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Mon 11
Australian Wine Week at various locations and times; prices vary
Cheers to Australia during the country’s first-ever wine week in NYC. Several restaurants in the city are coaxing in winos with discounted prices on exclusive Aussie bottles (Gramercy Tavern, United at the Whitney, North End Grill and more), so plan your dinner reservations accordingly.
NPR’s Ask Me Another The Bell House; 7:30pm; $20–$25
Host Ophira Eisenberg and house musician Jonathan Coulton challenge puzzle masters, audience members and special guests with brainteasers and trivia tidbits in this popular NPR show.
Helaina Hovitz: After 9/11 The Howard Hughes Corporation; 6pm; free
The writer reads passages from her memoir, After 9/11: One Girl's Journey Through Darkness to a New Beginning, about experiencing the attacks on the World Trade Center as a 12-year-old child and recovering from trauma over the next decade.
Queerball UCBEast; 10:30pm; $5
Improv wizard Timothy Dunn welcomes veteran and newbie performers to take the stage at this bonkers variety show, which aims to create a safe space for LGBT acts. Witness musical comedy, stand-up, contortionism, improv and drag, and, if you're inspired, join Dunn onstage for a wild time of your own. The one-year anniversary show features Caitlin Bitzegaio, Joel Kim Booster, Carly Ann Filbin, Gwynna Forgham-Thrift, Amanda Giobbi, Dave Mizzoni, Nikki Palumbo and Kelley Quinn.
Ryan Raftery: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Martha Stewart Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater; 7pm; $35, plus $12 minimum
After scoring a hit with a solo musical devoted to Vogue's Anna Wintour and her discontents—and then another about Bravo diva wrangler Andy Cohen—the boyish and persistently irreverent singer-actor Raftery returns to Joe's with a new camp biography. This one uses pop music to tell the story of style maven, media titan and ex-prisoner Martha Stewart.
Tue 12
Feast for Action: Women’s Empowerment The William Vale Hotel; 6:30pm; $20–$30
Get some food for thought, and also food for eating, at this event focused on women's empowerment and rights. The evening features speeches from Planned Parenthood VP of Public Affairs Christina Chang, Refinery 29 Creative Director Lydia Pang and many more, plus a meditation session with Catrina Armendariz, performance from singer-songwriter Bianca Monica and dinner from Jajaja.
Literary Death Match The Bell House; 8pm; $12, at the door $15
The combustive, international reading series pits acclaimed and burgeoning authors against one another to perform their best material for chatty judges. Two finalists are chosen—on merit and “intangibles”—to duke it out for the evening’s championship. This month, John Leguizamo joins guest judges Tess Morris, Christine Nangle and Jordan Carlos as they put burgeoning authors Sam Sax, Mitchell S. Jackson and Melissa Febos to the ultimate poetic test in a fast-paced read-off.
GREY Jason Wu Cadillac House; at various times; Free with R.S.V.P.
Designer Jason Wu is taking over Cadillac House (330 Hudson) during New York Fashion Week and beyond to celebrate GREY Jason Wu: his custom Pantone color. The two-week event will be an immersive experience offering guests a multisensory range of events including a GREY Beauty Bar, at which Deborah Lippmann will provide complimentary manicures (Sept 12); there will be a fitness-meets-fashion day including a yoga class with Krissy Jones and Chloe Kernaghan from Sky Ting, a book signing with Lucy Sykes of “Fitness Junkie” (Sept 13) and so many other cool (and free) happenings, you guys. Click here to check out the full schedule.
Paul McCartney Prudential Center; 8pm; $29.50–$350
Over the past few years, the tireless Beatle has turned into something of a road warrior, much to the pleasure of anyone who’d like a full-stadium “Hey Jude” sing-along in their life. For this tour, sets stretch from early-career hits like “A Hard Day’s Night,” last performed live by Sir Paul in 1965, to “FourFiveSeconds,” his 2015 Kanye-Rihanna collaboration.
In a World: The Dating Show The PIT Loft; 9pm; $7
And you thought your last date was weird. Watch two brave singles go on an actual blind date onstage, while improvisors create a fake world around them in this comedy show. There may or may not be a love connection. There will absolutely be laughs.
Sam’s Tea Shack Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex; 7pm; $12 plus one-drink minimum
In Ben Gassman's interactive solo comedy about cultural identity, Sam Soghor plays an Ashkenazi Jew explaining his modern New York life—including going to high school with Lin-Manuel Miranda—and imagining his Central Asian ancestors. The Tank's Meghan Finn directs.
Wed 13
Affordable Art Fair Metropolitan Pavilion; 6pm; $18–$80
The price-conscious art fair returns for its 24th edition in NYC. For an $18 advance ticket, you can shop original paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures from 67 local, national and international galleries. With price tags ranging from $100 to $10,000, you can fix up your apartment without breaking the bank.
Photoville Brooklyn Bridge Park; 4pm; free
Your insta is about to get meta. NYC hosts a bounty of beautiful photography exhibitions, but only Photoville can claim to be as pretty as the photographs it showcases. Held in and around giant shipping containers in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the massive celebration of pictures features more than 500 artists, 75 exhibitions, talks, screenings and a beer garden.
James Blake The Appel Room (at Frederik P. Rose Hall); 8pm; $99.50
The dubstepper cum electro-soul crooner has released some increasingly elaborate work the past few years. The star-studded list of collaborations for 2016's The Colour in Anything includes Bon Iver, Frank Ocean and Rick Rubin, he worked on Beyoncé's Lemonade and all the while his production only grows more lush, textured and intricate. That trajectory only makes us especially excited about this special stripped down performance, in which Blake performs a special solo improvisatory piano set of those elegant tunes.
Thu 14
Summer Nights Burlesque Sail Battery Park; 9:45pm; $28–$35
Party aboard a Civil War–era schooner at this series of soirees featuring a boatload of burlesque and boylesque hotties. Each night involves a unique decade theme such as “Deco” and “Disco.” Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the docks. Bon voyage!
dapperQ Presents R/Evolution Brooklyn Museum; 6pm; $10
Queer style collective DapperQ serves a mesmerizing fashion show in the Brooklyn Museum at this annual Fashion Week showcase. Grab a drink and peruse pop-up shops from featured designers beginning at 6pm, then at 8:15pm catch runway collections from Audio Helkuik, Bindle & Keep, By Nicole Wilson, Clio Sage, SDN Brooklyn, Sir New York, Stuzo, The Tailory New York, TomboyX, Clear Coated, featuring models from all ranges of the gender and identity spectrum. After the show, Hot Rabbit hosts an after-party at Lot 45 starting at 10pm.
Stephen Wilkes: “Day to Night” Bryce Wollkowitz Gallery; 10am; free
To produce the images for this new gallery show, photographer Stephen Wilkes perched at world-famous locations, taking thousands of images for montages that depict a day's passage into night. Wilkes captures a variety of sites, including the Brooklyn Bridge, Vatican City during Easter, a Tour de France ride through Paris and the Kumbh Mela Festival in Haridwar, India. Each image takes Wilkes anywhere from 24 to 36 hours to shoot, and more than a month to compile. The final products make picturesque locations across the planet look even more awe-inspiring.
Patti Smith and Her Band + Jackson Smith + Jesse Paris Smith Central Park, SummerStage; 7:30pm; $49.50–$50
If you see music regularly in New York, odds are good that you've caught the reigning baroness of punk rock, Patti Smith, before—and odds are also high that you've gone home impressed. The uncompromising, defiant songstress honors her late husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, at this Summerstage benefit show, with help from Fred's children, Jesse Paris and Jackson.
Father John Mistry + Phosphorescent The Capitol Theatre; 8pm; $45-$70
The crackling aura surrounding Father John Misty extends beyond his past life as a Fleet Foxes member to the music he’s now releasing as a solo artist. His 2012 Sub Pop debut, Fear Fun, featured soaring, soulful folk-rock lysergically spiked with energy and intelligence. This year's Pure Comedy is a sometimes-brutal look at modern life that should provide plenty of fodder for Misty’s scenery-chewing live show. Opening this gig is Brooklyn-via-Alabama song man Matthew Houck, a.k.a. Phosphorescent; show up early to catch his heartbreaking yet hopeful rendition of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land."
Peter Smith Carolines on Broadway; 9:30pm; $20 plus two-drink minimum
Haunting Annette Bening impersonations. Heartbreaking Natalie Imbruglia renditions. Stirring memories of childhood as a young trans person. Anything goes at a performance by towering talent Peter Smith. The cabaret starchild and Duplex favorite continues their Broadway takeover with this monthly Carolines show. Expect unusual comedy from Smith, SNL's Kyle Mooney and Las Culturistas podcast host Bowen Yang, along burlesque by the divine Luna Love and plenty of crowd-pleasers on the piano from musical director Ben Moss. All ticket proceeds benefit the Transgender Foundation of Houston.