[title]
Mon 28
Winter’s Eve at Lincoln Square Dante Park; 5:30pm; free
This 17-year-old cold-weather festival is an action-packed affair that begins with this year’s holiday tree lighting in Dante Park. American Idol and Broadway star Justin Guarini and Grammy nominee Bettye LaVette are set to croon a few holiday hits before a lovely tribute to jazz singer Sharon Jones is played during the official lighting of the tree. Afterward, join amazing artists, musicians, dancers and street performers as they usher in the holiday season by juggling, walking on stilts, creating ice sculptures and performing circuslike entertainment near Time Warner Center. And if this event leaves you feeling peckish, more than 30 restaurants on the Upper West Side offer food tastings for a couple bucks. Mini Magnolia Bakery cupcakes for $2 and P.J. Clarke’s miniburgers for $4? Yes, please!
CharlieWood Cedar Lake; 7pm; free
Join the immortal Debbie Harry and nightlife empress Ladyfag as they introduce NYC to the bizarre and beautiful immersive art of France's Charlie le Mindu. View multimedia pieces including provocatively-clad dance performances and sculptures, all while you enjoy stirring music and stellar cocktails.
Dina Martina: Christmas Show B.B. King Blues Club & Grill; 8pm; $25, $10 minimum
You might mistake her for an elegant rodeo clown, but superstar drag artist Dina Martina is a hilarious genius. She blends the traditional elements of a drag show—singing (sort of), dancing (in a way), jokes and stories (stream of consciousness)—into an intoxicating cocktail of demented glee. Her Christmas show features "overburdened costumes" and accompanist Chris Jeffries.
Tue 29
Smut Slam NYC: “Hard” Three of Cups; 8pm; $10
Playwright and phone sex operator Cameryn Moore invites you to share your real-life sex stories and get curious with an open-minded audience and a panel of kinky celebrity judges.
Caitlin Moran Strand Book Store; 7pm; free with book purchase
American fans of the fiercely funny British feminist can hear her read from her new collection of political and pop culture essays, Moranifesto.
TinyRhino: Leftovers Littlefield; 7:30pm; $10
Six consecutive 10-minute plays, each by a different playwright, all contain the same few dramatic elements that the audience is told to watch for. Like a game of theatrical bingo, when an element arises - you drink!
Little Cinema No. 26: Requiem for a Dream House of Yes; 7pm; $12–$100
For fans of the iconic dark drama, 'Requiem for A Dream,' or novelty-seekers in general, Little Cinema offers its audience an immersive film experience. Just don't come expecting a normal screening. The film is completely transformed using live music, dance performance, and 3D visual art.
Norah Jones Beacon Theatre; 8pm; $45
The seductive vocalist responsible for scores of sweet dreams followed up her 2012 Danger Mouse–produced collection of post-modern intimacies Little Broken Hearts. with this year's elegant, Day Breaks. Hear the earthy jazz chanteuse wrap her velvety twang around new songs and a few from her sophisticated five-album back catalogue. Buy ticket now!
Metric Music Hall of Williamsburg; 8pm; free
Broken Social Scene graduate Emily Haines' band, Metric, hasn't quite worked its way out of the BSS shadow, but its electro-based indie output carves out a stark, cinematic path that's boldly uplifting in its own right.
Your Love, Our Musical! Union Hall; 8pm; $10
In this popular show, musical comedian Rebecca Vigil and improviser, writer, and director Evan Kaufman team up to interview a real audience couple about how they met, then spin those details into a fully improvised—and fully hilarious—live musical.
Missed Connections Kraine Theater; 9pm; $20
Posts from Craigslist's notorious Missed Connections section (bad grammar and all) are the inspiration for this twice-monthly comedy show featuring a rotating cast.
Wed 30
Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree; 7pm; free
This iconic and always-packed tree-lighting ceremony is filled with celebrity performances, so you’ll want to arrive early to get a good view. Enjoy a two-hour variety show featuring live music by Neil Diamond, Josh Groban, Dolly Parton and more before 50,000 energy-efficient LED lights covering the 94-foot spruce are switched on inspiring oohs and aahs. This is the only tree-lighting ceremony you can watch live on TV (tune in to WNBC), which is great for anxious New Yorkers—er, all of us—who want to avoid the crowds.
Beards, Burgers and Booze The Ainsworth; 6:30pm; $35
End No-Shave November with a bang! Attendees can enjoy craft burgers, beer, and a vodka tasting as they wait for the evening's focal point - volunteers having their months’ worth of facial hair shaved off publicly. Proceeds of the event will be donated to the Sean Kimerling Testicular Cancer Foundation.
Golden Girls Trivia Stay Classy New York; 8pm; free
Bring a team of up to four pals and confidantes to Videology’s screening room for a night of Golden Girls adoration that’s more fun than a game of Gugenspritzer. With more than five rounds of clips, images and Miami minutia, host Maggie Ross challenges your knowledge of all 180 episodes of the eternal series, from Blanche’s many men to Rose’s history of St. Olaf. So roll up your polyester sleeves, slice into some cheesecake, and study up on your Sicily stories, or else you might be left out on the lanai.
The Beatbox House Party Le Poisson Rouge; 8:30pm; $5, at the door $8
Members of the NYC Beatbox House deliver bullet-fire renditions of classic hip-hop and R&B jams at this acoustic dance party. Prepare to be amazed.
The Movember Ball Refinery Rooftop; 6pm; $60
What better way is there to celebrate the end of Movember than by stuffing your face with balls? Enjoy an open bar of Jameson cocktails while sampling meatballs from five guest chefs representing Trademark, Freud, Refinery Rooftop, Harold’s Meat + Three and Covina. Best of all, proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Movember Foundation. Eating meatballs for a good cause? Where do we sign.
What Are You Afraid Of? Q.E.D.; 7:30pm; $8–$10
Sharks? Elevators? Bears? What scares you? NYC’s best comedians and storytellers hilariously grapple with a wide array of fears onstage at this ongoing show. Watch as host Mara Wilson and guests spin tales of what most frightens them. You’ll feel comforted that your weird fears aren’t that weird after all.
Stand Up with Planned Parenthood Littlefield; 7:30pm; $20
Show your support for the reproductive health of women across America at this comedy show benefiting Planned Parenthood. Funny ladies Christi Chiello and Giulia Rozzi host the event, which features the comic stylings of Ilana Glazer, Mehran Khaghani, Naomi Ekperigin, Liza Treyger, Free the Mind, Jon Laster (7:30pm show only) and Dan Soder (9:30pm only). DJ Zephyr Ann will be on hand to get the audience dancing between sets—and you can bet that's not the only movement this show is hoping to inspire.
Thu 1
Christmas Lights Tour Union Square; various times; $50
The maxim “a little goes a long way” is not one Dyker Heights residents adhere to: Every year various homeowners in the south Brooklyn ’hood trick out their abodes with thousands of twinkly lights as well as oversize decorations (illuminated Nativity scenes, animatronic snowmen, giant nutcrackers). Get a peek at the festive homes on this bus tour, which ends with a stop at Bella Luna Pizza for hot cocoa.
The Other Israel Film Festival JCC in Manhattan; various times; Festival pass $40
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the week-long film festival featuring films about Israel's minority communities - the 'other'. The films and panel discussions offer an eye-opening inside look at another country's relationship with diversity.
Bar Mitzvah Brunch and Infinite Jets Annoyance Theatre; 9pm; $10
Seth Alkon Finkelstein performs his one-man show about "Judaism, mental health and adolescence" at this double-header, which also features Brian Pisano and Sam Taffel's sketch play "Infinite Jets," a whirlwind of football, capitalism and mayhem based (very loosely) on David Foster Wallace's classic dystopian tome.