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Mon 14
NPR’s Ask Me Another The Bell House; 7:30pm; $15–$20
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 14 edition features special guest Diane Guerrera.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to things to do in NYC this week
St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble: Serenade for Spring Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center; 6:30pm; free
The Orchestra of St. Luke’s returns to the Streicker Center with a Serenade for Spring, which will include a Mozart Divertimento, a Mendelssohn Violin Concerto written when he was just 13 and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, considered one of his greatest works. The event is free and you can grab your ticket at the link provided.
EmptyMet Tour at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; 8:30am; $175
Visit the Met before it opens to the public for the day on this VIP tour. The museum feels so peaceful without the usual crush of tourists.
The Melodrama Magnet Theater; 10:30pm; $7
Improv powerhouse Jana Leigh Heaton directs this high-drama experiment, in which a talented crew of performers spins a dark play out of the audience's most delicious confessions. Casey Antonio Blake, Mia Bloomfield, Alex Estrella, Michael Grosso, David Liang, Amanda Melhuish, Pete Morris, Ann Nunziata, Jess Rowley, Aidan Sank and Adam Solomon star.
The Roast of Your 15 Year-Old Self Baby’s All Right; 8:30pm; $10
If you can’t hate yourself, how in the hell are you going to hate somebody else? Comedians exorcise their shame over their teen years through scorching receipts of the hair, music and bad kissing that once defined them. Alise Morales—NYC’s loveliest roastmaster—welcomes Irene Fagan Merrow, Peter Smith, Ziwe Fumudoh, Mike Kelton and John Reynolds to take deep, dark looks into their high school diaries.
Tue 15
Golden Lady Burlesque Sid Gold’s Request Room; 8pm; $5–$20
Delight in the splendor of burlesque phenom Essence Revealed as she and her favorite striptease pros gather around the piano for a night of tassel-twirling and live piano karaoke. The May edition welcomes Divina Gran Sparkle by David Byrd, Trinity Starlight and Jazabel Jade to the stage.
FEUD: Fiercely! Explosive! Uncensored! Duels! UCBEast; 7:30pm; $9
Is this the comedy listing of our dreams; the Valhalla of sublime stand-up? At this special Comedy Central Corporate Retreat, eight of the most savagely funny women in NYC face off in a game show of reads, burns and backhanded compliments. Who better than Battle of the Divas host Christi Chiello to oversee the insanity, with judges Jessica Kirson, Yamaneika Saunders and Liza Treyger presiding. Marie Faustin, Sydnee Washington, Molly Austin, Rosebud Baker, Aminah Imani, Katie Hannigan, Dina Hashem and Annie Donley—each an undeniable star in her own right—join the brawl. Not to be missed.
Shaina Taub Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater; 7pm; $20 plus $12 minimum
Accomplished piano songstress and theater composer Taub, whose wrote the score for the Public Works productions of Twelfth Night and As You Like It, shares new material in her latest Joe's Pub set. Though her musicianship sometimes outstrips her lyrics, there's no doubt she's a rising talent.
Deerhunter Elsewhere + Le Poisson Rouge on Wed 16; 8pm; $25
Renowned for occasionally outlandish live shows (singer Bradford Cox once performed four bars of "My Sharona" continuously for an hour), Deerhunter plays warped pop-rock filtered through a haze of reverb and dissonance, with Cox’s warm, often distorted vocals bouncing off angular guitar lines. Hopefully we'll hear from the band's upcoming Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? LP.
Vijay Iyer Village Vanguard; 8:30pm, 10:30pm; $35
Trailblazing pianist Vijay Iyer, one of his generation's brightest jazz luminaries, explores jazz, pop and electronica vanguards with equal curiosity. You can hear the eclecticism throughout his impressively prolific portfolio the past few years: chamber works and a multimedia collaboration via his new label, ECM, cementing an alliance with all-star crew Trio 3 on the strong Wiring album and finishing a collaborative effort with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. Here he augments his highly acclaimed progressive-jazz trio to a six-man combo, playing behind the sextet's superb 2017 release, Far from Over.
Wye Oak Brooklyn Steel; 7pm; $25
The Baltimore duo plays behind its just released sixth record, The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs, an incisive indie-pop record that builds on the group's knack for tightly arranged gut punches and sinewy balladry.
Wed 16
Crystals 101: A Wellness Workshop Moxy Times Square; 6pm; free
Tap into some healing energy and learn about the holistic uses of crystals at this wellness workshop taught by Maha Rose's Sadie Kadlec. If the crystals don't do it, just sidle up to the gorgeous copper-wrapped bar for a different age-old remedy involving rocks. R.S.V.P. to RSVP@MoxyTimesSquare.com to reserve a free spot. Click here for the full schedule.
New Moon Shamanic Astrology Class 215 W 90th St; 6:30pm; $35–$40
This three-hour class includes a sacred tobacco ceremony, a sound healing session and a planetary forecast. After the shamanic journey, you'll better understand the invisible forces that are influencing your life (and no, we don't mean the new Facebook algorithm). Be sure to bring a notebook, pen and yoga mat or blanket, and have a twenty spot handy if you'd like to have your palm read by the Magical Vaughan.
200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See the World Pen + Bush; noon; free
In this photography and video exhibit based on the book by Geoff Blackwell and Ruth Hobday, women of different backgrounds reflect on what is most important to them. Musicians, activists, actors and novelists have their portraits taken and answer a set of five interview questions in a multidisciplinary exploration of diversity and equality.
Be My Cover The Strand Bookstore; 9:30am, 7pm; free
Judge a book by its cover at this exhibit featuring designs from tomes published by Penguin Random House. The show, set up in the Strand's very cool Rare Book Room, spans the past ten years and contains works from 33 designers based here and abroad. Don't miss the designer's talk on May 14 with Peter Mendelsund, Jaya Miceli, Oliver Munday and Helen Yentus. (A $15 ticket for the talk includes a $15 gift card to the Strand.)
Thu 17
Pizzafest V The Gutter Bowling Alley and Bar; 7pm; three-day pass $20
Garage-rock bands and primo slices abound at this rowdy three-day event hosted by Brooklyn label King Pizza Records. The schedule is stacked with over twenty bands and pizza is available on the cheap to ensure you're fueled and ready when the inevitable crowd surfing starts up.
Gaz Oakley: Vegan 100 Strand Book Store; 7:30pm; free with signed copy or $15 Strand gift card
The Avant Garde Vegan shares recipes from his first cookbook.
Kelsey Caine’s Graduation Comedy Gala Carolines on Broadway; 9:30pm; $20–$96
New York Times contributor and soon-to-be New School MFA graduate Kelsey Caine welcomes fellow comedians to the stage at Carolines to poke fun at commencement and all the weirdness that goes along with it. On the bill: Josh Gondelman, Mitra Jouhari, Kate Willett, Martin Urbano, Reformed Whores and Sonia Denis.
DED Talks: TED Talks From Dead People Caveat; 6:30pm; $10–$15
Bask in the wisdom of Marilyn Monroe, Julia Childs, Steve Irwin and the like at this TED Talk–inspired event. Glo Tavarez, Meghan O'Malley, Maybelline Shadows, Timothy Dunn, Michael Foulk, Eitan Levine, Christine Pineiro, Nicole Pasquale, Richie Moriarty and Jay Malsky channel insights from beyond the grave while host, um, God watches over it all.
X Plus One Peoples Improv Theater; 7pm; $7
Take part in a totally improvised 1940s-style sci-fi radio show, complete with war rockets, jet packs and plenty of blimps, courtesy of the X Plus One crew. Whether you're down for the square-jawed superheroes of the war years or just want to witness a thrilling old-school narrative come together live, you're in for a wild night.