[title]
Mon 27
Broad City Trivia M1-5; 8pm; free with R.S.V.P.
Think you’re a resident of Broad City? Grab a ferry from North Brother Island, study those Kirk Steele videos, and prove it at this intense trivia night dedicated to NYC’s baddest kweens. Reserve a spot for a team of up to four frands, and get there early: This showdown will be more packed than a rat party at Ilana and Jaime’s apartment.
NPR’s Ask Me Another The Bell House; 7:30pm; $20–$25
Put your brain to the test at this popular hour-long NPR show, in which host Ophira Eisenberg and house musician Jonathan Coulton challenge puzzle masters, audience members and special guests with brainteasers and trivia tidbits. The Mon 27 edition features special guest Jason Mraz.
ScreenTimes: The Shape of Water French Institute Alliance Francaise; Florence Gould Hall; 7pm; $50
Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro unveils his new Cold War monster romance and discusses his influences.
#Holiday100 Best Friends Pet Adoption Event; 11am; free
Find a new furry best friend this holiday season at the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center's #Holiday100 event featuring 100 hours of free adoptions. Be sure to check out the website for adoption requirements and hit the center's Soho digs and adopt a dog, cat or kitten.
Kathleen Armenti: Sadness, A Sad Show The Duplex; 9:30pm; $10, at the door $15, plus two-drink minimum
Inspired by Inside Out's iconic buzzkill, show-stopping vocalist Kathleen Armenti shares songs and stories about loss, grief and chilling with your feelings. She's joined at the piano by the Duplex's most beloved entertainer, Henry Koperski.
Tue 28
A Night of Storytelling: Generosity Brooklyn Brewery; 7:30; $15
Restore, an organization that aids victims of sex trafficking, invites talented tellers to spin their best yarns at Brooklyn Brewery. If you'd like to participate, send an email to rachel@restorenyc.org and get to work crafting your five-minute monologue under the theme "generosity." Otherwise, just show up for cheap brews ($5 per bottle) and heartwarming tales.
André Aciman: Call Me By Your Name Three Lives & Company; 7pm; free
The worldly author sits down with Time Out's David Goldberg to discuss 2017's Enigma Variations, the film adaptation of Call Me By Your Name, and how stories of longing and confession play out in his work.
Holiday Train Show New York Botanical Garden; 10am; $23–$28
The garden lights up with its collection of trains that chug along a nearly half-mile track by 150 miniature NYC landmarks like the Empire State Building and Radio City Music Hall, all made of natural materials such as leaves, twigs, bark and berries.
Wed 29
The Moth StorySLAM: Fakes Flushing Town Hall; 7:30pm; $10
The outrageously (and deservedly) popular storytelling series pits local yarn spinners against one another, challenging them to deliver a five-minute tale on a specific theme. Storytellers, come prepared to tell a tale about "fakes." Tellers are chosen at random, so show up early to drop your name in the hat, as spots for raconteurs go quickly.
Rachel Bloom in Conversation with Ashley Lee 92nd Street Y; $55
Learn about the inspirations, creative processes and future plans of TV’s most original voice, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star, co-creator and cowriter Bloom. She screens an upcoming episode of the show’s third season and chats about what’s next for her troubled, meticulously crafted heroine.
Chris Harder: Porn to be a Star The Stonewall Inn; 7:30pm; $18
The always-chipper go-go god and Wasabassco burlesque favorite shares his life story—from a closeted childhood to a fascinating career in porn—in this high-energy, self-aware striptease solo show.
Some Girls Harlem Stage; 7:30pm; $10
Catch a screening of this powerful documentary, which examines the disturbingly high suicide-attempt rate among Latina-American teens (nationally, one in seven attempts suicide). Watch as teens in a Bronx-based suicide-prevention program receive DNA testing and travel to the home countries of their ancestors, learning not only about themselves, but also gaining new insight into what it means to be an American. Following the film is a panel discussion with the film's director, Raquel Cepeda, photographer Henry Chalfant and mental health expert Beatriz Coronel.
Not the One: A Love Story Cloud City; 8pm; $15
After a triumphant year bringing her candid solo show to stages off-Broadway and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, radiant comedian Mindy Raf returns to share songs, tales and insights into sexuality, anatomy, heartbreak and beyond. She's back, and we couldn't be happier.
NBC Presents: The 1947 Thanksgiving Special The Duplex; 9:30pm; $10, at the door $15, plus two-drink minimum
Join fur-clad class acts Betty Blanche and Crystal Rogers Sr. (known in modern times as dynamite sketch duo Sam Reece and Becky Chicoine) at this warped musical variety show straight out of black-and-white TV fever dream. Along with comedic multihyphenates Matteo Lane, Catherine Cohen, Kiko & Tuna and Henry Koperski, they'll sing gibberish Thanksgiving "classics" that will make you long for a brand of Americana that never existed.
The Sparkle Zone The Duplex; 7pm; $10, plus two-drink minimum
In a comedy scene oversaturated with irony and cynicism, improv sweetheart Philip Markle invites you to indulge in blissful insanity at this absolutely batshit variety hour, featuring life-affirming wisdom from Markle, visceral humor from a crazed coterie of avant-garde performers and spectacular dance breaks. For this month's turn, catch performances from Christi Chiello, Matt Barats, Caroline Yost, Lucy Randall, Idgy Dean, Shannon Kintner, Rebecca Shesser, Brett Miller, Scott Fischbein and Sparkle dancers David Goldberg and Hollye Bynum.
Thu 30
Impact Play 101 Babeland; 7pm; $50
Sex educator and pro domme Lola Jean teaches you how to safely and pleasurably practice dominance, submission and slapping in the bedroom.
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House Museum; 7pm; $45–$75
In late 1867, Charles Dickens trekked across the Atlantic to spend a month performing his Christmas classic here in NYC. The Merchant’s House Museum reenacts this one-hour performance for modern-day audiences in its old-fashioned museum. If you think A Christmas Carol is enchanting now, just wait until you see it performed by candlelight in a 19th-century home by Dickens—or rather an actor playing the part of the British author. (Bonus: Come early for mulled wine and tasty snacks!)
Roast of Carrie Bradshaw Q.E.D.; 9pm; $10
We love her, we've all wanted to be her at some point, and there's nothing more fun than making fun of her. Sex & the City's heroine may be a gem when faced with the Walter Whites and Don Drapers of the small screen world, but she's certainly made enough romantic and sartorial mistakes for us to pick at. Liz Magee hosts this delectable camp-fest, with Heidi Haux, Bowen Yang, Karolena Theresa, Mary Jo Cameltoe, Molly Ruben-Long and Drew Anderson spilling T (and Cosmopolitans).
The Blob Magnet Theater; 9pm; $10
Head to the esteemed Magnet Theater for this popular show directed by improv instructor Hannah Chase, in which eleven performers—including Jana Heaton, Justin Anderson, Chrissie Gruebel and others—work together to create three two-person scenes. The scenes then get rehashed and combined throughout the show to hilarious—and often bizarre—effect.
BackFat Variety 61 Local; 8pm; free
As Brooklyn’s comedy scene continues to cultivate some of the industry’s greatest talents, it’s always worth it to toast its loveliest institutions. The gloriously unhinged BackFat celebrates five years of bringing big names and new faces into the limelight. For the big occasion, hosts Emily Winter and Larry Mancini welcome Catherine Cohen, Jo Firestone, Ryan Beck, Jon Laster and Caitlin Peluffo.