Sacks, keyboardist; Scott Colley, bassist; and Clarence Penn, drummer. 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, South Village; (212)242-1063; $15; members, $10. (Chinen) JENNY SCHEINMAN (Tuesday) Ms. Scheinman is that rare jazz violinist who embraces her instruments folksier side without making concessions to genre; her Shalagaster Trio references a host of idioms, but absorbs them in a single elastic sensibility. 7 p.m., Barbes, 376 Ninth Street at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn; (718)965-9177; suggested donation, $8. (Chinen) *CLARK TERRY (Through Sunday) Its possible that no other jazz musician has as much amusing old-guy charm as Mr. Terry, and when you think hes all sweetness, hell rattle you profoundly with a cool, beautifully executed piece of fluegelhorn playing. 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village; (212)255-4037; $30. (Ratliff) TEST 3 (Tomorrow) Test no longer plays on subway platforms, but its still an underground outfit, thanks to an unwavering ethos of freeform group improvisation -- and the inexplicable telepathy of its multi-reedists, Daniel Carter and Sabir Mateen. 9:30 p.m., Les Gallery Clemente Soto Velez, 107 Suffolk Street, at Rivington Street, Lower East Side; www.visionfestival.org; $15. (Chinen) Classical Full reviews of recent music performances: nytimes.com/music. Opera LELISIR DAMORE (Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday) Run on enthusiasm and a shoestring, the tiny Amato Opera company mounts a modest production of this Donizetti classic. Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30, Sunday at 2:30. Amato Opera, 319 Bowery, at Second Street, East Village, (212)228-8200, $30; students and 65+, $25. (Jeremy Eichler) Classical Music BARGEMUSIC (Tonight, tomorrow, Sunday and Thursday) Great views and typically fresh performances help make this floating concert hall one of the best places in the city to hear chamber music. This weekend, the Italian pianist Roberto Prosseda returns to lead two more programs of unknown Mendelssohn works, many billed as premieres. (The pianist Charles Rosen and the violinist Mark Peskanov join him for the second program, repeated Sunday.) Thursday brings chamber music by Mozart, Messiaen and Boulez. Tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night at 7:30; Sunday at 4 p.m. Bargemusic, Fulton Ferry Landing next to the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, (718)624-2083, $35. (Eichler) FREE FOR ALL AT TOWN HALL (Sunday) This series continues with André Watts playing an appetizing list of piano pieces by Beethoven, Ravel, Chopin, Liszt and Debussy. At 5 p.m., Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan, (212)707-8787, free. Tickets are available at the box office starting at noon. Get there early. (Bernard Holland) NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC (Today through Thursday) The season is winding down, but the Philharmonic is quite busy. Tonight and tomorrow, the Austrian conductor Hans Graf, in his first visit to the orchestra, offers an all-Russian program that promises to be colorful, with three Liadov fairy tales, the Tchaikovsky Little Russian Symphony and the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto, with the enchanting pianist Hélène Grimaud. Memorial Day finds the orchestra, led by Xian Zhang, giving its annual free concert at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, also with a Russian program built around Rimsky-Korsakovs Scheherazade. And on Thursday, Alan Gilbert takes over, offering Barbers luminous Cello Concerto, with Carter Brey as the soloist, as well as works by Dvorak, Haydn and Henri Dutilleux. Today at 11 a.m., tomorrow at 8 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, (212)721-6500, $22 to $90 (tomorrow is sold out). Monday at 8 p.m., Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, at 112th Street, Morningside Heights, (212)875-5709, free. (Allan Kozinn) NEW YORK YOUTH SYMPHONY (Sunday) The impressive New York Youth Symphony, under its dynamic conductor Paul Haas, ends its season with a typically ambitious program. The violinist Anne Akiko Meyers is the soloist for Bruchs Violin Concerto No. 1. The program also offers Brahmss Tragic Overture, Strausss formidable Also Sprach Zarathustra and the premiere of Judd Greensteins Today and Everyday. Every concert includes the premiere of a work by a younger composer, which says much about the artistic principles of this admirable orchestra. At 2 p.m., Carnegie Hall, (212)581-5933; the tickets are $7 to $55. (Anthony Tommasini) WATER PASSION AFTER ST. MATTHEW (Wednesday) Water, treated percussively, takes on metaphorical and mystical significance in Tan Duns eccentric Passion, after St. Matthew and, vaguely, Bach. Mr. Tan conducts, outdoors. At 8 p.m., River to River Festival, Pier 17, South Street Seaport, (212)835-2789, free. (James R. Oestreich) Dance Full reviews of recent performances: nytimes.com/dance. *AMERICAN BALLET THEATER (Tonight through July 16) Americas all-star ballet company continues in the second week of its Metropolitan Opera season with eight subtly different programs called All Star Tchaikovsky, consisting of the companys dancers in four ballets set to music by, yes, Tchaikovsky. Each program begins with Balanchines Ballet Imperial and ends with his Theme and Variations, flanking two pas de deux. Friday, Saturday and Monday through Thursday at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Saturday at 2 p.m. Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, (212)362-6000 or www.abt.org. $22 to $130. (John Rockwell) CHUNKY MOVE (Through June 11) Dancers spin and emotions whirl on a constantly revolving stage. Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30; Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30, Dance Theater Workshop, 219 West 19th Street, Chelsea, (212)924-0077 or www.dtw.org. $23; students and 65+, $14. (Jack Anderson) DAVID DORFMAN DANCE (Opens Tuesday) This clever, comic and poignant company offers the premiere of Older Testaments to live music by Frank London of the Klezmatics. Tuesday through next Friday at 8 p.m. Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea (212)242-0800 or www.joyce.org, $38. (Anderson) *DANCE AFRICA (Tonight through Sunday) Companies will perform traditional and modern dance from the Ivory Coast, Jamaica and the United States in an annual event that feels as much like a community homecoming as a performance, presided over, as always, by the irrepressible Chuck Davis. Tonight at 7:30; tomorrow at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m. Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene, (718)636-4100 or www.BAM.org. $20 to $45; half-price for 16 and under.(Jennifer Dunning) *EAR TO THE GROUND (Thursday through June 4) This commissioning series for Asian-American dance artists focuses on a new tsunami-inspired dance by Kun-Yang Lin and a second premiere by the ice dancer David Liu. 8 p.m., Mulberry Street Theater, 70 Mulberry Street, Chinatown, (212)349-0126. $14; students and 65+, $12. (Dunning) *EIFMAN BALLET OF ST. PETERSBURG (Tonight through Sunday) Boris Eifman, the wildly controversial Russian choreographer, hailed and scorned for his flamboyant theatricality, in a new work based on Tolstoys Anna Karenina, to music by Tchaikovsky. Tonight and tomorrow night at 8; tomorrow at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m. City Center, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212)581-1212 or www.nycitycenter.org. $35 to $100. (Rockwell) *NOCHE FLAMENCA (Through June 5) Flamenco dance and music, understated, intimate and beautifully staged. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 and 10 p.m.; Sundays at 5 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Theater 80, 80 St. Marks Place, East Village, (212)352-3101. $45 (weekends); $40 (weekdays). (Dunning) FLY-BY-NIGHT DANCE THEATER (Today through Monday) Julie Ludwick choreographs trapeze dances, this time to music by Joshua Geisler, Ken Pierson and Bach. Today at 4:30 p.m.; tomorrow through Monday at 2 p.m. Pier 63, West 23rd Street and the Hudson River, Chelsea, (212)352-3101 or www.flybynightdance.org. $12.50 (advance); $15 (door); free to those 18 and under. (Dunning) FRIDAYS AT NOON (Today) This informal free dance and talk series focuses on pieces by students who have worked with professional dancers and choreographers in the outreach program of the 92nd Street Y. Noon, 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, 1395 Lexington Avenue, (212)415-5500. (Dunning) LARAINE GOODMAN (Today) Shes at it again, stopping traffic and pedestrians with a free outdoor tap jam. 6 p.m., the Hub, 517 Broome Street, at Thompson Street, SoHo, (212)475-0588 or www.NYTap.org. Free. (Dunning) MARTHA GRAHAM ENSEMBLE (Opens Thursday) Students from the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance perform historically important Graham works. Thursday night at 7:30. The company performs through June 5. Marymount Manhattan College, 221 East 71st Street, Manhattan, (212)838-5886. $50 to $75 on Thursday; other performances, $10 to $20; students, $5. (Anderson) *BARBARA MAHLER (Thursday through June 4) Ms. Mahler will present new and old dances in a style that she describes perfectly as sparse and dense. 8 p.m., Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer Street,nearHouston Street, (212)334-7479. $15; students and 65+, $10. (Dunning) *MOMIX (Tonight through Sunday) Moses Pendletons blend of dance, acrobatics and arresting imagery, in the 25th anniversary season of his company. Lunar Sea, his new work, ends the companys third and last week. Tonight and tomorrow night at 8; tomorrow at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea, (212)242-0800. $42. (Rockwell) *NEW YORK CITY BALLET (Tonight through June 26) Noteworthy items include Balanchines Jewels tonight; a nice pairing of Robbinss Goldberg Variations and Balanchines Stravinsky Violin Concerto Sunday afternoon; the return of Christopher Wheeldons much-admired After the Rain Tuesday and Thursday; and a classy Balanchine-Robbins Stravinsky program on Wednesday. Tonight and Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8; tomorrow at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m.; New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212)870-5570 or www.nycballet.com. $30 to $83. (Rockwell) TOM PRICE AND NELLY VAN BOMMEL (Tonight and tomorrow) The two choreographers and their companies share a program of dances set to music that includes French pop songs (Mr. Price) and scores by Vivaldi and songs by Queen (Ms. van Bommel). 9 p.m., University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street, at Rivington Street, Lower East Side, (914)630-4505. $10. (Dunning) RASTRO DANCE COMPANY (Tonight and tomorrow) A New York troupe presents premieres by two Venezuelan choreographers, Julieta Valero and Luz Urdaneta. Tonight and tomorrow night at 8, Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer Street, (212)334-7479. $15; students and 65+, $12. (Anderson) REBUDAL DANCE (Thursday through June 4) Jeff Michael Rebudal explores the relationship between Filipino folk and contemporary modern dance. 8:30 p.m., Danspace Project at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street, East Village, (212)674-8194. $15. (Dunning) SITELINES: MARY SEIDMAN (Thursday and next Friday) In Bridges, dancers let their bodies build human bridges in city streets. Continuous, 12 to 2 p.m., from Stone and Mill Streets to South Street Seaport and Beekman Street to Peck Slip, Lower Manhattan, (212)219-9401. Free. (Anderson) *TAP EXTRAVAGANZA 2005 (Sunday) The lineup for this dependably festive celebration of tap dancing features Mable Lee, Sarah Petronio, Jimmy Slyde and the Young Hoofers and includes a ceremony honoring Harold Cromer and LaVaughn Robinson and the jazz producer Cobi Narita. 7 p.m., F.I.T./Haft Auditorium, 227 West 27th Street, Chelsea, (212)279-4200. $30 to $65. (Dunning) TEA (Tuesday through Thursday) The company title stands for Trans-personal Education & Art -- you had to ask -- and the dances are by Ella Ben-Aharon and Sahar Javedani. Tuesday through Thursday at 7 p.m.; June 5 at 3 and 7 p.m.The Flea Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, (212)352-3101., $15 (evenings); $10 (matinee). (Dunning) 10th ANNUAL LOWER EAST SIDE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS (Sunday) The dance component of this free festival includes 19 troupes and individuals, among them the companies of Rod Rodgers, Wendy Osserman and Gloria McLean. 6 p.m. to midnight, Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, East Village, (212)254-1109 or www.theaterforthenewcity.net. Free. (Dunning) *ZENDORA DANCE COMPANY (Thursday through June 4) As much a mystic as a modern-dance choreographer, Nancy Zendora will present dances inspired by images and myths evoking the deserts of the Middle East and Mexico. 8 p.m., Connelly Theater, 220 East Fourth Street,between Avenues A and B, East Village, (212)431-5155. $15. (Dunning). Art Museums and galleries are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of recent art shows: nytimes.com/art. Museums *AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM: ANCESTRY AND INNOVATION: AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART FROM THE COLLECTION, through Sept. 4. This selection of quilts, paintings, sculptures and drawings by several generations of self-taught artists jumps with color and talent and reflects a sharp curatorial eye. 45 West 53rd Street, (212)265-1040. (Roberta Smith) AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM: SELF AND SUBJECT, through Sept. 11. From Grandma Moses view of herself beguiled by infant descendants to A.G. Rizzolis rendition of his mother as a Gothic cathedral, this refreshingly offbeat show of 20th-century self-taught artists covers a vivid range of portraits. (See above.) (Grace Glueck) AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: TOTEMS TO TURQUOISE: NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN JEWELRY ARTS OF THE NORTHWEST AND SOUTHWEST, through July 10. Jewelry dating to prehistoric times is used here to lend credence to contemporary works that are sometimes little more than glitzy knockoffs. Central Park West and 79th Street, (212)769-5100. (Smith) *ASIA SOCIETY AND QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART: EDGE OF DESIRE: RECENT ART IN INDIA, through June 5. A highly selective, multigenerational survey of different kinds of contemporary art being made in India; embracing craft, folk and tribal traditions as well as popular culture and academic modernism. The smaller portion is at the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street, (212)288-6400; the more expansive and varied section at the Queens Museum of Art, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, (718)592-9700. Also at Queens: Fatal Love.(Holland Cotter) BARD GRADUATE CENTER FOR STUDIES IN THE DECORATIVE ARTS, DESIGN AND CULTURE: CHERISHED POSSESSIONS: A NEW ENGLAND LEGACY, through June 5. More than 100 choice objects from that vast attic of family relics, historic New England, from a box with two worm-eaten pieces of 17th-century bread to a grand Copley portrait. Thanks to bright captioning, this show conveys a sense of family connection with the objects. 18 West 86th Street, (212)501-3000. (Glueck) *BROOKLYN MUSEUM: BASQUIAT, through June 5. Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88) wrote, painted and drew his way to fame (usually on the same surface) with a loquacious style that mixed mediums and gave visual voice to the glories, history and pain of blackness. Despite a few glitches, this generous retrospective provides an exhilarating account of his short, innovative career. 200 Eastern Parkway, at Prospect Park, (718)638-5000. (Smith) *BROOKLYN MUSEUM: LUCE VISIBLE STORAGE/STUDY CENTER Sleek vitrines house 1,500 objects from four departments, representing 15 centuries of art and design of the Americas. (See above.) (Smith) COOPER-HEWITT NATIONAL DESIGN MUSEUM: EXTREME TEXTILES: DESIGNING FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE, through Oct. 30. Dont look for aesthetic pizzazz in this intensely tech-y show of industrial fibers and fabrics, but dont rule it out. The shows raison dêtre is solely use, but a lot of whats on view, in the first museum display of material made to function in extreme conditions, is visually exciting. 2 East 91st Street, (212)849-8400. (Glueck) COOPER-HEWITT NATIONAL DESIGN MUSEUM: HELLA JONGERIUS SELECTS: WORKS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION, through Sept. 4. Shifting through the museums outstanding holdings in embroidered samplers, this innovative Dutch designer has selected a wonderfully reverberant show and also based a series of new wall hangings on sampler motifs. Their combined display diagrams the fraught but essential symbiosis of old and new. (See above.) (Smith) *EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO: MEXICO, THE REVOLUTION AND BEYOND, PHOTOGRAPHS BY CASASOLA 1900-1940, through July 31. This extraordinary show of work from a photo agency established by Agustín Victor Casasola in Mexico City has the span of a Greek epic and the nested themes and subplots of a picaresque novel, with revolutionary heroes and a vivid cast of everyday people. 1230 Fifth Avenue, at 104th Street, East Harlem, (212)831-7272. (Cotter) *SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM: ART OF TOMORROW: HILLA REBAY AND SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM, through Aug. 10. Appreciated more for her role as a founder of the Guggenheim Museums forerunner, the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, Hilla Rebay (1890-1967) is finally given her due as a painter in a full-dress display of her work over six decades. This first chance to see it en bloc reveals a painter whose spirit, energy and invention, especially in collage, come as a revelation. 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street, (212)423-3500. (Glueck) SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM: DANIEL BUREN: THE EYE OF THE STORM, through June 8. Mr. Buren has devised a lumbering, 81-foot-tall construction, mirrored floor to ceiling. Imagine a glass office tower slammed through the front of the building. The spiraling ramps and circular roof complete themselves in the mirrored reflections; there is not much to the work beyond that. (See above.) (Michael Kimmelman) *QUEEN SOFíA SPANISH INSTITUTE: FROM GOYA TO SOROLLA, through July 30. More than 75 pictures from the Hispanic Society, celebrating its centenary; starting with Goyas grave portrait of Pedro Mocarte, they track an arc to figures like Francisco Núñez Losada and salon virtuosi like Ignacio Zuloaga and Joaquín Sorolla. 684 Park Avenue, at 68th Street, (212)628-0420. (Kimmelman) INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LARRY CLARK, through June 5. The controversial creator of two influential photography books -- Tulsa (1971) and Teenage Lust (1983) -- and director of the brilliant movie Kids (1995) has his first retrospective. The provocative Mr. Clark specializes in the dark and seamy side of American youth culture, and his best works are unnervingly intimate, morally disturbing and beautiful. 1133 Avenue of the Americas, at 43rd Street, (212)857-0000. (Ken Johnson) *JAPAN SOCIETY: LITTLE BOY: THE ARTS OF JAPANS EXPLODING SUBCULTURE, through July 24. Masterminded by the artist-writer-entrepreneur Takashi Murakami, this eye-boggling show traces the unexamined legacy of World War II as played out in Japans popular culture. With Godzilla and Hello Kitty presiding, it reveals how this culture was twisted and darkened by the otaku, or geek, subculture, which has in turn influenced younger artists. 333 East 47th Street, (212)832-1155. (Smith) METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: THE BISHOP JADES, through Feb. 12, 2006. Jade has been treasured since ancient times, though the almost preposterously exquisite objects on display in the Mets reinstalled galleries for Chinese decorative arts date from the 18th century, when the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) brought Chinese jade work to a peak of virtuosity. Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, (212)535-7710. (Cotter) METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: DEFINING YONGLE: IMPERIAL ART IN EARLY-15TH-CENTURY CHINA, through July 10. Sequestered in the exquisite Chinese decorative arts galleries, this show is both perfect and messy. Its porcelain, metalwork, embroidery and ivory highlight the astounding craftsmanship of the imperial workshops under the Ming emperor Yongle, and reflect the miscegenation of Asian cultures at a time when most roads led to China. (See above.) (Smith) METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: MAX ERNST: A RETROSPECTIVE, through July 10. Despite and because of Ernsts being one of modernisms mystery men, he remains of interest, and there are intriguing things in this survey: from early Surrealist paintings, to near-abstract images generated by chance techniques, to the collage-style books some consider his masterworks. But only when he responds to specific events, like war, does his art snap into focus. (See above.) (Cotter) MUSEUM OF BIBLICAL ART: COMING HOME!: SELF-TAUGHT ARTISTS, THE BIBLE AND THE AMERICAN SOUTH, through July 24. A new small museum devoted to art related to the Bible gets off to a lively start with a big show of artworks by 73 untrained Southern Christian evangelicals. Many names familiar to followers of 20th-century folk and outsider art are on hand, including William Edmondson, Minnie Evans, the Rev. Howard Finster and Sister Gertrude Morgan. 1865 Broadway, at 61st Street, (212)408-1500. (Johnson) *MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK: EL BARRIO: PUERTO RICAN NEW YORK, through June 12. A snapshot of El Barrio -- East Harlem, or Spanish Harlem -- as seen through archival images and pictures by the contemporary photographer Hiram S. Maristany taken at a revolutionary political moment in the 1960s and early 70s. 1220 Fifth Avenue, at 103rd Street, (212)534-1672. (Cotter) MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: CHRIS MARKER, through June 13. Made entirely on the computer, Owls at Noon Prelude: The Hollow Men -- a two-channel, eight-screen DVD with which this French underground film legend makes his New York debut as an installation artist -- gives the horrors of World War I an eroded beauty and haunting pertinence. 11 West 53rd Street, (212)708-9400. (Smith) NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN: FIRST AMERICAN ART: THE CHARLES AND VALERIE DIKER COLLECTION OF AMERICAN INDIAN ART, through April 2006. That American Indian art can provide the same aesthetic and emotional pleasure as European and American Modernism is the premise of this show, made up of 200 objects from the Diker Collection, and it affirms American Indian arts worthy aesthetic place in world culture. 1 Bowling Green, Lower Manhattan, (212)514-3700. (Glueck) NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN: GEORGE CATLIN AND HIS INDIAN GALLERY, through Sept. 5. The portraits and landscapes here give an account of Plains Indian life in the 1830s in wonderful and sometimes harrowing detail. Viewing it is a remarkable experience. (See above.) (Glueck) NEUE GALERIE: PORTRAITS OF AN AGE: PHOTOGRAPHY IN GERMANY AND AUSTRIA, 1900-1938, through June 6. More than 100 faces shot by 35 photographers. Its a savvy show that homes in on the changing ways people presented themselves in an era of rapidly turning social values. 1048 Fifth Avenue, at 86th Street, (212)628-6200. (Glueck) P.S. 1 CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER: GREATER NEW YORK 2005, through Sept. 26. A youth-besotted, cheerful, immodestly ingratiating, finally disappointing survey of contemporary art, perusing a scene whose wide stylistic range, emphasis on drawing, persistent teenage infatuations and overall dexterousness are firmly entrenched characteristics of the marketplace. 22-25 Jackson Avenue, at 46th Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, (718)784-2084. (Kimmelman) *STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM: CHRIS OFILI: AFRO-MUSES, through July 3. More than 100 delirious watercolors by this familiar British artist, warm-up exercises for his daily routine. They depict imaginary men and women, head on or in silhouette, in African garb, and in deep, swimmy colors -- portraits as modest and charming as the work that made Mr. Ofili famous is outsize and occasionally over the top. 144 West 125th Street, (212)864-4500. (Kimmelman) STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM: BILL TRAYLOR AND WILLIAM EDMONDSON AND THE MODERNIST IMPULSE, through July 3. The work of two self-taught proto-modern artists whose beautifully complementary achievements argue against the usual dualities, but offer further evidence that African-American folk art is as great as any art or music that this country has produced. (See above.) (Smith) THE UKRAINIAN MUSEUM: ALEXANDER ARCHIPENKO: VISION AND CONTINUITY, through Sept. 4. This rare retrospective of work by the Ukrainian-born sculptor opens the handsome, much-expanded new quarters of this museum. The most exciting part is a beautifully illuminated room of Archipenkos most radical pieces that inspired later artists like Henry Moore. 222 East Sixth Street, East Village, (212)228-0110. (Glueck) WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART AT ALTRIA: SUE DE BEER: BLACK SUN, through June 24. In a walk-in pink castle, Black Sun is a two-screen video about teenage girlhood, which alternates passages of lyrical visual beauty and emotional poignancy with periods of aimless tedium. 120 Park Avenue, at 42nd Street, (917)663-2453. (Johnson) Galleries: Uptown ANTHONY CARO Four tabletop pieces from the 1970s and 80s, masterly exercises in balletic form and balance in rusting steel, by this reigning British standard-bearer of modernist abstract sculpture. They are elegant and a serious pleasure. Mitchell-Inness & Nash, 1018 Madison Avenue, near 78th Street, (212)744-7400, through June 11.(Kimmelman) *PROVIDING FOR THE AFTERLIFE: BRILLIANT ARTIFACTS FROM SHANDONG The archaeology boom in China continues, and the 50 objects from Han dynasty tombs in this show are being exhibited in the United States for the first time. China Institute Gallery, 125 East 65th Street, (212)744-8181, through June 4. (Cotter) JULIAN SCHNABEL This excellent selection of 21 large and mostly early paintings includes some of the very works that made Mr. Schnabel the most hotly talked-about artist of the Neo-Expressionist era. C & M Arts, 45 East 78th Street, (212)861-0020, through June 4. (Johnson) *RICHARD WATHEN A young British artist plugs some 21st-century energy into 18th-century portraiture, painting with a matte, flat delicacy that gives familiar poses a new-born freshness, and not only when clothing is subtracted. Salon 94, 12 East 94th Street, (646)672-9212, through June 16. (Smith) Galleries: 57th Street DON COLLEY: FALL GUYS & ZEITGEISTS Whether or not you like his images of thuggish clowns and romantic skies, you have to admit that Mr. Colleys new pieces are technically remarkable. They appear to be small, beautifully worked encaustic paintings, but they are, in fact, kiln-fired glazed ceramic tiles. George Adams, 41 West 57th Street, (212)644-5665, through June. (Johnson) LARRY RIVERS Boldly setting up as a figural painter in the holy days of Abstract Expressionism, Rivers (1923-2002) early on produced portraits, nudes and takeoffs on historical events, like his sendup of the corny 19th-century painting by Emanuel Leutze, Washington Crossing the Delaware. This bulging retrospective covers work from the early 1950s to his death, ending with the rather forgettable fashion images of his last years. At his best, he was a painter to reckon with. Marlborough Gallery, 40 West 57th Street, (212)541-4900; Marlborough Chelsea, 211 West 19th Street, (212)463-8634, through June 4. (Glueck) AIDA RUILOVA: LETS GO A participant in the last Whitney Biennial and P.S. 1s current Greater New York, Ms. Ruilova makes short and briefly gripping multi-screen video works in a style you might call Neo-Goth Surrealistic Cubism. Greenberg Van Doren, 730 Fifth Avenue, at 57th Street, (212)445-0444, through June 4. (Johnson) Galleries: SoHo TINA BARNEY The photographer known for her large, sumptuous color photographs of rich people often caught in situations of subtle psychological tension presents portraits shot in Spain and Germany that are included in her book The Europeans. Janet Borden, 560 Broadway, at Prince Street, (212)431-0166, closing June 4. (Johnson) Galleries: Chelsea DEAN BYINGTON Skillfully blending the handmade and the mechanical, the paintings of this San Francisco artist use patterns suggestive of lacy wallpaper and images from 19th-century engravings to evoke landscapes and their not always peaceful inhabitants. Leslie Tonkonow, 535 West 22nd Street, (212)255-8450, through June 18. (Smith) IAN COOPER With a series of works that focus on the child star of the Poltergeist movies, this young artist adds his distinctive preoccupation with popular culture and the spirit world to the black-on-black, Goth-leaning current in new art. Cue Art Foundation, 511 West 25th Street, (212)206-3583, through June 4. (Smith) CHERYL DONEGAN: OLD, TEMPORARY While video-projected images of colorful, cheap toys unfold on the wall, a womans maniacally cheerful voice recites a rapid-fire litany of affirmations composed for Amway salespeople: I am the best at what I do. There is no one better. I get the job done, and so on. It is funny and scary. Oliver Kamm/5BE, 504 West 22nd Street, (212)255-0979, through June 4. (Johnson) ROBBERT FLICK: TRAJECTORIES With the cinematic idea that successive views give a dynamic sense of place, Mr. Flick mounted a video camera in his car window. He packs the results in grid formation on big sheets that give off the vibes of a country road, a city street, a desertscape. The whole is more than the sum of its tiny parts. Robert Mann, 210 11th Avenue, near 24th Street, (212)989-7600, through June 18. (Glueck) NEETA MADAHAR Large, handsome, eerily unreal color photographs of real birds attracted to a free-form grid of tree branches by a shifting cast of birdfeeders. Julie Saul, 535 West 22nd Street, (212)627-2410, through June 11. (Smith) RICHARD PRINCE A well-chosen assortment of works from the past 25 years by the influential Neo-Pop semiotician includes joke paintings, car hood sculptures and photographs of scruffy upstate New York landscapes. Gladstone, 515 West 24th Street, (212)206-9300, through June 18. (Johnson) MICHAEL RYAN Using his training in the art of decorative marbleizing, this self-taught painter creates dreamy, primordial landscapes sparsely populated by bizarrely abstracted animals and people. Together, the brushy painting and the visionary imagery create a scary, feverish feeling. Andrew Edlin, 529 West 20th Street, (212)206-9723, through June 4. (Johnson) SCULPTURE This judicious small selection of three-dimensional works includes a rustic dream house by Vito Acconci; videos showing through an antique Asian iron gate by Nam June Paik; big, smooth white birds by Hiraki Sawa; and an amazing, life-size stainless steel tree by Roxy Paine. James Cohan, 533 West 26th Street, (212)714-9500, through June 25. (Johnson) STURTEVANT: PUSH AND SHOVE The artist known for copying works by Warhol, Johns and other contemporary artists presents a darkly elegant installation of fake Duchamps, including a ceiling of 1,200 scrotum-like coal bags, a urinal, two bottle racks and a snow shovel. Perry Rubenstein, 527 West 23rd Street and 526 West 24th Street, (212)627-8000, through June 18. (Johnson) Other Galleries *MIKE BOUCHET The main piece in this show is a recreation of Walter De Marias gallery-filling 1977 New York Earth Room, in this case made of topsoil from Home Depot and compost from Rikers Island. To fill the craftsy requirements of the present art market, there are Tom Cruise sculptures and paintings of soft drink labels upstairs. Maccarone Inc., 45 Canal Street, Lower East Side, (212)431-4977, through Aug. 28. (Cotter) *ALBERTO CASADO: TODO CLANDESTINO, TODO POPULAR, This young artist uses a technique involving painting on glass and aluminum foil to create shimmering, faux-kitsch works about politics, religion and ordinary life in Cuba. Art in General, 79 Walker Street, TriBeCa, (212)219-0473, through June 25.(Johnson) MICHAEL ELMGREEN AND INGAR DRAGSET: END STATION The Fur-Lined Teacup Award goes to this art duo, who have meticulously transformed the basement here into a nearly full-scale subway station. Torn posters and graffiti evoke the 1980s. A metaphor for how the political protests of that decade were stopped in their tracks? Bohen Foundation, 415 West 13th Street, meatpacking district, (212)414-4575, through July 1. (Smith) GLASS, SERIOUSLY This fine selection of artworks in glass, picked by the independent curator Lilly Wei, includes teardrops by Kiki Smith; hand grenades by Kristin Oppenheim; vessels that spell invisible by Rob Wynne; a kind of stained-glass window made of stacked found wine bottles, by Jean Shin and Brian Ripel; and an elegant bowed panel of frosted sea-green glass by Christopher Wilmarth. Dorsky, 11-03 45th Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, (718)937-6317, through June 27. (Johnson) *WYNNE GREENWOOD AND K8 HARDY Wynne Greenwood is best known as the one-person rock trio called Tracy and the Plastics. K8 Hardy is a founder of the gay feminist art collective LTTR. For this show, they collaborated on a video called New Report in which they play anchorwomen for an alternative television news channel. Reena Spaulings Fine Art, 371 Grand Street, Lower East Side, (212) 477-5006, through June 5. (Cotter) JUDY LEDGERWOOD: SPRING FEVER With a boldly insouciant touch and vibrantly dissonant colors, this Chicago-based artist makes grid-based pattern paintings using heraldic overtones and punchy mandala compositions of squished balloonlike shapes. Tracy Williams, 313 West Fourth Street, West Village, (212)229-2757, through June 24. (Johnson) JULIAN OPIE: ANIMALS, BUILDINGS, CARS AND PEOPLE Outdoor sculptures in a coolly understated neo-Pop style, including cars, animals and a group of white skyscrapers with grids of black windows. City Hall Park, Lower Manhattan, (212)980-4575, through October. (Johnson) *AURIE RAMIREZ A remarkable self-taught artist creates a candy-colored but complex universe (in watercolor) of androgynous, dark-haired beauties who usually wear frock coats and pinstriped pants. Her first show anywhere dovetails nicely with smaller debuts of the bristling cannibalizations of texts, images and found materials by Peter Gallo and the collage drawings of an artist known only as Carter. White Columns, 320 West 13th Street, West Village, (212)924-4212, through June 11. (Smith) DON SUNSERI: PIECES FOR A WALL The appealing small painted and sculpted abstractions made out of found pieces of wood, metal and cardboard in this one-wall exhibition look like the result of a collaboration between Elizabeth Murray and Richard Tuttle. It is interesting to learn that Sunseri, who died in 2001, was once married to Ms. Murray. The Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, near Bleecker Street, East Village, (212)614-0505, through June 16. (Johnson) Last Chance ALEXANDER THE GREAT: TREASURES FROM AN EPIC ERA OF HELLENISM, Alexander (356-323 B.C.) and his age are evoked in this concentrated show of art and artifacts displaying portrait busts of this legendary Macedonian emperor, ancient coins, advanced Macedonian weaponry and pottery. Onassis Cultural Center, 645 Fifth Avenue, at 52nd Street, (212)486-4448, closing tomorrow. (Glueck) VICTOR BURGIN: THE LITTLE HOUSE This video meditation on architectural beauty and conflicting male and female desire by a veteran English artist is one of the best, least didactic works of his career. Christine Burgin, 243 West 18th Street, Chelsea, (212)462-2668, closing tomorrow. (Smith) EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY Among more than 70 narrative paintings, drawings and prints by a wide range of 20th-century artists are works by Max Beckmann, James Ensor, John Heartfield, KatheKollwitz, Sue Coe, Martha Rosler and Eric Fischl. Galerie St. Etienne, 24 West 57th Street, (212)245-6734, closing today. (Johnson) AMY GARTRELL: HOT HANDS, COLD HEART The tribulations and infatuations of youth are the subjects of drawings, felt banners and an installation involving faceted glass charms and a lugubrious tree that would have done Edward Gorey proud. Daniel Reich, 537A West 23rd Street, Chelsea, (212)924-4949, closing tomorrow. (Smith) JAMES GOBEL: RIDICULE IS NOTHING TO BE SCARED OF Fat Rococo-era fops pose on a striped floor against a background of snow-covered rocky peaks in a campy, mural-scale confection made of neatly assembled pieces of colored felt. Kravets/Wehby, 521 West 21st Street, Chelsea, (212)352-2238, closing today. (Johnson) *JACK GOLDSTEIN A hero of the Pictures generation revered by the new Pop artists and theorists of the 80s. His films from the early 70s (from 20 seconds to 5 minutes long) have a cool, deadpan quality recalling early videos of William Wegman. Ed Ruscha-style paintings of lightning storms from the 80s, here and at Metro, are thrillingly cinematic. Mitchell-Innes & Nash, 1018 Madison Avenue, near 78th Street, (212)744-7400, through June 11. Metro Pictures, 519 West 24th Street, Chelsea, (212)206-7100, closing today. (Johnson) TERAO KATSUHIRO, SHINKI TOMOYUKI, YOSHIMUNE KAZUHIRO, YUMOTO MITSUO Four artists, from a Japanese center for the artistically talented but mentally disabled, appear possessed of naïve but intense imaginations and formal predilections bordering on compulsive. Phyllis Kind, 136 Greene Street, SoHo, (212)925-1200, closing on Tuesday. (Johnson) L.A. A group show that reflects the sprawl and vitality of the Los Angeles art scene is also so desperately crowded that it seems superfluous, especially given the high profiles of half of the 48 artists. Schoormans, 508 West 26th Street, Chelsea, (212)243-3159, closing today. (Smith) *METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: DIANE ARBUS REVELATIONS Arbus could be cruel, but tenderness and melancholy were her finest modes of expression as she captured a moment, the anxious 1950s and 60s, and captured New York. Appropriately, she is given the royal treatment at the Met, including some absurdly theatrical galleries, where her work reveals that in the end we are all drawn together by our different flaws. Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, (212)535-7710, closing on Monday. (Kimmelman) MUSEUM FOR AFRICAN ART: RESONANCE FROM THE PAST Roughly 90 sculptures, along with a few bead and fabric pieces, from the African holdings of the New Orleans Museum of Art. They make a savory anthology, with plenty of textbook staples, and some surprises. 36-01 43rd Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, (718)784-7700, closing on Sunday. (Cotter) *MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: THOMAS DEMAND A generally stellar midcareer survey of this 40-year-old German artist, who makes life-size reconstructions of scenes, often ones he has come across in photographs, taking his own cinematic works. 11 West 53rd Street, (212)708-9400, closing on Monday.(Kimmelman) ADAM PENDLETON: DEEPER DOWN THERE This young conceptualist lifts verbal phrases from modern African-American literature and music and neatly silkscreens them onto single-color canvases, creating a coolly provocative blend of romantic poetry, identity politics and formalist abstraction. Yvon Lambert, 564 West 25th Street, Chelsea, (212)242-3611, closing tomorrow.(Johnson) *WAYNE THIEBAUD: SINCE 1962: A SURVEY In the early 60s, Mr. Thiebaud arrived at the buttery, thick still-life paintings of commercial food products that perfectly combined formalism, realism and Pop. This excellent small retrospective shows how he got there and some of the places he has been since. Allan Stone, 113 East 90th Street, (212)987-4997, closing today. (Johnson) QIU SHIHUA: INSIGHT At first, the canvases by this painter from Shenzhen, China, look like nothing more than slightly scuffed expanses of raw fabric. Look again and you discover peaceful, luminously misty landscapes realized with amazing subtlety. Chambers, 210 11th Avenue, at 25th Street, Chelsea, (212)414-1169, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) JOHN F. SIMON JR.: ENDLESS VICTORY Mesmerizing animated patterns driven by sophisticated software programs and running on laptop screens; they would make excellent screen savers. One plays inventive variations on Mondrians Victory Boogie Woogie. Sandra Gering, 534 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (646)336-7183, closing tomorrow. (Johnson) JOAN WALLACE, VIOLENT POP PAINTINGS Each of three videos set into white monochrome panels shows a white-frosted cake exploded in slow motion by a shotgun blast. Ms. Wallace invites us to read this as a commentary on Modernist purity, the shooting of Andy Warhol and the assassination of President Kennedy. Dinter, 547 West 27th Street, Chelsea, (212)947-2818, closing tomorrow.(Johnson) *WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: TIM HAWKINSON, closing on Sunday. On the gee-whiz meter, Mr. Hawkinson skews high. His midcareer retrospective, like a mad scientists fair of screwball contraptions, hopscotches from one dexterous tour de force to the next. 945 Madison Avenue, at 75th Street, (800)944-8639. (Kimmelman) WILDER This tribute to the Los Angeles dealer Nicholas Wilder (1937-1989) presents works by 28 artists who were shown at his gallery from 1965 to 1979. The all-star lineup includes Dan Flavin, Agnes Martin, John McCracken, Richard Tuttle and Cy Twombly. Parrasch and Washburn galleries, 20 West 57th Street, (212)246-5360 and (212)246-5300, closing today. (Johnson)

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