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Jan 12
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease in the 21st Century; American Museum of Natural History, Upper West Side, 7:45pm. $25.
Former President Jimmy Carter leads a conversation about infectious diseases in the United States.
Savages; Various venues
Savages first made waves with their scorching debut, Silence Yourself. The acclaim was well deserved: The band has brilliant tunes and a fiery live show. If you can get a ticket, you’ll want to catch this series of small-club dates.
Brooklyn Poets Yawp; 61 Local, Cobble Hill, 7pm. $5.
In the first hour, an accomplished poet leads a writing workshop, and in the second, all are welcome to share poems at the open mike.
Myq Kaplan and Friends; Q.E.D., Queens, 8pm. $5.
The local headlining comic with two specials and an album under his belt brings together some of his favorite comedians to put on a show that feels more like a party with old friends.
Jan 13
Miranda July: The First Bad Man; Barnes & Noble Union Square, Gramercy & Flatiron, 7pm. Free.
In The First Bad Man, the author tells a tender story about one eccentric woman and the event that shatters her world. July launches the book tonight with a signing and reading.
Constellations; Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Midtown West, 7pm. $67–$140.
Constellations, a hit in England, opens on Broadway. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a beekeeper who gets involved with a quantum-physics theorist in this brainy romance by British playwright Nick Payne.
Cheyenne Jackson: Eyes Wide Open; Café Carlyle (in the Carlyle Hotel), Upper East Side, 8:45pm. $45–$125.
The almost comically hunky Cheyenne Jackson, star of Broadway (Xanadu) and TV (Glee), has recently scuffed up his image with tattoos and a minor sex scandal.
Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music; New York Live Arts, Chelsea, 7:30pm. $40, Select seats $15, Jan 25 six decade marathon $75.
A Fabergé radical—beautiful, ridiculous and full of hidden tricks—the sublimely freakish Mac pilots audiences through fantastical journeys, guided only by the compass of his magnetic individuality.
Celebrating Charlie Haden; The Town Hall, Midtown West, 7pm. Free.
This gratis celebration of a remarkable life features A-list Haden collaborators such as Geri Allen, Kenny Barron, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Lee Konitz and Bill Frisell, as well as his signature groups, Quartet West and Liberation Music Orchestra.
The Improvised Shakespeare Company; Theatre 80, East Village, 7pm and 9:30pm. $33.
The actors speak in faux British accents, employ Elizabethan-era speech and play up any number of Shakespearean tropes, yet this hugely popular Chicago show is anything but gimmicky.
Cage + Weerd Science + Ceshi + Apparition; Saint Vitus, Greenpoint, 8pm. $20.
Here, Cage airs his brooding, gritty alt-hip-hop narratives, as heard on last year's self-released Kill the Architect.
"The New York School, 1969: Henry Geldzahler at the Metropolitan Museum of Art"; Paul Kasmin Gallery, Chelsea, 10am. Free.
This show recalls The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s massive 1969 survey of New York School art, from Pollock to Warhol.
Jan 14
Reggie Watts’s Audio Abramović; Public Theater, East Village, 8pm. Free.
The musical comedian takes a page from artist Marina Abramović's book with a performance involving five-minute, one-on-one meetings with random people—including you, if you like.
ABC Trivia; Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, Soho, 7pm. Free.
Put your literary chops to the test when Huffington Post's Arts and Books editors, Electric Literature and BOMB Magazine host a night of bookish questions sure to challenge you and your nerdy teammates.
Royal Danish Ballet; Joyce Theater, Chelsea, 7:30pm. $10–$75.
Under the direction of artistic director Ulrik Birkkjær, principals and soloists perform works by August Bournonville, the 19th-century Royal Danish Ballet choreographer and ballet master.
Jack Ferver; Abrons Arts Center/Henry Street Settlement, Lower East Side, 6:30pm. $20.
American Realness 2015 presents Night Light Bright Light, A duet for the artist with Reid Bartelme, in which Ferver relates to the late dancer, actor and choreographer Fred Herko.
Women of Letters; Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, Soho, 7pm. $20.
The Australian literary salon returns stateside, inviting notable women writers and performers to air their dirty laundry in the form of personal letters crafted just for the occasion.
Friday Night Tykes; 92nd Street Y, Upper East Side, 8:15pm. Free.
Is football too intense for little kids? Does our nation's love for the game blind us to the damage it can cause? Similarly important questions will be raised here.
Jan 15
Sam Smith + George Ezra; Madison Square Garden, Lower East Side, 8pm. Sold Out.
Expect more than a few cathartic sing-alongs to tunes like the ubiquitous "Stay With Me" at Smith's sold-out MSG show.
Mariinsky Ballet; BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, Fort Greene, 7pm. $35–$175.
St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre graces Brooklyn with performances of Swan Lake and Cinderella, as well as a mixed bill featuring choreography by Michel Fokine, Jerome Robbins and Benjamin Millepied.
The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival; Various locations, 7pm. Free–$65.
This fest, located at several venues around town, is dedicated to flicks inspired by the pioneering sci-fi writer.
Ecstatic Music Festival: Mantra Percussion & Ian Williams; Brookfield Place Winter Garden, Financial District, 8pm. Free.
This year's set of concerts debuts tonight with a free gig between Mantra Percussion and Battles guitarist and composer Ian Williams.
Phil Hanley; Carolines on Broadway, Midtown West, 9:30pm. $20 plus two-drink minimum.
As is clear from his performances on The Late Late Show, the engaging Hanley writes smart quips and has a great sense of rhythm.