Secret Service Inquiry Follows Agents' Crash at White House

Secret Service Chief Grilled Over White House Security Failures | WAMC Secret Service Chief Grilled Over White House Security Failures | WAMC Secret Service director Julia	nyt-logo-185x26.png nyt-logo-185x26.png Politics|Secret Service Inquiry Follows Agents Crash at White House	2009 U.S. state dinner security breaches - Wikipedia, the free. 2009 U.S. state dinner security breaches - Wikipedia, the free. Room of the White House.	Secret Service Inquiry Follows Agents Crash at White House. Secret Service Inquiry Follows Agents Crash at White House. Irate Democrats Denounce G.O.P on Iran Letter
Agents Put on Leave After State Dinner Breach - NYTimes.com Agents Put on Leave After State Dinner Breach - NYTimes.com for The New York Times	Aaron Schock avoids answering questions about spending - CNN. Aaron Schock avoids answering questions about spending - CNN. Secret Service Agents crash	19CLANCY-thumbStandard.jpg 19CLANCY-thumbStandard.jpg Obama Picks Joseph Clancy to Be Secret Services Permanent Chief FEB.	A Tipsy Secret Service Agent Leaked Details Of Obamas Schedule To. A Tipsy Secret Service Agent Leaked Details Of Obamas Schedule To. Secret Service director Julia
SECRET_SERVICE_40043611.JPG SECRET_SERVICE_40043611.JPG SECRET_SERVICE_40043611.JPG	Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resigns | New Yorks PIX11. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resigns | New Yorks PIX11. of the Secret Service,	White House gets drone defense wake-up call | Fox News White House gets drone defense wake-up call | Fox News Secret Service officers search	Secret Service Inquiry Follows Agents Crash at White House. Secret Service Inquiry Follows Agents Crash at White House. White House Memo
Two Secret Service Agents Face Inquiry in Drinking and Car Crash. Two Secret Service Agents Face Inquiry in Drinking and Car Crash. Two senior Secret Service agents are under investigation for allegations	10SERVICE-thumbStandard.jpg 10SERVICE-thumbStandard.jpg Secret Service Deputy Demoted as Panel Chairman Presses for Firing FEB.	Russian spies used tickets and hats to try to hide New York. Russian spies used tickets and hats to try to hide New York. Secret Service cleans house	White House Drone Crash Is Tied to Drinking by Intelligence Worker. White House Drone Crash Is Tied to Drinking by Intelligence Worker. US Secret Service

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Claims Against Saudis Cast New Light on Secret Pages of 9/11 Report

Now new claims by Zacarias Moussaoui, a convicted former member of Al Qaeda, that he had high-level contact with officials of the Saudi government in the prelude to Sept. 11 have brought renewed attention to the inquirys withheld findings, which .

Kia Baskerville (CBS) learns of both plane crashes in New.

Deborah Loewer, U.S. Navy, director of the White House Situation Room, National Security Agency; White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett; Blake Gottisman, personal aide to the president; and Thomas Herman 75, a U.S... The next day, William Safire of the New York Times writes, and Bushs political strategist, Karl Rove, confirms, that the Secret Service believed ���Air Force One may be next, and there was an inside threat which may have broken the��.

Reports: White House intruder gets far past front door | wpri.

WASHINGTON (AP) ��� The intruder who climbed a fence made it farther inside the White House than the Secret Service has publicly acknowledged, the Washington Post and New York Times newspapers reported Monday. The disclosures came on the eve of a congressional oversight hearing with the director of the embattled agency assigned to protect the presidents life. Citing unnamed. Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/acaldwellap.

FBI Employees With Ties Abroad See Security Bias

WASHINGTON ��� The F.B.I. is subjecting hundreds of its employees who were born overseas or have relatives or friends there to an aggressive internal surveillance program that started after Sept. 11, 2001, to prevent foreign spies from coercing newly.

Driver actually survives wrong turn at White House

He is the author of the New York Times bestseller ���Life Inside the Bubble: Why a Top-Ranked Secret Service Agent Walked Away From It All,��� published by WND books. Bongino believes the problem actually originated almost��.

Secret Service Chief Grilled Over White House Security.

The New York Times says a 2009 breach in which a couple crashed a state dinner, the drinking and prostitution scandals on overseas trips in 2012 and 2013, and 16 separate cases of people scaling the White House fence in. subjects of the committees inquiry as well. The Times reports: According to a law enforcement official briefed on the current investigation, uniformed Secret Service officers at the White House failed to follow several of the agencys protocols.

Obama Pushes Homeownership Steps in Once Hard-Hit Arizona

This progress is not an accident, its not luck, Obama said. Its what. In addition to the 250,000 new homebuyers the White House hopes to attract ��� a figure that marks a modest increase in sales ��� administration officials said the rate cut.

Gillian Anderson Talks Swimming and Sleuthing on The Fall

NEW YORK ��� Theres agent Dana Scully of The X-Files and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire. Also Lily Bart in The House of Mirth, with a little Bedelia du Maurier, aka, Hannibal Lecters shrink, thrown in. Of all the period. Im more.

Drone operator says he accidentally crashed device on White House grounds

The Secret Service said the drone operator contacted the agency voluntarily at 9:30 a.m. Monday, more than six hours after the device crashed, and was being cooperative.. In its subsequent update, on the incident, the Secret Service said: ���An.

Armed Intruder at White House Got to East Room

WASHINGTON ��� An armed man who jumped the White House fence this month made it far deeper into the mansion than previously disclosed, overpowering a Secret Service agent inside the North Portico entrance and running through the ceremonial East. The.

Obama Gets a Lift on the Trail - First Draft - The New York.

And now, we can say, he has also lifted the president. The presidents Secret Service agents looked a bit perturbed, but Mr. Van Duzer said that he got permission first. Speaking to reporters after, he said an agent ���said I was��.

Driver Wanted for Obama Motorcade. Novice Welcome.

Bringing up the rear were police cars with their lights flashing and a Secret Service ambulance that follows the president wherever he travels. And in between were several vans filled with White House staff members and journalists, being piloted by.

The Dangerously Delayed Reactions of the Secret Service.

[14] And yet the security enhancements around the White House were only precautionary steps taken because of the strikes in New York, and not due to concerns about a possible attack in Washington, according to the 9/11 Commission Report. [15]. Consequently, by the time agents started telling people to get away from the White House, 12 minutes had passed since the Secret Service was alerted to the suspicious aircraft flying toward the presidential mansion.

Movie Listings for Jan. 23-29

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (No rating, 1:47, in Farsi) By the time the vampire in the chador is skateboarding down a dark, desolate street, the director Ana Lily Amirpour has ensured that her debut feature will roll on in your memory. She can.

Ex-Secret Service agent: Holes in White House security

As a former Secret Service officer, Bongino brings a wealth of experience to assessing White House security, having guarded Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and authoring the New York Times bestseller ���Life��.

Movie Capsules: Whats Showing

A daughter (Sylvie Tetud) uncovers the secret World War II origins of the love story of her father (Beno��t Magimel) and mother (M��lanie Thierry) in this French film from writer-director Diane Kurys.. A discussion and question-and-answer session will.

Man Takes Responsibility For Drone Over White House.

A Washington resident has come forward to say he was responsible for the drone that crashed on the White House grounds and didnt mean to fly it over the complex.. Follow UsFacebookTwitterYouTube �� Home �� News �� Sports. House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a chief critic of Secret Service leadership, said the agency has been working for some time to figure out how to deal with the threat posed by unmanned aircraft. He said a��.

White House intruder got far beyond front doors, reports say.

WASHINGTON -- The intruder who climbed a fence made it farther inside the White House than the Secret Service has publicly acknowledged, the Washington Post and New York Times newspapers reported Monday. The disclosures came on the eve of a congressional oversight hearing with the director of the embattled agency assigned to protect the presidents life. Citing unnamed sources -- three. St. Patricks Day in New Orleans: Follow the fun �� NOLA.com logo��.

Shoestring 9/11: Targeting the President: Evidence of U.S..

It seems reasonable to assume that if the incidents were indeed exercise scenarios, the Secret Service, as the agency responsible for protecting the president and the White House, would have been participating in them. Alarmingly, though, the times at which some of the incidents occurred indicates that if they were scenarios in training exercises, these exercises were not canceled in response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but instead��.

Russian spies used tickets and hats to try to hide New York activities, FBI says

The reason for the puzzling behavior, according to a federal complaint unsealed Monday, is that the men were Russian spies exchanging intelligence information in New York City. They used tickets and other everyday objects -- like books, umbrellas and.

Shakeup at Secret Service; 4 executives reassigned

WASHINGTON (AP) ��� Four of the highest-ranking Secret Service executives have been reassigned following a series of security mishaps and scathing reports questioning leadership within the agency, the Secret Service said Wednesday. The agencys.

R100, a Salarymans Fantasy

Rivers of spit and acres of shiny fetish wear glisten in the Japanese fantasy ���R100,��� a gleeful gross-out in which a meek salaryman hires an army of dominatrixes to do their cruel worst. The S-and-M gear has been selected with conspicuous care, from the.

secret service director resigns - Business Insider

19 incident, the Secret Service has also come under fire for other incidents, including one in which it took the agency five days to realize bullets had hit the White House in 2011 and another in which an armed man was allowed on an elevator with Obama. Last week, the Secret Service was responsible for the protection of the President as well as 140 visiting heads of state or government as they convened at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

The Listings: Dec. 8 - Dec. 14

Selective listings by critics of The New York Times of new and noteworthy cultural events in the New York metropolitan region this week. * denotes a highly recommended film, concert, show or exhibition. Theater Approximate running times are in parentheses. Theaters are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of current shows, additional listings, show times and tickets: nytimes.com/theater. Previews and Openings ANNIE Opens on Wednesday. Kathie Lee Gifford stars as Miss Hannigan in this touring version of the popular musical about the little orphan who dreams of tomorrow (2:30). The Theater at Madison Square Garden, (212) 307-4100. THE APPLE TREE In previews; opens on Thursday. The Roundabout revives this 1966 Bock-Harnick musical, based on its City Center production. Kristin Chenoweth, Brian DArcy James and Marc Kudisch star (2:30). Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, (212) 719-1300. CARRIE In previews; opens tomorrow. The irreverent Theater Couture (Doll) takes you back to the bloody prom in Erik Jacksons spin on the Stephen King novel (1:40). Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, East Village, (212) 352-3101. THE SCENE Previews start on Tuesday; opens on Jan. 11. A buzz-maker at the Humana Festival, Theresa Rebecks new play is about an out-of-work actor who doesnt solve his problems by having an affair. Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and Patricia Heaton star (2:00). Second Stage Theater, 307 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212) 246-4422. SPRING AWAKENING In previews; opens on Sunday. The Atlantic Theaters acclaimed rock musical, based on an angst-ridden teenage drama from the 19th century, moves to Broadway (2:00). Eugene ONeill Theater, 230 West 49th Street, (212) 239-6200. TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE Starts performances on Wednesday. An evening of short plays by Christopher Durang, Mac Wellman, Elizabeth Swados and others, using the famous poem Twas the Night Before Christmas (1:15). Flea Theater, 41 White Street, between Broadway and Church Street, TriBeCa, (212) 352-3101. Broadway BUTLEY In this uneasy revival of Simon Grays portrait of a toxic English professor, directed by Nicholas Martin, Nathan Lane fires off witticisms as if they were silver bullets with Made in Britain engraved on them. A less-than-perfect marriage of a first-rate actor with a first-rate play (2:30). Booth Theater, 222 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Ben Brantley) A CHORUS LINE If you want to know why this show was such a big deal when it opened 31 years ago, you need only experience the thrilling first five minutes of this revival. Otherwise, this archivally exact production, directed by Bob Avian, feels like a vintage car that has been taken out of the garage, polished up and sent on the road once again (2:00). Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) * THE COAST OF UTOPIA: VOYAGE The exhilarating first installment of Tom Stoppards trilogy about 19th-century Russian intellectuals dreaming of revolution, this production pulses with the dizzy, spring-green arrogance and anxiety of a new generation moving as fast as it can toward the future. Jack OBrien directs a fresh, vigorous and immense cast, led by Billy Crudup and Ethan Hawke (2:45). Vivian Beaumont Theater, 150 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) * COMPANY Fire, beckoning and dangerous, flickers beneath the frost of John Doyles elegant, unexpectedly stirring revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furths era-defining musical from 1970, starring a compellingly understated Raul Esparza. Like Mr. Doyles Sweeney Todd, this production finds new clarity of feeling in Sondheim by melding the roles of performers and musicians (2:20). Barrymore Theater, 243 West 47th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) DR. SEUSS HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS: THE MUSICAL The beloved holiday classic in a new musical version that honors the spirit and the letter of the original. (The two immortal Albert Hague-Dr. Seuss songs from the television special are included). Bloated at 90 minutes, but the kids didnt seem to mind (1:30). Hilton Theater, 213 West 42nd Street, (212) 307-4100. (Charles Isherwood) THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (Tony Awards, best book of a musical and best original score, 2006) This small and ingratiating spoof of 1920s stage frolics, as imagined by an obsessive show queen, may not be a masterpiece. But in a dry season for musicals, it has theatergoers responding as if they were withering houseplants finally being watered after long neglect (1:40). Marquis Theater, 1535 Broadway, at 45th Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) * GREY GARDENS Christine Ebersole is absolutely glorious as the middle-aged, time-warped debutante called Little Edie Beale in this uneven musical adaptation of the notorious 1975 documentary of the same title. She and the wonderful Mary-Louise Wilson (as her bed-ridden mother), in the performances of their careers, make Grey Gardens an experience no passionate theatergoer should miss (2:40). Walter Kerr Theater, 219 West 48th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) * THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED The comedy of manners, a form widely believed to be extinct in the American theater, has actually resurfaced on Broadway with all its vital signs intact in Douglas Carter Beanes breezy but trenchant satire about truth and illusion, Hollywood-style. With the wonderful Julie White as the movie agent you hate to love (but just cant help it) (2:00). Cort Theater, 138 West 48th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) MARTIN SHORT: FAME BECOMES ME This eager and amiably scattershot satire of celebrity memoirs and Broadway musicals, starring the immodestly modest Mr. Short, arrives a little late to the table for such parody to taste fresh. With serviceably tuneful songs by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (of Hairspray fame) (1:45). Jacobs Theater, 242 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) MARY POPPINS This handsome, homily-packed, mechanically ingenious and rather tedious musical, adapted from the P. L. Travers stories and the 1964 Disney film, is ultimately less concerned with inexplicable magic than with practical psychology. Ashley Brown, who sings prettily as the family-mending nanny, looks like Joan Crawford trying to be nice and sounds like Dr. Phil. Directed by Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne (2:30). New Amsterdam Theater, 214 West 42nd Street, (212) 307-4747. (Brantley) LES MISÉRABLES This premature revival, a slightly scaled-down version of the well-groomed behemoth that closed only three years ago, appears to be functioning in a state of mild sedation. Appealingly sung and freshly orchestrated, this fast-moving adaptation of Victor Hugos novel isnt sloppy or blurry. But its pulse rate stays well below normal (2:55). Broadhurst Theater, 235 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) TARZAN This writhing green blob with music, adapted by Disney Theatrical Productions from the 1999 animated film, has the feeling of a superdeluxe day care center, equipped with lots of bungee cords and karaoke synthesizers, where children can swing when they get tired of singing, and vice versa. The soda-pop score is by Phil Collins (2:30). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, (212) 307-4747. (Brantley) THE VERTICAL HOUR David Hares soggy consideration of the Anglo-American cultural divide stars Julianne Moore (representing the Americans) and Bill Nighy (leading the British), directed by Sam Mendes. The Yanks dont stand a chance. With his irresistibly mannered performance as a laconic doctor, Mr. Nighy mops the floor with Ms. Moore. Actually, he mops the floor with Mr. Hares play (2:20). Music Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) THE WEDDING SINGER An assembly-kit musical that might as well be called That 80s Show, this stage version of the 1998 film is all winks and nods and quotations from the era of big hair and junk bonds. The cast members are personable enough, which is not the same as saying they have personalities (2:20). Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) Off Broadway ALL TOO HUMAN Henry Millers one-man show about Clarence Darrow is far from scintillating theater, but its relevant (1:35). 45th Street Theater, 354 West 45th Street, Clinton, (212) 868-4444. (Anita Gates) THE AMERICAN PILOT The fate of an injured American soldier hangs in the balance when his plane crashes in territory held by rebels fighting a regime backed by the United States. David Greigs play strives for the topical and the universal, but mostly gets hold of the generic (2:00). Manhattan Theater Clubs City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, (212) 581-1212. (Isherwood) ARMS AND THE MAN Shaws story of a mercenary who breaks into a young Bulgarian womans bedroom while fleeing a battle seems not to have much social bite in this rendition, but the humor still works nicely, particularly when in the hands of Robin Leslie Brown and Dominic Cuskern as the invaded households matriarch and patriarch. Bradford Cover has an appealing, offhand delivery as the soldier (2:15). The Pearl Theater Company, 80 St. Marks Place, East Village, (212) 598-9802. (Neil Genzlinger) THE ATHEIST Chris Pine stars in Ronan Noones generally compelling if not always credible one-man drama about a reporter who casually ruins lives trying to make his reputation with a big story (1:30). Center Stage, 48 West 21st Street, Chelsea, (212) 868-4444. (Gates) THE BIG VOICE: GOD OR MERMAN? Think of two gifted and smart gay men with years of life together deploying their considerable talents from the two pianos you happen to have in your living room. The result is a hilarious and very touching memoir of two decades of love and the funky glories of show business life (2:00). The Actors Temple Theater, 339 West 47th Street, Clinton, ( 212) 239-6200. (Honor Moore) *THE CLEAN HOUSE Sarah Ruhls comedy about the painful but beautiful disorder of life has arrived in New York at last in a gorgeous production directed by Bill Rauch. Blair Brown and Jill Clayburgh delight as sisters with different views on the meaning of cleaning, and Vanessa Aspillaga is equally good as the depressed maid with little affection for her work but a deep conviction that a good joke can be a matter of life and death (2:15). Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) DAI (ENOUGH) Iris Bahrs unnerving one-woman show doesnt have much to add to the Middle East debate, but it sure leaves a lasting impression. Ms. Bahr plays an assortment of characters who have the misfortune of being in a Tel Aviv cafe that is about to be visited by the havoc common to such establishments. The attack is rendered in jarring fashion, repeatedly; you watch the play on pins and needles, waiting for the next burst. Gimmicky? Sure. But viscerally effective. Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street, at Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 307-4100. (Genzlinger) DARK MATTERS Elizabeth Marvel plays a rural housewife who may be consorting with extraterrestrials in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasas risible new drama about space critters bent on beginning a new race. Pure hokum (2:00). Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, at 11th Street, West Village, (212) 868-4444). (Isherwood) ESOTERICA Eric Waltons very entertaining one-man show is a mix of magic, mentalism and intelligent chat. He does all three impressively (1:30). DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Gates) EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL This likable horror comedy based on Sam Raimis gory movies wants to be the next Rocky Horror Show. To that end, it offers deadpan lyrics, self-referential humor and geysers of stage blood (2:00) New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Gates) THE FANTASTICKS A revival -- well, more like a resuscitation -- of the Little Musical That Wouldnt Die. This sweet-as-ever production of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidts commedia-dellarte-style confection is most notable for Mr. Joness touching performance (under the pseudonym Thomas Bruce) as the Old Actor, a role he created when the show opened in 1960. Mr. Jones also directs (2:05). Snapple Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) * FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT This production features the expected caricatures of ego-driven singing stars. But even more than usual, the show offers an acute list of grievances about the sickly state of the Broadway musical, where, as the lyrics have it, everything old is old again (1:45). 47th Street Theater, 304 West 47th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL A very funny if not terribly original satire of musical theater features what must be the worst backers audition of all time. The excellent duo Jeremy Shamos and Christopher Fitzgerald make the pitch (2:05). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan, (212) 279-4200. (Jason Zinoman) HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AND FIND TRUE LOVE IN 90 MINUTES This refreshing musical, born of the Fringe Festival, about a bookstore clerk, a slacker, a diplomat and a terrorist, has witty songs, wacky performances and an untethered sense of fun (1:30). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Gates) JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS A powerfully sung revival of the 1968 revue, presented with affectionate nostalgia by the director Gordon Greenberg. As in the original, two men and two women perform a wide selection of Brels plaintive ballads and stirring anthems (2:00). Zipper Theater, 336 West 37th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) * KAOS Martha Clarkes clever compaction of a lengthy 1984 film of the same title, by the Taviani Brothers, is based on short stories by Luigi Pirandello, set at the turn of the last century in his native Sicily. A beguiling if deadly serious blend of text, dance and music, adeptly performed and made more flavorful, if more exotic, by Ms. Clarkes decision to have the entire text spoken in Italian (1:30). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 239-6200. (John Rockwell) THE MILLINER Suzanne Glasss delicate play tells of a Jewish hat-maker who, after fleeing Germany and his beloved mother and business just before World War II, longs to return to Berlin. A vixenish cabaret singer is among the things beckoning him back. The lovely hats, both worn and used as scenery, will make the bare heads of 2006 long for the old days (2:30). East 13th Street Theater, 136 East 13th Street, East Village, (212) 352-3101. (Genzlinger) MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE A small, intense and loudly heralded one-woman drama that tells the true story of its title character, a pro-Palestinian activist killed in the Gaza strip by an Israeli Army bulldozer. Yet for all the political and emotional baggage carried by this production, adapted from Ms. Corries writings and starring Megan Dodds, it often feels dramatically flat, even listless (1:30). Minetta Lane Theater, 18 Minetta Lane, Greenwich Village, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) NO CHILD Teachers will love Nilaja Suns one-woman show about the challenges of teaching drama at Malcolm X High School (1:10). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, at Seventh Avenue South, West Village, (212) 239-6200. (Gates) AN OAK TREE Tim Crouch plays a hypnotist in this elusive puzzle of a play about grief and the power of suggestion (1:05). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, at Seventh Avenue, West Village, (212) 239-6200. (Zinoman) POST MORTEM A grievance list of a comedy by the indefatigable A. R. Gurney, set in the near future, about the unearthing of a world-shaking play called Post Mortem by A. R. Gurney. Jim Simpson directs this likable grab bag of insider jokes, polemical satire and cosmic lamentation (1:30). The Flea Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, (212) 352-3101. (Brantley) REGRETS ONLY Old acquaintance comes under siege in Paul Rudnicks chiffon-thin comedy about the varieties of love and marriage. But no one who sees this latest offering from one of the funniest quip-meisters alive is going to doubt that Christine Baranski is a one-liners best friend (2:00). City Center Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, (212) 581-1212. (Brantley) ROOM SERVICE The Peccadillo Theater Company puts a charge into this old comedy from the 1930s, thanks to a brisk pace by the director, Dan Wackerman, and a dozen dandy performances. David Edwards is the would-be producer whose bills threaten to swamp his efforts to put a show on Broadway, and Fred Berman is particularly fine as his director (2:00). The SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, South Village, (212) 691-1555. (Genzlinger) SCHOOL FOR WIVES The Pearl Theater Companys production of Molières satire about one misguided mans expectations of women is pleasant, occasionally quite funny and definitely on the side of common sense (1:55). The Pearl Theater Company, 80 St. Marks Place, East Village, (212) 598-9802. (Gates) * STRIKING 12 A minimalist musical about an odd but rewarding New Years Eve in the life of a guy who hates New Years Eve. Performed by the indie pop band Groovelily, its fresh and funny, and features a standout pop score (1:30). Daryl Roth Theater, 101 East 15th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER As the luscious (and lobotomy-threatened) damsel in distress in Tennessee Williamss famously lurid melodrama, Carla Gugino gives a gutsy assurance to a production that otherwise lacks compelling confidence. Mark Brokaw directs a cast that includes Blythe Danner, in a fascinating but misconceived performance as a smothering mother from hell (1:30). Laura Pels Theater, 111 West 46th Street, (212) 719-1300. (Brantley) THE TIMEKEEPERS Dan Clancys play, which throws a Jewish artisan and a gay hustler together in a concentration camp, transcends standard Holocaust psychodrama on the strength of its characterizations and definitive performances by Seth Barrish and Eric Paeper (1:35). Barrow Group Theater, 312 West 36th Street, third floor, (212) 760-2615. (Rob Kendt) 25 QUESTIONS FOR A JEWISH MOTHER This is the comedian Judy Golds fiercely funny monologue, based on her own life as a single Jewish lesbian mother and interviews with more than 50 other Jewish mothers (1:10). St. Lukes Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Phoebe Hoban) TWO TRAINS RUNNING Directed by Lou Bellamy, a rough-edged revival of August Wilsons 1992 play about the stark economics of life and death for African-Americans, set in a dying diner in Pittsburgh in the late 1960s. The pace drags in this production, but it remains a bracing reminder of Mr. Wilsons singular talent for making cold, hard numbers sing hot, molten blues (3:40). Signature Theater at Peter Norton Space, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 352-3101. (Brantley) Off Off Broadway THE FORTUNE TELLER This morality tale for grown-ups is told through marvelously grotesque puppets and a cast, evoking Edward Gorey and Tim Burton. Written by Erik Sanko, it is an allegory of the Seven Deadly Sins, a lovely thing to look upon and listen to (the dark, brooding music is by Mr. Sanko and Danny Elfman), but for all its macabre grisliness, it needs more drama. The detailed puppets are hard to read even in this small theater, and not all of the vignettes live up to the shows initial promise. Still, theres a lot to like, starting with the narrator: an alligator named Silas Leech, voiced in the plummy tones of the musician and actor Gavin Friday (1:00). Here Arts Center, 145 Sixth Avenue, at Dominick Street, South Village, (212) 352-3101. (Anne Midgette) T J AND DAVE The comics T. J. Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi miraculously improvise a one-hour play at every performance. This is an impressive feat of mental athletics, but the results are also observant, complex and frequently enormously funny. (1:00) Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, West Village, (212) 239-6200. (Gates) Spectacles BIG APPLE CIRCUS One terrific show (2:15). Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500 or (212) 307-4100. (Lawrence Van Gelder) RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR Mingles tradition and novelty to a festive fare-thee-well (1:30). Radio City Music Hall, (212) 307-1000. (Van Gelder) Long-Running Shows ALTAR BOYZ This sweetly satirical show about a Christian pop group made up of five potential Teen People cover boys is an enjoyable, silly diversion (1:30). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) AVENUE Q R-rated puppets give lively life lessons (2:10). Golden Theater, 252 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Cartoon made flesh, sort of (2:30). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, (212) 307-4747. (Brantley) CHICAGO Irrefutable proof that crime pays (2:25). Ambassador Theater, 219 West 49th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) THE COLOR PURPLE Singing Cliffs Notes for Alice Walkers Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (2:40). Broadway Theater, 1681 Broadway, at 53rd Street, (212) 239-6200.(Brantley) HAIRSPRAY Fizzy pop, cute kids, large man in a housedress (2:30). Neil Simon Theater, 250 West 52nd Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) JERSEY BOYS The biomusical that walks like a man (2:30). August Wilson Theater, 245 West 52nd Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) THE LION KING Disney on safari, where the big bucks roam (2:45). Minskoff Theater, 200 West 45th Street at Broadway, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) MAMMA MIA! The jukebox that devoured Broadway (2:20). Cadillac Winter Garden Theater, 1634 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Who was that masked man, anyway? (2:30). Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) THE PRODUCERS The ne plus ultra of showbiz scams (2:45). St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) RENT East Village angst and love songs to die for (2:45). Nederlander Theater, 208 West 41st Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) SLAVAS SNOWSHOW A show that touches the heart and s well as tickles the funny bone (1:30). Union Square Theater, 100 East 17th Street, (212) 307-4100. (Van Gelder) SPAMALOT A singing scrapbook for Monty Python fans. (2:20). Shubert Theater, 225 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Brantley) THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE A Chorus Line with pimples (1:45). Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212) 239-6200. (Isherwood) WICKED Oz revisited, with political corrections (2:45). Gershwin Theater, 222 West 51st Street, (212) 307-4100. (Brantley) Last Chance BHUTAN Daisy Footes drama may not be working the freshest territory -- dead-end lives in a small town -- but it sure is well told and well acted. A widow and her two teenagers are struggling financially and feeling dislocated by their towns changing social alignments; Sarah Lord is especially good as the daughter whose fascination with a neighbors trip to Bhutan gives the play its title and overarching metaphor (1:20). Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce Street, between Barrow and Bedford Streets, West Village, (212) 239-6200; closing tomorrow. (Genzlinger) DURANGO In Julia Chos tender-hearted comedy-drama, a Korean-American family takes to the road with a trunk full of emotional baggage in tow. The narrative mostly runs in familiar grooves, but Ms. Cho has a clear, honest voice, and Chay Yews production sets it off elegantly (1:30). Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 967-7555; closing on Sunday. (Isherwood) HEARTBREAK HOUSE A ripping revival of Shaws comedy about the English gentry waltzing toward the abyss as the shadow of World War I looms. Philip Bosco, as the admirably sane madman Captain Shotover, and Swoosie Kurtz, as his swaggeringly romantic daughter, lead the superb cast, under the sharp direction of Robin Lefevre. Nearly a century after its composition, the play still sparkles with wit and sends a shiver down the spine too (2:30). American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, (212) 719-1300; closing on Sunday. (Isherwood) THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE A slow, airless revival of Jay Presson Allens 1966 play (adapted from Muriel Sparks novel) about a dangerous Scottish schoolteacher, directed by Scott Elliott and starring the wonderful (but miscast) Cynthia Nixon, who seems much too sane and centered as the deluded Miss Brody. (2:40). The Acorn Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 279-4200; closing tomorrow. (Brantley) SHOUT! A miniskirted, go-go-booted zombie of a musical about women searching for love in London in the 1960s. You wont see anything this groovy, this far-out, this with-it outside of, oh, maybe the showroom of a Carnival cruise ship (1:30). Julia Miles Theater, 424 West 55th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200; closing on Sunday. (Isherwood) THE WHORE FROM OHIO Hanoch Levins black comedy about a 70-year-old beggar who hires a prostitute is vulgar but stylish, and at times an emotional revelation (1:30). La MaMa E.T.C., 74A East Fourth Street, East Village; (212) 475-7710; closing on Sunday. (Gates) Movies Ratings and running times are in parentheses; foreign films have English subtitles. Full reviews of all current releases, movie trailers, show times and tickets: nytimes.com/movies. * THE AURA (No rating, 138 minutes, in Spanish) A heist, a case of mistaken identity and a lonely, epileptic taxidermist are at the heart of this melancholy, deeply satisfying noir exercise, the second and last feature directed by the Argentine filmmaker Fabián Bielinsky, who died in June. (A. O. Scott) * BERGMAN ISLAND (No rating, 101 minutes total running time, in Swedish and English) This documentary portrait of the great Swedish director, now 88 and living on the desolate Baltic Island of Faro, is extraordinarily revealing. In this extended interview, interwoven with fragments from his pictures, he recalls his life and loves and addresses his fear of death. The film underscores the intensely autobiographical nature of his art. (Stephen Holden) BOBBY (R, 111 minutes) Emilio Estevezs picture, which follows a score of characters through the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 4, 1968, is full of noble ambition. The day in question ended with the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, an event that hovers over the movie, even though Kennedy himself is visible only in archival clips. A huge cast (including Anthony Hopkins, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan and Mr. Estevez) labors to inject a collection of melodramatic anecdotes with portent and significance, but the individual parts of the film tend to be either overdone or vague and slight. (Scott) * BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN, (R, 89 minutes) In this brainy, merciless comedy, a Kazakh journalist named Borat Sagdiyev, a k a the British comic Sacha Baron Cohen, invades America. America laughs, cries, surrenders. (Manohla Dargis) CASINO ROYALE (PG-13, 144 minutes) The latest James Bond vehicle finds the British spy leaner, meaner and now played by an attractive piece of blond rough named Daniel Craig. Zap, pow, ka-ching! (Dargis) COME EARLY MORNING (R, 97 minutes) Ashley Judd returns to the Southern, working-class milieu of her first screen triumph, Ruby in Paradise, to deliver her most natural screen performance since that film pushed her toward stardom in 1993. Aside from pungent local color, theres not much surrounding this portrait of an embittered barfly floundering through a succession of one-night stands. (Holden) * DAYS OF GLORY (R, 120 minutes, in French) Rachid Boucharebs tale of North African soldiers fighting to free their French colonial masters from German Occupation during World War II is a potent combat picture, and also a searching and complex political drama. (Scott) DECK THE HALLS (PG, 95 minutes) In the holiday tradition of stale fruitcake, ugly snowflake sweaters and food poisoning comes this piece of junk, in which Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito compete to see who can annoy the audience more. (Scott) DHOOM 2 (No rating, 151 minutes, in Hindi) A slick and satisfying example of the new, thoroughly modern Bollywood, this cops-and-robbers tale is animated by old-fashioned star power. Hrithik Roshan plays the smartest and coolest thief alive, and Aishwarya Rai is the small-time crook who loves him. (Rachel Saltz) * FAST FOOD NATION (R, 106 minutes) Richard Linklater has turned Eric Schlossers journalistic exposé of the American industrial food system into a thoughtful, occasionally rambling inquiry into the contradictions of contemporary American life. Three stories examine different parts of the capitalist food chain: illegal immigrants from Mexico work in terrible conditions in a meat-processing plant; a restaurant chain executive undergoes a crisis of conscience; and a teenage burger-slinger is drawn into political activism. Mr. Linklater covers a lot of ground, and the result is an unusually funny, moving and intellectually demanding movie. (Scott) * FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (R, 132 minutes) Clint Eastwood raises the flag over Iwo Jima once more in a powerful if imperfect film about the uses of war and of the men who fight. The fine cast includes Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and Adam Beach, who delivers heartbreak by the payload. (Dargis) FLANNEL PAJAMAS (No rating, 124 minutes) The twin specters of Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen hover over this film, which might have been more accurately titled Scenes From a Mixed Marriage or Annie Hall Without Laughs. This smart, talky history of a relationship between two New Yorkers follows a Jewish theatrical promoter and an aspiring caterer from a Roman Catholic background from courtship to marriage to separation. (Holden) * FLUSHED AWAY (PG, 85 minutes) Sewer rats, singing leeches and whimsical British anarchy -- this computer-animated feature from Aardman Animations (Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run) is completely delightful. (Scott) THE FOUNTAIN (PG-13, 96 minutes) Darren Aronovskys new film spans a thousand years, as Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman pursue undying love and eternal life in the 16th, 21st and 26th centuries. There is some lovely visual poetry, but the ideas are pure doggerel, an ungainly mixture of sci-fi overreach and earnest sentimentality. (Scott) FOUR EYED MONSTERS (No rating, 70 minutes) In this truly modern romance, a merging of reality and re-enacted scenes from reality, two young, creative Brooklynites who met online approach their developing relationship as an art project. (Laura Kern) FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION (PG-13, 86 minutes) This satire of pre-Oscar nomination buzz in Hollywood is far and away the broadest comedy Christopher Guest and his improvisatory company have made. It is also the flimsiest, and unlike Mr. Guests earlier films, it has no airs of being a fake documentary. As farce trumps satire, the humors subversive edge is lost, along with meaningful character development, except for the brilliant exception of Catherine OHara. (Holden) HAPPY FEET (PG, 100 minutes) The director George Miller gets happy and snappy, then goes dark and deep, in a musical about an animated penguin who was born to dance. Take hankies. (Dargis) HERMANAS (No rating, 100 minutes, in Spanish) The ghost of 1970s Argentina haunts 1980s Texas in this perceptive and beautifully acted drama from the Argentine director Julia Solomonoff. After eight years of exile in Spain, Natalia (Ingrid Rubio) travels to Texas to visit her sister, Elena (Valeria Bertuccelli), a suburban wife and mother. Extensive flashbacks to the sisters teenage years during the military dictatorship reveal a rich vein of familial guilt and long-suppressed resentment. But the movie is most successful in the rocky emotional spaces in which the women struggle to reconcile over a chasm of political discord and unanswered questions. (Jeannette Catsoulis) THE HISTORY BOYS (R, 104 minutes) The current of intellectual energy snapping through this engaging screen adaptation of Alan Bennetts Tony Award-winning play, set in a north England boys school in 1983, feels like electrical brain stimulation. As two teachers jockey for the hearts and minds of eight teenage schoolboys preparing to apply to Oxford and Cambridge, their epigrams send up small jolts of pleasure and excitement. How to teach and interpret history is the question. (Holden) * INLAND EMPIRE (No rating, 179 minutes) David Lynchs extraordinary, savagely uncompromised new film stars a dazzling Laura Dern as an actress who tumbles down rabbit holes inside rabbit holes inside rabbit holes. As cracked as Mad magazine, though generally more difficult to parse, the film has the power of nightmares and is one of the few this year that deserves to be called art. (Dargis) NATIONAL LAMPOONS VAN WILDER 2: THE RISE OF TAJ (R, 98 minutes) Britain and India face off in this strained attempt to transplant the American campus comedy to more uptight shores. Now graduated from college -- and sidekick status -- Taj Mahal Badalandabad (Kal Penn) heads to Camford University in England to pursue a Ph.D. and a bad reputation. While the screenplay dives into British history, and the camera dives into every cleavage in sight, the director, Mort Nathan, harnesses smut and silliness to an oddly innocent tale of true love. (Catsoulis) THE NATIVITY STORY (PG, 100 minutes) Nothing earth-shaking, but a fine performance by Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary offers a glimpse of an interesting movie tucked inside what is otherwise an unsurprising and tasteful Christmas pageant. (Scott) * SHUT UP & SING (R, 93 minutes) Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Pecks revealing documentary follows the Dixie Chicks around for three years as the group deals with the consequences of a remark by its lead singer, Natalie Maines, who said from a London stage that they were ashamed that the president of the United States was from Texas. The movie is a fascinating study of the relationship between the media, politics and the music industry in an era in which pop musicians are marketed like politicians. (Holden) * 10 ITEMS OR LESS (R, 82 minutes) A sweet and modest film by Brad Silberling, in which a fading actor (Morgan Freeman) and a supermarket checkout worker (Paz Vega) spend a day together not doing much of anything. (Scott) TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (R, 87 minutes) As it wobbles from one episode to the next, this rock n roll comedy starring Jack Black is a garish mess, and some of it feels padded. But it has enough jokes to keep you smiling, and Mr. Black brings to it a fervent affection for the music he spoofs but obviously adores. (Holden) TURISTAS (R, 89 minutes) If stupidity were a crime, the nitwits in this cheap horror flick would be doing time in Attica. (Dargis) * VOLVER (R, 121 minutes, in Spanish) Another keeper from Pedro Almódovar, with Penélope Cruz -- as a resilient widow -- in her best role to date. (Scott) Film Series ASIAN CINEVISIONS (Through tomorrow) The Museum of Modern Arts monthly series of Asian and Asian-American films concludes its fall-winter program this weekend. The closing feature is The Last Communist (2006), directed by Amir Muhammad, a combination travelogue, documentary and musical from Malaysia (where it was banned). (212) 708-9400, moma.org; $10. (Anita Gates) CZECH MODERNISM: THE 1920s THROUGH THE 1940s (Through Sunday) Bamcinémateks 12-film retrospective, covering two decades of filmmaking before the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948, winds up this weekend with half a dozen films. They include Martin Frics Heave Ho! (1934), a slapstick comedy about socialism, and Alfred Radoks drama Distant Journey (1949), about Pragues Jews during the Nazi occupation. BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100, bam.org; $10 (Gates) FOX BEFORE THE CODE (Through Dec. 21) Film Forums three-week retrospective of Fox Studios films that predate Hollywoods family-values-driven Production Code continues this weekend with seven movies. They include Born to Be Bad (1934), starring Loretta Young as a trampy and devious single mother; Now Ill Tell (1934), with Spencer Tracy and Helen Twelvetrees in the story of a gambler in trouble with the mob; and Call Her Savage (1932), in which Clara Bow demonstrates why she was called the It Girl. 209 West Houston Street, west of Avenue of the Americas, South Village, (212) 727-8110, filmforum.org; $10. (Gates) MADE IN NY The Museum of Modern Arts three-month series of notable films made in the city rolls on. Next weeks feature, to be shown on Monday and Wednesday, is Norman Jewisons Moonstruck (1987). Cher won an Oscar for her role as a Brooklyn widow who falls in love with her fiancés brother. Locations include Grand Ticino (the Greenwich Village restaurant) and Lincoln Center at night. Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, (212) 708-9400, moma.org; $10. (Gates) SPANISH CINEMA NOW (Through Dec. 26) The Film Society of Lincoln Center begins its 15th celebration of Spains film industry this weekend with six films and considerable star power. Viggo Mortensen plays the noble 17th-century title character in Agustin Díaz Yanes Alatriste (2006). Ariadna Gil appears both in that film and in David Truebas Welcome Home (2006), a young photographers coming-of-age story. The series will also include an Edgar Neville retrospective, beginning on Sunday with The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks (1944), a fantasy about a secret city beneath the streets of Madrid. Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center, (212) 875-5600, filmlinc.com; $10. (Gates) Pop Full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music. BACILOS (Tonight) Bacilos, from Miami, draw their rock en Español from across the Americas, switching gracefully and tunefully amid cumbia, salsa, bossa nova and pop ballads, and they have a Grammy Award and hit singles to show for it. This has been advertised as the bands last show in New York. At midnight, B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 997-4144, bbkingblues.com; $39. (Jon Pareles) * CORINNE BAILEY RAE (Wednesday) Even when she is singing about heartbreak and desperation, and griping that love is a type of loan with no dividends, it is hard not to be seduced by Ms. Bailey Rae, a 27-year-old British singer and guitarist who is this years breakout soul star. In a sweet, tissue-thin voice that can recall Macy Gray or Sade, she sings of sisterly rituals, loves lost and her choux pastry heart. At 8 p.m., Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan, (212) 307-7171, the-townhall-nyc.org; $26.50. (Ben Sisario) BOUND STEMS (Sunday and Wednesday) In this Chicago bands elliptical songs, meandering guitars and conversational, half-spoken vocals are woven together with a loose dream logic. Sunday at 9 p.m., with Rahim, at Northsix, 66 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 599-5103, northsix.com; $10. Wednesday at 8 p.m., with Ra Ra Riot, the Muggabears and Tall Hands, at Sin-é, 150 Attorney Street, at Stanton Street, Lower East Side, (212) 388-0077, sin-e.com; $10. (Sisario) CIARA (Sunday) This 21-year-old R&B singer had a big, flirty hit a few summers ago with Goodies, in which she turned away a suitor while teasingly declaring Im no rookie over a steady synthesizer wolf whistle. Shes back with a new album whose first single, Promise, has a less provocative message. Ive been looking for somebody to talk to, she sings. Is that you? At 8 p.m., Nokia Theater, 1515 Broadway, at 44th Street, (212) 307-7171, nokiatheatrenyc.com; $35. (Sisario) * DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, BRAND NEW (Tonight) Reaching a tattooed arm out to every anxious teenage soul, Chris Carrabba, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter who performs as Dashboard Confessional, has become the elder of the emo scene with a repertory of yearning, histrionic melodies and just-hang-in-there themes. (He also reveals some maturity -- gasp! -- on slower, quieter songs.) Brand New pushes emo into the realm of Pink Floyd and U2, with tangles of explosive melody and rich, complex songs about spiritual crisis. At 7:30, Madison Square Garden, (212) 465-6741, thegarden.com; $26.50 to $34.50. (Sisario) DONNA THE BUFFALO (Tonight) Donna the Buffalo is not named for its fiddler and singer, Tara Nevins. Its good-natured rock leans toward the Appalachian side of country music, though it also dips into reggae and Cajun music, with songs that ponder love and humanitys place in the universe. At 8, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111, boweryballroom.com; $18. (Pareles) ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO (Tonight) Mr. Escovedos songs stare down loss and mortality with a mixture of unflinching memory and a rockers defiance. Here his ensemble includes two violinists, a cellist and a guitarist. At 8:30, Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7000, carnegiehall.org; $38 to $43. (Pareles) * THE EX (Wednesday) Visits from this long-running Dutch band are too rare. Devoted to leftist political ideals, the group chocks its lyrics full of topical allusions and has been known to include 140-page books about the Spanish Revolution with its albums. Admirable, sure. But in concert the Ex is blessedly all about the beat: a brawny, anxious punk-funk that never releases its tension. The effect is unforgettably visceral. With Aloha and DJ/rupture. At 8 p.m., Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212) 219-3006, knittingfactory.com; $12. (Sisario) GOOD FOR THE JEWS (Thursday) The tree has been lighted in Rockefeller Center, and the department store window displays have gone up, which means that its time for the annual ritual of comedians and rockers musing on the true meaning of being Jewish at Christmas. Among the witty reindeer joining the band Good for the Jews for this Hanukkah concert will be the singers Lisa Loeb, Tammy Faye Starlite and Julian Fleisher, and the comedians Todd Barry and Rachel Feinstein. At 8 p.m., Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212) 219-3006, knittingfactory.com; $15 in advance, $17 at the door. (Sisario) PAUL GREEN SCHOOL OF ROCK MUSIC (Tomorrow and Sunday) As seen in the documentary Rock School, Mr. Green offers an extensive curriculum at his Philadelphia school, teaching youngsters the rock n roll canon, as well as the fundamentals of power chords and budda-budda bass lines. Here his students offer Best of the 90s. At 2:30 p.m., Rebel, 251 West 30th Street, Manhattan, (212) 695-2747, rebelnyc.com; $10. (Sisario) WANDA JACKSON (Tomorrow) Wild boys werent the whole story of 1950s rockabilly. Ms. Jackson, from Oklahoma, was out on the road too, belting songs like Fujiyama Mama (a big hit in Japan) and Mean Mean Man. In the 70s she became a Christian and turned to singing church music. But in 1996 one of her fans, the honky-tonk singer Rosie Flores, sought her out for duets, and since then Ms. Jackson has been reclaiming her crown as queen of rockabilly. With the Lustre Kings. At 7 p.m., Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212) 219-3006, knittingfactory.com; $20. (Pareles) LOSERS LOUNGE TRIBUTE TO ELTON JOHN (Thursday) As Nick Lowe said, youve got to be cruel to be kind. Joe McGintys enduring series, now 13 years old, both honors and skewers pop greats with clever but usually over-the-top performances, and turns its attention here to Mr. John, in the first of five shows over three nights. At 9 p.m., Joes Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 967-7555, joespub.com; $25. (Sisario) LUPE FIASCO (Tuesday) A talented and proudly goofy rapper from Chicago, Lupe Fiasco occupies an unusual middle ground between the microcosmos of alternative hip-hop and the biggest of pop worlds: he made a guest appearance on a Kanye West single and his new album, Food & Liquor (Atlantic), lists none other than Jay-Z as an executive producer. At 10 p.m., S.O.B.s, 204 Varick Street, at Houston Street, South Village, (212) 243-4940, sobs.com; $26 in advance, $28 at the door. (Sisario) AIMEE MANN (Tuesday and Thursday) Everybody does a Christmas show in New York, from sarcastic downtown Jewish comedians to Ms. Mann, a fixture of the Los Angeles independent music scene. Promoting a holiday album, One More Drifter in the Snow (SuperEgo), and looking to build an annual franchise, she performs at Town Hall. At 8 p.m., 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan, (212) 307-7171, the-townhall-nyc.org; $29.50 and $39.50; sold out on Thursday. (Sisario) ODEATH (Sunday and Wednesday) This New York band draws from the starkness and spiritual purity of Appalachian folk, the noisemongering of punk and the rowdy theatricality of Tom Waits. With quiet pluckings of banjo and angry, anarchic howls, its songs jumble sacred and profane. Sunday at 8 p.m., with Phosphorescent and Stars Like Fleas, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700, mercuryloungenyc.com; $10. Wednesday at 9 p.m., with Langhorne Slim, Northsix, 66 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 599-5103, northsix.com; $10. (Sisario) OLLABELLE (Tuesday) Worshiping blues, country and gospel with crystalline voices and wide eyes, this vocal quintet is best in a live setting, and keeps a busy schedule in the bars of New York. Here it plays at Union Hall, a newish place in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a cozy music room downstairs. At 8 p.m., 702 Union Street, at Fifth Avenue, (718) 638-4400, unionhallny.com; $15. (Sisario) PERNICE BROTHERS, ELVIS PERKINS (Tonight) Call it Kleenex rock: the sound is delicate, the voices soft and whispery, the mood really, really sad. The Pernice Brothers surround tales of woe with careful pop artistry that draws a little from country. The plaintive and tuneful songs of Elvis Perkins, from Providence, R.I., have been tapped for mood music on The OC. At 8:30, with Sono Oto, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700, mercuryloungenyc.com; $15. (Sisario) POWER OF THE NEW JAPANESE WOMAN (Tonight and tomorrow night) The latest installment of John Zorns occasional series at the Japan Society celebrates women of the Japanese avant-garde, who are anything but demure. Tonight is Afrirampo, a duo that fits right in with the chaotic noise-rock of the Boredoms and Lightning Bolt, and a trio called ni-hao! Tomorrow features, in separate sets, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, of the whimsical 90s experimental pop group Cibo Matto. At 7:30, 333 East 47th Street, Manhattan, (212) 715-1258, japansociety.org; $28; $20 for members (tomorrows performance is sold out). (Sisario) * LOU REEDS BERLIN (Thursday) Mr. Reed performs his bleak and beautiful 1973 cabaret-rock album Berlin in full for the first time, with friends including Antony and Sharon Jones on backup vocals, and with sets and projections by Julian Schnabel and his daughter Lola. At 8 p.m., St. Anns Warehouse, 38 Water Street, at Dock Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn, (718) 254-8779, stannswarehouse.org; sold out. (Sisario) SIZZLA (Monday) Like Buju Banton before him, Sizzla has figured out that idealism can be just as fearsome as nihilism. Hes astonishingly prolific (he releases two or three albums a year) and versatile, equally at home with roots reggae grooves and digital dancehall beats. Whether hes singing an Afrocentric love song or screaming for revenge against Babylon, his fervent voice turns every lyric into a life-or-death struggle. At 8 p.m., B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 997-4144, bbkingblues.com; $30 in advance, $35 at the door. (Kelefa Sanneh) RONNIE SPECTOR (Tomorrow and Sunday) For her annual holiday show, Ms. Spector, forever the queen of big-haired rock n roll girls, has a ready repertory: her group, the Ronettes, sang Frosty the Snowman, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and Sleigh Ride on Phil Spectors 1963 ensemble album, A Christmas Gift for You. Shes been known to belt out a Be My Baby too. Tomorrow at 9 p.m., Sunday at 8 p.m., B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 997-4144, bbkingblues.com; $30 in advance, $34 at the door. (Sisario) TAJ MAHAL (Monday through Wednesday) In Taj Mahals hands, the blues are no weighty downer but a repository of breezy, evocative sounds easily connected to Caribbean and Hawaiian music. His trio includes Billy Rich on bass and Kester Smith on drums. At 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village, (212) 475-8592, bluenote.net; cover, $45 at tables, with a $5 minimum, or $35 at the bar, with a one-drink minimum. (Sisario) THE WAINWRIGHT FAMILY AND FRIENDS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS (Wednesday) Come, all ye faithful: Rufus and Martha Wainwright play host for a seasonal concert that will also feature David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Jimmy Fallon, Linda Thompson and her son Teddy Thompson. At 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7000, carnegiehall.org; $29 to $79. (Sisario) * WE ARE SCIENTISTS, OXFORD COLLAPSE, THE GRATES (Tomorrow) We Are Scientists and Oxford Collapse, both from New York, revive postpunk in different ways. We Are Scientists sings about bohemia and boredom (Im sick of waking up on your floor/For the sixth or seventh night in a row) over a spiky discopunk groove derived from Gang of Four, while Oxford Collapse looks to the tense jangle of Television and the Feelies. The Grates, from Australia, borrow their passionate, joyful amateurism from classic riot grrrl. At 9 p.m., Northsix, 66 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 599-5103, northsix.com; sold out. (Sisario) Jazz Full reviews of recent jazz concerts: nytimes.com/music. RASHIED ALI QUINTET (Tomorrow) Rashied Ali has had a substantial career in the jazz avant-garde over the last 40 years, beginning with his percussive role in the late-period work of John Coltrane. Mr. Alis drumming, still insistent and undulant, drives this ensemble, featuring the trumpeter Jumaane Smith and the tenor saxophonist Lawrence Clark. At 8 and 10 p.m. and midnight. Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue South, at Bleecker Street, West Village, (212) 255-3626, sweetrhythmny.com; cover, $20, with a $10 minimum. (Nate Chinen) * ANIMATION: MILES DAVISS BITCHES BREW (Tomorrow) The most influential fusion recording ever made receives a sequential but otherwise liberal interpretation at the hands of Bob Belden, who produced its essential reissue a few years ago. Mr. Belden will play soprano saxophone; his plugged-in band will feature the trumpeter Tim Hagans, the keyboardist Scott Kinsey, the bassist Matthew Garrison, the drummer Zach Danziger and a pair of D.J.s, Kingsize and Logic. At 8 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Manhattan, (212) 501-3330, kaufman-center.org; $30 in advance, $35 tomorrow. (Chinen) TIM BERNE AND SCOTT COLLEY (Tomorrow) Rhythmically rugged duos, improvised and composed, from Mr. Berne, an exploratory alto saxophonist, and Mr. Colley, a stalwart bassist. At 8:30 p.m., Center for Improvisational Music, 295 Douglass Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (212) 631-5882, schoolforimprov.org; cover, $12; $8 for students. (Chinen) MICHAEL BLAKE TRIO (Tonight) Pulse and texture shift perpetually in this trio, thanks to the earthy rhythm team of Ben Allison on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums, but the groups capricious tone is set by Mr. Blake, on tenor and soprano saxophones. At 10, 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 929-9883, 55bar.com; cover, $8. (Chinen) VINICIUS CANTUÁRIA AND MARC RIBOT (Tonight) Mr. Cantuária, a Brazilian singer-songwriter, and Mr. Ribot, a guitarist synonymous with the downtown scene, share an attraction to stark intimacy and a coolly subversive lyricism. At 9:30, Joes Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 539-8778, joespub.com; cover, $20, with a two-drink minimum. (Chinen) * GAL COSTA (Tonight through Sunday) Ms. Costa, one of Brazils greatest singers, suspends her songs in midair, as if gravity had been banished. This week, as in the shows she recorded earlier this year for her album Live at the Blue Note (DRG), she leads a hushed band and uses the intimacy of the club to return to music she grew up on, particularly the bossa novas of Antonio Carlos Jobim: Brazilian classics sung with pure, knowing poise. At 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 475-8592, www.bluenote.net/newyork; $55 at tables, $35 at the bar, with a $5 minimum. (Jon Pareles) JOEY DeFRANCESCO ALL-STARS (Wednesday and Thursday) The Hammond B-3 organ doesnt have a more effective evangelist than Joey DeFrancesco, who leads an ensemble featuring the legendary vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and the probing tenor saxophonist Ron Blake. (Through Dec. 17.) At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street, (212) 582-2121, iridiumjazzclub.com; cover, $35, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) KERMIT DRISCOLL BENEFIT (Wednesday) This benefit for the bassist Kermit Driscoll, who has been battling Lyme disease, finds him performing in an array of groups led by musicians like the trumpeters Dave Douglas and Russ Johnson, the saxophonist John OGallagher, the guitarist Ben Monder and the pianist Mick Rossi. At 7 p.m., Barbès, 376 Ninth Street, at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 965-9177, barbesbrooklyn.com; cover, $25. (Chinen) THE FOUR BAGS/TED REICHMAN AND ANTHONY BURR (Sunday) The instrumental palette of the Four Bags -- Brian Drye on trombone, Jacob Garchik on accordion, Sean Moran on guitar and Mike McGinnis on reeds -- suggests a contemporary species of chamber jazz. So does the duo of Mr. Reichman, on piano, accordion and pump organ, and Mr. Burr, on clarinet. At 8 p.m., Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, near Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 358-7501, tonicnyc.com; cover, $10. (Chinen) DAVID GILMORE (Tonight) Mr. Gilmore recently issued an album called Unified Presence (RKM), which showcases both his dazzlingly fluid guitar playing and his rhythmically convoluted compositions. His impressive ensemble consists of the saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, the pianist Luis Perdomo, the bassist Brad Jones and the drummer Jeff (Tain) Watts. At 9 and 10:30, Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, at Spring Street, South Village, (212) 242-1063, jazzgallery.org; cover, $15. (Chinen) DENNIS GONZÁLEZ (Tonight and tomorrow night) Tonight Mr. González, an accomplished Texas-based avant-garde trumpeter, leads Yells at Eels, a working trio with his sons Aaron and Stefan on bass and drums. Tomorrow night Mr. González will be joined by several highly regarded British improvisers: Paul Dunmall on saxophones, Paul Rogers on bass and Tony Levin on drums. At 8 and 10, the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, thestonenyc.com; cover, $15. (Chinen) * ROY HAYNES (Wednesday and Thursday) Mr. Haynes, the redoubtable drummer, is 81, though youd never guess it by the freshness and ferocity of his playing. This year he released an album called Whereas (Dreyfus) that only burnished his reputation for focused fire. (Through Dec. 16.) At 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, (212) 581-3080, birdlandjazz.com; cover, $40, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) MANHATTAN TRANSFER (Thursday) For the last 30 years, this four-piece vocal group has been an adult-pop confection, but one seasoned thoroughly by jazz; nestled within its collective sound there are still particular pleasures, like the alto of Janis Siegel. (Through Dec. 17.) At 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village, (212) 475-8592, bluenotejazz.com/newyork; cover, $60 at tables, $45 at the bar, with a $5 minimum. (Chinen) * MYRA MELFORD/LEROY JENKINS/THURMAN BARKER (Sunday) Ms. Melford, an introspective pianist and composer, and Mr. Jenkins, a powerful violinist, have worked together for years with the reedist Joseph Jarman. Mr. Jarman is absent here, but there should be plenty of good ideas in an exchange with the percussionist Thurman Barker. At 8:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village, (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; cover, $12, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen) MULGREW MILLER QUARTET (Thursday) Mr. Miller is a pianist with an earthy style and a particular gift for the blues. He works here with his regular rhythm section of late, the bassist Ivan Taylor and the drummer Rodney Green, and the tenor saxophonist Stantawn Kendrick, a former student. At 8, 10 and 11:30 p.m., Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at 106th Street, (212) 864-6662, smokejazz.com; no cover, $20 minimum. (Chinen) GRACHAN MONCUR III (Wednesday) Mr. Moncur was one of the first trombonists to make sense of free improvisation in the 1960s; a pair of adventurous saxophonists, James Spaulding and Michael Blake, join him here. At 8 and 10 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, thestonenyc.com; cover, $15. (Chinen) * PAUL MOTIAN TRIO 2000 + 2 (Tonight through Sunday night) Show tunes and other standards receive loving and slyly imaginative interpretations on Paul Motian on Broadway Vol. 4 (Winter & Winter), a handsome recent album by this ensemble. Here Mr. Motian, the drummer and composer, explores pricklier terrain with a band including the pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, the saxophonists Chris Potter and Greg Osby, and the bassist Larry Grenadier. at 9 and 11, Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com; cover, $25, tonight and tomorrow night; $20, Sunday; all with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) LEWIS NASH QUINTET (Tonight) An engaging and subtle drummer who brings a crisp sense of swing to any setting, Lewis Nash leads a polished band with Renee Rosnes on piano, Steve Nelson on vibraphone, Peter Washington on bass and Steve Kroon on percussion. At 7, Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, Flatiron district, (212) 620-5000, Ext. 344, rmanyc.org; $20. (Chinen) STEVE NELSON (Monday) Mr. Nelson brings an exploratory tilt to his vibraphone playing, whether hes cruising through the songbook or venturing into abstraction. Stark settings provide an opportunity to hear him think, which is one reason to catch this evening of duets. The other reason: his ideal duet partners, the bassist Dave Holland and the pianist Mulgrew Miller. At 8 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, (212) 501-3330, kaufman-center.org; $25 in advance, $30 on Monday. (Chinen) RED HOT HOLIDAY STOMP (Thursday) In what has become a Jazz at Lincoln Center tradition, Wynton Marsalis heads up a Crescent City-style holiday celebration, with help from the trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, the banjoist Don Vappie and the drummer Herlin Riley, among others. (Through Dec. 16.) At 8 p.m., Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, (212) 721-6500, jalc.org; $37.50 to $127.50. (Chinen) JOSH ROSEMAN: NEW CONSTELLATIONS (Tomorrow) After touring in Jamaica with the Skatalites, Josh Roseman became fascinated with the man whose shoes he was filling: Don Drummond, the bands brilliant but troubled trombonist. New Constellations is Mr. Rosemans tribute, featuring Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Peter Apfelbaum on saxophones and a rhythm section well versed in dub and other strains of groove. At midnight, Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street, (212) 582-2121, iridiumjazzclub.com; cover, $10, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) RUDRESH/HEMINGWAY/DRESSER TRIO (Thursday) Strenuous experimentalism, but not without a point: Rudresh Mahanthappas flinty alto saxophone tone should abrade effectively against Mark Dressers probing bass playing and Gerry Hemingways textural percussion. At 8 p.m., Barbès, 376 Ninth Street, at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 965-9177, barbesbrooklyn.com; cover, $8. (Chinen) * SCULPTURED SOUNDS MUSIC FESTIVAL PREVIEW (Sunday) Reggie Workman, the estimable avant-garde bassist, offers a foretaste of the concert series hell present in February. Along with Trio 3, consisting of Mr. Workman, the alto saxophonist Oliver Lake and the drummer Andrew Cyrille, the evening will feature the saxophonists Billy Harper (with the New School Vocal Ensemble) and Juhani Aaltonen (with Mr. Workman and Mr. Cyrille). At 7 p.m., St. Peters Lutheran Church, 619 Lexington Avenue, at 54th Street, (212) 642-5277, saintpeters.org; suggested donation, $20. (Chinen) * STILL LIFE WITH COMMENTATOR: AN ORATORIO (Tonight through Sunday) The brazen theatricality of the modern news cycle fuels this multimedia collaboration between the pianist-composer Vijay Iyer, the poet Mike Ladd and the conceptual artist Ibrahim Quraishi. Its premiere finds Mr. Ladd and Mr. Iyer accompanied by several vocalists, including Pamela Z, along with the guitarist Liberty Ellman and the cellist Okkyung Lee. Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30, Sunday at 3 p.m., BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100, bam.org; $20 to $45. (Chinen) TIERNEY SUTTON (Tonight and tomorrow) Ms. Suttons clear, sweetly sonorous voice isnt inherently a jazz timbre, but she is irrefutably a jazz singer; her most recent album, Im With the Band (Telarc), was recorded at Birdland, where she is currently performing. At 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton, (212) 581-3080, birdlandjazz.com; cover, $40, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) VISION DANCE/MUSIC MINI-FESTIVAL (Tuesday through Thursday) Avant-garde dance and music are equal partners in this series, StringsDanceVoiceDrums. Among the many participating artists are the bassists William Parker and Henry Grimes and the dancers Patricia Nicholson and Maria Mitchell. (Through Dec. 17.) At 7:30 p.m., La Tea at Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center, 107 Suffolk Street, at Rivington Street, Lower East Side, (212) 696-6681, visionfestival.org; cover, $20. (Chinen) * CEDAR WALTON TRIO (Tuesday through Thursday) As a pianist and composer, Mr. Walton heeds an articulate, almost courtly variety of hard bop. His sensitive trio playing, as exemplified here with the bassist David Williams and the drummer Lewis Nash, is not to be missed. (Through Dec. 17.) At 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com; cover, $20 to $25, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen) RANDY WESTONS AFRICAN RHYTHMS TRIO (Wednesday and Thursday) The pianist Randy Weston has been one of the principal agents of an Africanized jazz aesthetic since his first fateful visit to Nigeria more than 40 years ago. He has an unfailingly expressive outlet in this ensemble. (Through Dec. 17.) At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, (212) 258-9595, jalc.org; cover, $30, with a minimum of $10 at tables, $5 at the bar. (Chinen) LARRY WILLIS QUINTET (Tonight and tomorrow night) Mr. Willis, a pianist with an extensive sideman career, leads a hard-bop ensemble with the trumpeter Eddie Henderson, the saxophonist Joe Ford, the bassist Gerald Cannon and the drummer Billy Drummond. At 8, 10 and 11:30, Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at 106th Street, (212) 864-6662, smokejazz.com; cover, $25. (Chinen) MICHAEL WOLFF (Tuesday and Wednesday) Mr. Wolff is a pianist and vocalist with a style both global and contemporary in tone. Drawing from a new album, Love & Destruction (Wrong Records), he leads a high-octane group with Badal Roy on tabla, Amit Chatterjee on guitar, Rich Goods on bass and Mike Clark on drums. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232, jazzstandard.net; cover, $20. (Chinen) Classical Full reviews of recent music performances: nytimes.com/music. Opera LA BOHÈME (Tomorrow and Wednesday) Franco Zeffirellis overblown Bohème returns to the Metropolitan Opera for its regular airing. Rolando Villazón, the talented Mexican tenor, is a convincing Rodolfo, although his voice and charisma are somewhat dwarfed by the massive sets. Mr. Villazóns mentor and idol, Plácido Domingo, leads the orchestra tomorrow; Steven Crawford conducts on Wednesday. Mimì will be sung by Maija Kovalevska, the Latvian soprano who was one of the first-prize winners in the 2006 Operalia Competition, which Mr. Domingo runs for young singers. Anna Samuil replaces Susannah Glanville as Musetta. Peter Coleman-Wright ably sings her jealous lover, Marcello. Tomorrow at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday at 8 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metopera.org; sold out. (Vivien Schweitzer) * DON CARLO (Monday and Thursday) The powerhouse tenor Johan Botha is a hefty man and a stiff actor. But he certainly brings the vocal goods to the title role in John Dexters production of Verdis noble masterpiece. The winning cast includes Patricia Racette as Elisabeth, Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Rodrigo, Olga Borodina as Eboli and the astounding German bass René Pape as Philip II. James Levine conducts a magnificent performance. At 7 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metopera.org; $15 to $175. (Anthony Tommasini) DON JUAN IN PRAGUE (Wednesday and Thursday) To celebrate Mozarts 250th birthday this year, some have restaged Mozarts operas; others have reimagined them. Conceived by David Chambers, Don Juan in Prague, which had its premiere at Bards SummerScape in 2003, is Mozarts Don Giovanni run through a multimedia filter of digital sound enhancement and cutting-edge images, with the avant-garde vocalist Iva Bittova as a whole new kind of Donna Elvira. The Agon Orchestra of Prague performs under Petr Kofron. At 7:30 p.m., BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100, bam.org; $20 to $60. (Anne Midgette) * IDOMENEO (Tomorrow) The clarion-voiced tenor Kobie van Rensburg sings the title role in Mozarts breakthrough opera seria, the final performance this season of Jean-Pierre Ponnelles highly stylized and effective 1982 production. Count on exceptional work from the mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena as Idamante, and the soprano Dorothea Röschmann as Ilia. James Levine conducts. Tomorrow at 1 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metopera.org; $120 to $220. (Tommasini) LORD BYRONS LOVE LETTER/THE VILLAGE SINGER (Tonight and Sunday) Tennessee Williams wrote a single opera libretto of his own: Lord Byrons Love Letter, set by the composer Raffaello de Banfield, first performed in 1955, and all but forgotten since (with the exception of a couple of productions). The ever-ambitious Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater continues its cultivation of neglected American opera by bringing back the work for its New York premiere, on a double bill with Stephen Pauluss Village Singer. Ari Pelto conducts. Tonight at 8, Sunday afternoon at 2:30, Broadway at 122nd Street, Morningside Heights, (917) 493-4428, www.msmnyc.edu; $20; $10 for students and 65+. (Midgette) RIGOLETTO (Tonight and Tuesday) The strong Spanish baritone Carlos Alvarez takes over the title role in the Metropolitan Operas revival of Otto Schenks grimly realistic 1989 production. Of special interest is the emerging Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja as the rakish Duke. Friedrich Haider conducts. At 8 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metopera.org; $205 tickets remaining tonight; $15 to $175 on Tuesday. (Tommasini) Classical Music * PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD (Monday) Youve heard of the 24 Chopin études, daunting study pieces that all aspiring pianists must tackle? Well, for the second program in his enticing Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall, this extraordinary, searching French pianist presents A Study of a Study, a varied offering of 24 études by Liszt, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Bartok, Ligeti and, yes, Chopin. At 7:30 p.m., Zankel Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $40 and $48. (Tommasini) AMSTERDAM BAROQUE ORCHESTRA (Sunday and Tuesday) The quirky but usually enlightening Dutch conductor and harpsichordist Ton Koopman led this orchestra in a Christmas concert of works by Bach, Buxtehude and Corelli at Carnegie Hall last night, but if you missed it, they will play it again on Sunday in Newark. If, on the other hand, you caught that concert and still want more, Mr. Koopman and company return to Carnegie on Tuesday to perform Bachs Musical Offering and Coffee Cantata. Sunday at 3 p.m., New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark, (888) 466-5722, njpac.org; $20 to $58. Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $50 to $60. (Allan Kozinn) EFE BALTACIGIL (Tonight) This talented Turkish cellist has gained attention in a number of ways. He has won an Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Young Concert Artists auditions. But even more significant, for many, was his impromptu performance with Emanuel Ax when a snowstorm in 2004 prevented most of his fellow members of the Philadelphia Orchestra from getting to the concert on time. Tonight he appears as part of Carnegie Halls Rising Stars series, with the pianist Anna Polonsky, in a program of Bach, Shostakovich, Ahmet Adnan Saygun and Franck. At 7:30, Weill Recital Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $28. (Midgette) MARTIN BRESNICK RETROSPECTIVE (Tomorrow) To celebrate the 60th birthday of this influential composer and teacher, the Yale School of Music has brought together a small army of musicians. Among the performers are the Yale Cellos, the Yale Camerata, the clarinetist David Shifrin, the violist Jesse Levine, the pianist Lisa Moore (who is also married to the composer) and the conductor Ransom Wilson. The program, an overview of Mr. Bresnicks work, includes Bs Garlands, a clarinet trio, Grace -- Concerto for Two Marimbas and Chamber Orchestra, For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise, My Twentieth Century and Three Choral Songs. At 7:30 p.m., Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $15 to $25. (Kozinn) CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER (Tonight and Sunday) The performance level has improved notably since the days when critics routinely referred to this ad hoc assembly of visiting musicians as the Sight-Reading Society, but even so, few New York institutions have so thoroughly outlived their usefulness. Now the society has a new creative team -- the cellist David Finckel and his wife, the pianist Wu Han -- and it tells you something about its creative vitality that a centerpiece of its programming this season is a Baroque festival, performed on modern instruments and devoted entirely to crowd-pleasers. The opening program, inventively called Baroque Collection, includes music by Telemann, Bach, Marais and Vivaldi. Tonight at 8, Sunday at 5 p.m., Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, (212) 875-5788, chambermusicsociety.org; $30 to $52 tonight, sold out on Sunday. (Kozinn) CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Tonight) Pierre Boulez, the French composer and conductor, will give Mahlers huge Seventh Symphony an unaccustomed elegance when he leads the equally elegant Chicago Symphony. At 8, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $38 to $123. (Bernard Holland) ARNALDO COHEN (Sunday) This veteran Brazilian-born pianist plays Chopin for one of the Peoples Symphony Concerts Sunday afternoon audiences. At 2 p.m., Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan, (212) 586-4680, pscny.org; $9 and $11. (Holland) * HANDELS MESSIAH (Tuesday and Thursday) Of all the Messiah performances that parade through New York every December, the most consistently pleasing -- and at times even thrilling -- has been the one at St. Thomas Church. John Scott leads the churchs choir of men and boys, accompanied by Concert Royal, a fine period-instrument orchestra. This year there is a twist: instead of performing one of several surviving Handel versions (he revised a lot), Mr. Scott is offering the work in Mozarts colorfully expansive orchestration. The soloists are Ava Pine, soprano; Kirsten Sollek, alto; Joseph Gaines, tenor; and Sumner Thompson, bass. At 7:30 p.m., Fifth Avenue at 53rd Street, (212) 664-9360, www.saintthomaschurch.org; $20 to $80. (Kozinn) STEVEN ISSERLIS AND FRIENDS (Wednesday and Thursday) This cellist gathers the pianist Jeremy Denk, the mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, the narrator Len Cariou and a high-end group of string players, including Joshua Bell. The composers are Schumann, Brahms and, briefly, Albert Dietrich. At 7:30 p.m., Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $48 to $60. (Holland) ANGELIKA KIRCHSCHLAGER (Sunday) The smooth-voiced and much-touted Austrian mezzo, accompanied by the veteran Malcolm Martineau, performs Schumann and Schubert lieder, familiar (An die Musik) and less-known (Lied des Florio). At 2 p.m., Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500, lincolncenter.org; $48. (Midgette) * NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC (Wednesday and Thursday) Through its Hear and Now series, the Philharmonic plays a preview on Wednesday of Adriana Songs, a new work by Kaija Saariaho, whose music is much admired for its craftsmanship, imaginative sonorities and organic richness. The composer Steven Stucky will discuss the work with Ms. Saariaho, and David Robertson will perform it with the Philharmonic. The next night it will have its official American premiere on a program with works by Debussy and Sibelius. Wednesday at 6:45 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500, nyphil.org; $10 to $35 on Wednesday, $28 to $96 on Thursday. (Tommasini) * ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT (Tonight) This London-based period-instrument orchestra, when it is playing its best, produces a robust, bright-edged sound that brings out the best in its repertory. Its program tonight, part of Miller Theaters Bach in Context series, includes one work by Johann Sebastian Bach (the Ricercar à 6 from the Musical Offering), with works by two of his sons, J. C. Bach (the Sinfonia in B flat) and C. P. E. Bach (a group of marches). The programs center of gravity, though, is Mozarts Gran Partita Serenade. At 8, Broadway at 116th Street, Morningside Heights, (212) 854-7799, millertheater.com; $35. (Kozinn) ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKES (Thursday) Donald Runnicles, the orchestras principal conductor, raises the British flag high in a program featuring Brittens Violin Concerto (Midori is the soloist), Purcells G minor Chaconne, Elgars famous Enigma Variations and Arvo Pärts Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. At 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $23 to $75. (Holland) ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (Thursday) Bach is a new focus of this conductorless ensemble (which is commissioning six new concertos as companion pieces to the Brandenburgs). And Bach cantatas are one of its happiest manifestations. In its second season of cantatas at the Metropolitan Museum, the group celebrates the holiday season by performing Nos. 40 and 133 in front of the famous Baroque Christmas tree in the Medieval Sculpture Hall. At 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., (212) 570-3949, metmuseum.org; $60. (Midgette) VASSILY PRIMAKOV (Sunday) This Russian pianist plays Schumann in Ariums updated salon ambience. A little food and drink is included. At 4 p.m., 31 Little West 12th Street, West Village, (212) 463-8630, ariumnyc.com; $40; $20 for members. (Holland) Dance Full reviews of recent performances: nytimes.com/dance. * ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER (Tonight through Sunday; Tuesday through Thursday) This vibrant companys annual season, five weeks long, leads off this week with the premiere tonight of Uri Sandss Existence Without Form. Wednesday will be the first night of a new production of John Butlers Portrait of Billie, and Thursday will feature the first of four all new programs, including the dances of Mr. Sands and Mr. Butler, along with Karole Armitages Gamelan Gardens and Twyla Tharps Golden Section. Tonight, tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8, tomorrow and Wednesday at 2 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday at 7 p.m., City Center, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212) 581-1212, alvinailey.org or nycitycenter.org; $25 to $150. (John Rockwell) BARNARD PROJECT (Tonight and tomorrow night) Any time you get a chance to see Reggie Wilsons enchanting blend of dance and singing, go, whether the dancers are college students or retirees. Gabri Christa, Jeanine Durning and David Neumann join Mr. Wilson on the roster of choreographers in this fine lineup of works in progress stemming from residencies at Barnard College. At 7:30, Dance Theater Workshop, 219 West 19th Street, Chelsea, (212) 924-0077, dtw.org; $12 and $20. (Claudia La Rocco) ANITA CHENG DANCE WITH RONALDO KIEL (Tonight through Sunday night) In their new Journey, inspired by the ancient Chinese tale Journey to the West, Ms. Cheng and Mr. Kiel juxtapose dancers and four fixed cameras. At 8, Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer Street, between Houston and Prince Streets, (212) 334-7479, joyce.org; $15; $12 for students and 65+. (Jennifer Dunning) * CHRISTMAS REVELS (Tonight through Sunday) This years traditional Winter Solstice festivity focuses on holiday celebrations in Slavic countries. Tonight at 8, tomorrow at 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 and 6 p.m., Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212) 864-5400, symphonyspace.org; $27 to $45; $19 to $31 for children 12 and younger. (Jack Anderson) JOAQUÍN CORTéS (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) Flamenco fans either love the guy or hate him. This time around Mr. Cortés will perform a solo show called Mi Soledad (My Solitude), with costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier. (Through Dec. 22.) At 8 p.m., Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, (212) 307-4100, jcorteslive.com; $35 to $100. (Dunning) DANCE THEATER OF HARLEM (Sunday) This companys monthly Open House events offer the chance to spend time with one of New Yorks pre-eminent dance institutions and guests like Carmen de Lavallade, co-host this Sunday with the companys artistic director, Arthur Mitchell, and the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble. At 3 p.m., Dance Theater of Harlem, 466 West 152nd Street, (212) 690-2800, dancetheatreofharlem.org; $18; $14 for children 12 and under. (Dunning) DANCES PATRELLE (Tonight through Sunday) The Yorkville Nutcracker transplants Tchaikovskys Nutcracker to New York City in 1895. Tonight at 7, tomorrow at 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday at 1 and 6 p.m., Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College, 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, (212) 772-4448, kayeplayhouse.hunter.cuny.edu; $47.50; $20 tickets available an hour before the show. (Anderson) * DOUG ELKINS AND FRIENDS (Tonight and tomorrow) Fraulein Maria, an unconventional holiday show, is Mr. Elkinss madcap choreographic fantasy based on The Sound of Music. Tonight at 7:30, tomorrow at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m., Joes Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 967-7555, www.joespub.com; $15 advance; $20 at the door; $12 for children. (Anderson) LIZ GERRING DANCE COMPANY (Thursday) A spare movement vocabulary drawn from natural gesture forms the basis of when you lose something you cant replace, a collaboration with the artist Burt Barr. (Through Dec. 17.) At 8:30 p.m., Danspace Project, St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street, East Village, (212) 674-8194, www.danspaceproject.org; $15. (Anderson) * SCOTT HERON AND HIJACK (Thursday) Mr. Heron is a performer of irresistible, fearless and eloquent illogic. Hijack is a dance duo (Kristin Van Loon and Arwen Wilder) from Minneapolis. The three will perform together in Stacked, Double Cow, which shares the bill with a piece called 3 Minutes of Pork and Shoving. (Through Dec. 17.) At 8 p.m., Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, East Village, (212) 352-3101, ps122.org; $20; $10 for members. (Dunning) PATRICIA HOFFBAUER AND GEORGE EMILIO SANCHEZ (Tonight through Sunday) These provocateurs describe their new performance piece, The Architecture of Seeing -- Remix, as a fierce crash course in the politics of identity in the new millennium. Go for it. Tonight and tomorrow night at 10, Sunday at 5:30 p.m., La MaMa E.T.C., 74a East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 475-7710, lamama.org; $15. (Dunning) KOOSIL-JA HWANG (Tonight and tomorrow night) There are actually two live dancers in Ms. Hwangs new multimedia work, Dance Without Bodies. Not only do they perform, but they also create solos each night in response to randomly combined action depicted in three videos. At 8, the Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, Chelsea, (212) 255-5793, Ext. 11, or thekitchen.org; $12. (Dunning) BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE COMPANY (Tonight and tomorrow night) That raggedly handsome old structure you pass on the way to Aaron Davis Hall is now a handsome new theater called the Gatehouse, and Bill T. Jones has created Chapel/Chapter for it. Daniel Bernard Roumain has contributed the score, drawn from sacred and secular Renaissance music and gospel and folk. It includes video by Janet Wong and scenic design by Bjorn Amelan. At 7:30, 150 Convent Avenue, at 135th Street, Hamilton Heights, (212) 650-7100, aarondavishall.org; $25. (Dunning) JUILLIARD DANCE DIVISION (Tonight, tomorrow and Thursday) In Composers and Choreographers Plus (tonight and tomorrow), six pairs of Juilliard choreographers and composers present an evening of collaborations. The dancers will also perform in New Dances at Juilliard, Edition 2006, featuring choreography by David Parker, Matthew Neenan, Doug Varone and Aszure Barton. (Through Dec. 17.) Tonight at 8, tomorrow at 3 and 8 p.m., Thursday at 8 p.m., Juilliard Theater, 155 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center, (212) 769-7406, juilliard.edu; free. (Dunning) MOVEMENT RESEARCH AT THE JUDSON CHURCH (Monday) A laboratory for choreographic experimentation presents works by Melinda Ring, Masumi Kishimoto and Noemi Segarra. At 8 p.m., Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, Greenwich Village, (212) 539-2611, www.movementresearch.org; free. (Anderson) MOVEMENT RESEARCH IMPROVISATION FESTIVAL (Tonight through Sunday) Performances explore the uses of improvisation in contemporary dance. At 8:30, Danspace Project, St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street, East Village, (212) 539-2611, www.danspaceproject.org; $12. (Anderson) * NEW YORK CITY BALLET (Tonight through Sunday; Tuesday through Thursday) George Balanchines prototypical Nutcracker continues until Dec. 30, with nine performances this week alone. It may be hard on its rotating casts of dancers, not to speak of the orchestra and the stagehands, but its magic for the audience. Tonight and tomorrow night at 8, tomorrow and Wednesday at 2 p.m., Sunday at 1 and 5 p.m., Tuesday though Thursday at 6 p.m., New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212) 870-5570 or (212) 721-6500, nycballet.com; $15 to $110. (Rockwell) * NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL: TANZTHEATER WUPPERTAL-PINA BAUSCH (Tonight through Sunday, and Tuesday) In Nefes, Ms. Bausch, Germanys foremost exponent of contemporary dance, takes audiences on a choreographic tour of Istanbul, with scenes ranging from a glimpse into a Turkish bath to a theatrical vision of the Bosphorus Straits. (Through Dec. 16.) Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30, Sunday at 3 p.m., Tuesday at 7 p.m., BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100, www.bam.org; $85, $75, $50 and $25. (Anderson) The PARSONS DANCE company (Tonight through Sunday, and Tuesday through Thursday) David Parsons brings his high-energy company to the Joyce with two programs performed over a two-week period. Highlights include The Nascimento Project, a new collaboration with the Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento; a revival of Ring Around the Rosie, last seen in New York more than a decade ago; and In the End, set to music by the Dave Matthews Band. (Through Dec. 17.) Tonight and Thursday night at 8; tomorrow at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea, (212) 242-0800, joyce.org; $42. (La Rocco) PI DANCE THEATER (Tonight and tomorrow night) Toni Taylor, the groups director, offers Remaining Vertical, which combines modern dance with shadow puppets, and Road to Through From, which considers how we move from one place to another in life. The evening also includes pieces by company members. At 8, Speyer Hall, University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street, Lower East Side, (212) 453-4571; $15. (Anderson) RAW MATERIAL AT DNA (Tonight and tomorrow night) This juried showcase will include work by 11 choreographers and groups, including Alexandra Beller, Colleen Thomas, Clare Byrne, Larry Keigwin and nugent+matteson. At 8, Dance New Amsterdam, 280 Broadway, at Chambers Street, (212) 279-4200, ticketcentral.com; $17. (Dunning) STREB SLAM (Tonight through Sunday) Elizabeth Streb and her fearless (we hope) high-flying, hard-crashing performers will present a new show, Streb SLAM 8: Extreme Action, complete with popcorn and cotton candy. (Through Dec. 17.) Tonight at 7, tomorrow at 3 and 7 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., SLAM, 51 North First Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (212) 352-3101, strebusa.org; $15; $10 for children 12 and under. (Dunning) * SUNDAYS AT THREE: SOKOLOW THEATER DANCE ENSEMBLE (Sunday) Anna Sokolow, a choreographer known for her passionate social conscience, first danced at the Y in 1936, and her company appeared there many times before her death in 2000. This program reconstructs Ballad in a Popular Style (1936), pieces from the 1940s and Four Songs (1995), one of her final creations. There will also be new works by Jim May and Anabella Lenzu. At 3 p.m., Harkness Dance Center, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue, (212) 415-5500 or www.92y.org/dance; $10. (Anderson) * PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY (Tomorrow) Dance that is lyrically romantic, darkly comical and majestic in turn, performed by a company that dances as if there were no tomorrow. The program includes Company B, Prometheus Fire and Piece Period. At 8 p.m. Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, N.Y., (914) 251-6200, www.artscenter.org; $45 to $65. (Dunning) VANGELINE THEATER (Thursday) Vangeline pays tribute to Kazuo Ohno on his 100th birthday with a program of Butoh-influenced dance called Hanamichi: Flower Road. At 8 p.m., Galapagos Art Space, 70 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (917) 749-9062, www.vangeline.com; $10. (Dunning) Art Museums and galleries are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of recent art shows: nytimes.com/art. Museums * American Museum of Natural History: GOLD, through Aug. 19. Having delved into pearls, diamonds and amber, the museum applies its time-tested show-and-tell formula to gold. An astounding array of art, artifacts and natural samples, larded with fascinating facts and tales, ranges from prehistoric times to the present. Stops along the way include pre-Columbian empires, sunken treasure, Bangladesh dowry rituals and the moon landing. It turns out that gold comes from the earth in forms as beautiful as anything man has thought to do with it. Central Park West and 79th Street, (212) 769-5100. (Roberta Smith) BROOKLYN MUSEUM: Watercolors by Walton Ford, through Jan. 28. This show assembles more than 50 of Mr. Fords large-scale watercolors of birds, animals, snakes and lushly exotic flora, produced since the early 90s. They frequently depict moments in which a wild animal encounters human culture, often to its detriment. Sometimes the threat is overt, as in pictures of animals and birds roped or wounded; in other images you merely sense that some horrible violence has occurred, or is about to happen. The moralizing of these images can become a little tedious. But this artist imparts an environmental message, couched in a lament for the irreversible loss that occurs when a sense of ethics does not govern the treatment of animals. 200 Eastern Parkway at Prospect Park, Brooklyn (718) 638-5000. (Benjamin Genocchio) * SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM: Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso, through March 28. This show is carried along on its sheer star power and optical finesse. There are dozens of Goyas and Velázquezes and Zurbaráns and El Grecos and Riberas and Dalís and Picassos, many famous, many not. The big point is that Spanish art did not constantly reinvent itself over time. It was a bubble culture, sustained for centuries by its political and religious isolation and its national loner mindset. Velázquezs painting of a dwarf is alone worth crossing a continent to see. 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street, (212) 423-3500, guggenheim.org. (Michael Kimmelman) * THE METropolitan museum of art: GLITTER AND DOOM: GERMAN PORTRAITS FROM THE 1920s, through Feb. 19. This shows 100 paintings and drawings are by 10 artists, among them George Grosz, Christian Schad, Rudolf Schlichter and Karl Hubbuch, and most conspicuously the unrelentingly savage Otto Dix and his magnificent other, Max Beckmann. In their works the Weimar Republics porous worlds reassemble. We look into the faces of forward-looking museum directors and cabaret performers, society matrons and scarred war veterans, prostitutes and jaded aristocrats who were watching their world slide from one cataclysm to the next. (212) 535-7710, metmuseum.org. (Smith) * THE MET: LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY AND LAURELTON HALL -- AN ARTISTS COUNTRY ESTATE, through May 20. Laurelton Hall may have burned to the ground in 1957, but this exhibition does an excellent job of reassembling what remains of this extraordinary house-museum and its gardens, which Tiffany created for himself in the early 1900s. The Gilded Age opulence of the place, which occupied 580 acres overlooking Long Island Sound -- and of the Tiffany residences preceding it -- is conveyed most blatantly by the Temple-of-Dendur-size Daffodil Terrace, in wood, marble and glass. The main events are the glass windows, vases and lamps, where Tiffanys genius for color, love of the exotic and reverence for nature coalesce into an unforgettable mystical materialism. (212) 535-7710, metmuseum.org. (Smith) * MORGAN LIBRARY & MUSEUM: SAUL STEINBERG: ILLUMINATIONS, through March 4. A cartoonist-artist extraordinaire, Saul Steinberg (1914-99) was a veritable Leonardo of graphic drollery. His famous New Yorker cover positioning Manhattan at the center of the world may be his best-known drawing, but he took on everything -- Floridians, linguistic concepts, erotica, cowboys, Cubism, nature, architecture and women -- with visual puns, manic doodles, grandiloquent calligraphy and other inspired artifice. As this show of more than 100 Steinberg drawings, collages and constructions, arranged in chronological order, goes on, Steinbergs progress is evident: from relatively simple cartoons like Feet on Chair (1946), in which a fellow reading a newspaper parks his feet on the seat of an ornate Victorian monstrosity, to complex comments on the state of the world, like Street War (Cadavre Exquisis) (about 1972-74), derived from news clips of postcolonial troubles in the Middle East and Africa. The flow of his work amazes. 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th Street, (212) 685-0008. (Grace Glueck) * MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK: A CITY ON PAPER: SAUL STEINBERGS NEW YORK, through March 25. A very lively adjunct to the Morgan show, this smaller display of some 40 drawings focuses on New York. An architect, Steinberg was particularly attracted to edifices like the Chrysler Building, which appears here in one incarnation, looming majestically over humble brownstones; in another, from a perspective directly below it, looking positively squat. New York people, in Steinbergs eyes, could be monuments, too. And no one ever fully appreciated the impact of upscale New York women until Steinberg the misogynist came along. Fur Coats (1951), portrays four expensive baroque pelts wearing four women, and its dead on. You may think you know Steinbergs work, but these two shows make it new. 1220 Fifth Avenue, at 103rd Street, (212) 534-1672. (Glueck) * NEUE GALLERY: JOSEF HOFFMANN: INTERIORS, 1902-1913, through Feb. 26. An architect-designer who became an impresario of high taste in turn-of-the-century Vienna, Hoffmann was a believer in the Gesamkunstwerk, or total work of art, orchestrating useful objects with paintings, sculptures and architecture in a composition greater than its parts. His early, intensely 20th-century design program, based on the grid and the square, is evident here in the installation of four interiors he designed for wealthy Viennese patrons, replete with furniture, wall and floor coverings, textiles, lighting, ceramics, glass and metal work. Most impressive here is the dining room he designed in 1913 for the Geneva apartment of the Swiss Symbolist painter Ferdinand Hodler, a large, calm space with furniture that has a pre-postmodern look. Neue Gallery, 1048 Fifth Avenue, at 86th Street, (212) 628-6200. (Glueck) P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center: John Latham: Time Base and the Universe, through Jan. 8. This retrospective of John Latham spans nearly 50 years of Mr. Lathams work, which is concerned with time, preservation and decay. Among the more idiosyncratic and interesting pieces are a series of Cluster sculptures from the early 1990s, orbs of plaster embedded with books and suspended from the ceiling, which suggest cultural detritus preserved in celestial rock or geological magma. The N-U Niddrie Heart (around 1990), in which The Pregnancy Survival Manual and Vanished Species are cut up and fitted into glass armatures, with sand scattered around their bases, explores human production (and reproduction) and the passage of time. 22-25 Jackson Avenue, at 46th Street, Long Island City, Queens, (718) 784-2084, ps1.org. (Martha Schwendener) Studio Museum in Harlem: Africa Comics, through March 18. Intense is the word for the stealth-potency of this modest-size, first-time United States survey of original designs by 35 African artists who specialize in comic art. The work is intense, the way urban Africa can be intense: intensely zany, intensely harsh, intensely warm, intensely political. The entertainment value is high. We are on familiar Marvel Comics ground with the adventures of the charismatic Princess Wella, a Superwoman with a ceremonial staff and braids, and the schlumpy but wily character named Goorgoolou from Senegal. But more often than not, humor is sugar-coating for varying degrees of disquiet, including images of jabbing violence. 144 West 125th Street, (212) 864-4500. (Holland Cotter) Whitney Museum of American Art: Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980-2005, through Feb. 11. Many things fly and float in Kiki Smith: men and women, harpies and angels, birds and beasts, toadstools and stars. And some things fall to earth, or rather to the museums black stone floors, maybe to rise again, maybe not. The whole show, a midcareer retrospective, suggests a Victorian fairy tale, its tone at once light, grievous and dreamlike. But fanciful as it is, Ms. Smiths art is also deeply, corporeally realistic. It wears moral and mortal seriousness on its sleeve, if not tattooed to its wrist. It is about life and death, the essential things. 945 Madison Avenue, at 75th Street, (212) 570-3676. (Cotter) Galleries: Uptown Sigmar Polke Painting is mans oldest conjuring trick, and Sigmar Polke is one of its reigning magicians. In this show new paintings and those from the 1980s, all two-sided and painted with resin, surround a small selection of German Baroque amber (Bernstein is German for amber) jewelry and exquisite tchotchkes. The show simulates a Wunderkammer, a darkened wonder cabinet of the 17th or 18th century. The paintings, made translucent by the resin, nearly defy deciphering. Doodles and abstract splashes of white paint overlay murky washes of glowing resin on both sides of their membranous support, then cast dim shadows on the wall behind, so that the pictures seem suspended in midair, floating. Michael Werner Gallery, 4 East 77th Street, Manhattan, (212) 988-1623, through Jan. 13. (Kimmelman) Galleries: Chelsea Aric Obrosey Mr. Obroseys fastidious graphite depictions of woven and knotted threads have a mesmerizing, meditative quality. Care in the making encourages care in looking. In close-up the motifs combine elements of straightforward trompe loeil. Each strand of these lacelike compositions behaves according to strict spatial and structural rules; they may twist and turn, conform or deviate eccentrically. But reality is respected, even when the strands coalesce at the center into a mandalalike circle or a wildly knotted disco ball. And the illusions go deeper: Each strand is something like a world unto itself, with distinct, chainlike structures or decorative patterns that suggest different cultures or other crafts. The strands pulse like arteries of tiny lights in a work dedicated to Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Greater than Mr. Obroseys drawing skill is his ability to convert what might be called Conceptual content into visual terms. McKenzie Fine Art, 511 West 25th Street, (212) 989-5467, www.mckenziefineart.com, through Dec. 20. (Smith) Other Galleries * Looking Back This inaugural edition of a new White Columns Annual is designed, like the old-time Whitney Biennial, to offer a recap of contemporary art of the immediate past, and in this case the art of a single New York gallery season past. Its a great idea, a chance to linger over shows seen in a rush, or entirely missed, or fondly remembered. The curator, Matthew Higgs, director of White Columns, has made satisfyingly unobvious choices, and any show that includes Klara Liden and Stuart Sherman is a winner. White Columns, 320 West 13th Street (entrance on Horatio Street), West Village, (212) 924-4212, through Dec. 20. (Cotter) Public Art NINA KATCHADOURIAN: OFFICE SEMAPHORE Ms. Katchadourian has borrowed marine flag signaling techniques to create an interactive art project consisting of an old-fashioned tourist telescope installed at the corner of a plaza in the middle of the financial district, its lens trained on the window of an upper-floor office in a nearby skyscraper. Each day the man working in the office, or his assistant, arranges objects on his widow sill. The combination and order of the objects represent a specific message, which viewers down on the plaza can interpret using a key-chart on the telescope. 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, corner of Liberty and William Streets; stairway entrance to the plaza is on William Street at Cedar Street; www.publicartfund.org, Jan. 14. (Genocchio) Last Chance * Asia society: ONE WAY OR ANOTHER: ASIAN AMERICAN ART NOW Taking its name from a 1978 hit by Blondie, this lively exhibition finds a new vitality and freedom, especially where identity is involved, in Asian-American art. The artists roots range from Iran to Korea. Keep a special eye out for Mari Eastmans wryly beautiful paintings; Mika Tajimas glamorous deconstruction of Minimalism; and the video-performance efforts of Patty Chang, Laurel Nakadate and Xavier Cha. An added bonus: 12, or 71 percent, of the shows 17 artists are women. 725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street, (212) 517-2742, asiasociety.org; closes on Sunday. (Smith) Christian Jankowski: Us and them This show is smart in its exploration of what might be called the banality of feigned evil, but it also feels predictable. Mr. Jankowsky gets closest to real emotion in the 11-minute Angels of Revenge, in which 12 costume contestants at a horror film convention walk slowly toward the camera while reciting their most dire revenge fantasies. A wolf man complains about having his cellphone stolen; a Night of the Living Dead type waves a chain saw; a man in a bloody chefs suit suggests a found-art Paul McCarthy video. It is hard to decide if the lameness of their efforts indicates that most people arent violent, that horror buffs need to get a life, or that Mr. Jankowskis interventionism is temporarily in a rut. The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, Chelsea, (212) 255-5793, thekitchen.org; closes tomorrow. (Smith) The Met: New Orleans After the Flood: Photographs by Robert Polidori, After Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Polidori went to New Orleans, where he lived years ago, to shoot photographs of the devastation for The New Yorker. He took hundreds of pictures with a large-format camera that produced wide, superbly detailed color photographs. Mr. Polidori is a connoisseur of chaos, and the beauty of his pictures -- they have a languid, almost underwater beauty -- entails locating order in bedlam. He also photographed signs of recovery: trailers and construction equipment; a few historic homes, stripped to their frames, shorn, on the verge of new life. (212) 535-7710, metmuseum.org; closes on Sunday. (Kimmelman) * Futoshi Miyagi In his New York solo debut this young, gay, Japanese-born artist works toward self-assertion through self-effacement. He poses with strangers in their apartments for photographic records of illusional domesticity. In the gallery he recreates a picture-covered wall from his own bedroom, but includes only the tacks that held the pictures in place. He dissolves a portrait of himself, taken by a friend, in a bottle of bleach so that the features are erased. Daniel Reich Gallery, 537A West 23rd Street, Chelsea, (212) 924-4949; closes tomorrow. (Cotter) Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film, 1880-1910 Whats thought to be the first movie kiss, between May Irwin and John C. Rice, occurred in 1896, photographed by the Edison Manufacturing Company as the subject of a 19-second film shown at a New York music hall. It and dozens of other early movie treasures, along with fine art of the period, are shown in this engrossing if learned survey of the links -- both planned and happenstance -- between the earliest movies and other American visual art forms at the turn of the 20th century. Throughout the show, provocative juxtapositions are made of films and paintings by Thomas Eakins, Maurice Prendergast, Childe Hassam, George Bellows and John Sloan, among others. Grey Art Gallery, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, Greenwich Village, (212) 998-6780, www.nyu.edu/greyart; closes tomorrow. (Glueck) Betty Parsons: Painted Sculpture In the decade before she died in 1982, at 82, Ms. Parsons began cobbling together scraps of lumber, boats and signs that washed up on the beach near her summer house on the North Fork of Long Island. She added unobtrusive touches of color: mostly stripes that waver somewhere between Mondrian and festive war paint, but also circles and dabs, often in response to nail holes or the faded hues from the woods earlier life. The resulting works qualify as an endearing yet somehow rigorous folk-modernism. Art Gallery of the Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, at 34th Street, www.gc.cuny.edu; closes tomorrow. (Smith) Catherine Yass: Lock How big is the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River? Judging by the size of its locks, very. Their monumentality and what they tell us of natures power and mans ability to harness it are the chief subjects of this imposing two-screen film installation. Shot from a crane high on a barge during passes through the dams locks, the facing screens provide a fore and aft view of the journey, perfectly synched. The gallery feels like the barges invisible middle section. You dont quite realize the immensity of the structures until you notice the tiny figures moving along gangways at the barges edges. As a metaphor for the new China, it is pretty intimidating. Galerie LeLong, 528 West 26th Street, Chelsea, (212) 315-0470, www.galerielelong.com; closes tomorrow. (Smith)

Agents Put on Leave After State Dinner Breach - NYTimes.

Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times Mark Sullivan, the head of the Secret Service, testified Thursday at a hearing held by the House Homeland Security Committee. The head of the United States Secret Service told��.

EUROPE.; INSURRECTION AT CRACOW. LATER FROM INDIA AND AUSTRALIA. ALARMING INSURRECTION IN ALGERIA. Cotton Quiet---Advance in Breadstuffs---Consols 98 3-8 a 98 1-2 for Account.. Spain Demands a European Alliance to Defend Cuba. FOUR DAYS LATER. Symptoms of a General European War. Arrival of the City of Washington DISTRESSING ACCIDENT IN LONDON.

The screw steamship City of Washington Capt. PETRIE, which sailed from Liverpool at 11 oclock on the morning of the 5th inst., arrive at this port yesterday. No steamers from this side had arrived out since the departure of the Niagara.

Secret Service Inquiry Follows Agents Crash at White House

WASHINGTON ��� Two senior Secret Service agents are under investigation for allegations that they crashed a government-issued car into a White House barricade after a night of drinking last week, prompting a new inquiry into personal misconduct by .

The Brooklyn Independent GOP Fountainhead: ���The.

The employee ��� who does not work for the White House ��� has told the Secret Service that he was flying the drone for recreational purposes at about 3 a.m. in the area around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when he lost control of it... The New York Times tells it like this: ���WASHINGTON ��� It was 42 degrees, lightly raining and pitch black near the White House when an inebriated, off-duty employee for a government intelligence agency decided it was a good time to��.

Jim Fisher True Crime: The Secret Service Scandal: Federal.

There was an embarrassment in November 2009 when a couple of reality show types, Tareq Salahi and his trophy wife Michaele, crashed a state dinner in the White House. Three Secret Service Agents. New York Congressman Peter King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he didnt think any crimes had been committed by the Secret Service agents. However, King did. Follow the JFTC Blog on Twitter and Facebook! Follow on Twitter!

White House intrusion: Report details security lapses

Omar Gonzalez jumped over the fence in September, ran past guards and was only stopped deep inside the building. An official US inquiry says Secret Service agents - including one with an attack dog - did not react on time or in the right manner. The.

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The White House denied the companys request even though ���U.S.-made weapons are viewed as more urgent due to [Jordans] participation in the fight against the Islamic State,��� FPs Kate Brannen reports. More on the. The New York Times Michael R.

ONE WEEK LATER FROM EUROPE; The Belgian Ministry. THE COLONY OF NEWFOUNDLAND Cotton Advanced-Breadstults Unchanged, PRUSSIAS POSITION. EX-MINISTRY OF DENMARK IMPEACHED. ARRIVAL OF THE BALTIC. Progress of the Vienna Conference, AFFAIRS IN THE CRIMEA UNCHANGED, STORMING OF REDOUBT. THE FIRST POINT ACCEPTED

The United States Mail steamer Baltic, from Liverpool Saturday, the 24th ult., (1 P.M.,) arrived at New-York Friday noon. The new screw steamer City of Baltimore, belonging to the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steamship Company, was brought round to Liverpool from the Clyde on the 17th. The City of Baltimore is the longest screw steamer in the world.. Conferences at Vienna

Capital Playbook: Mayor: I think every night about Dante safety

BILL CARTER TAKES N.Y. TIMES BUYOUT -- Capitals Joe Pompeo and Jeremy Barr: ���Bill Carter, a longtime television reporter and one of the most senior figures on the Times media desk. called the decision to leave tremendously agonizing.. DE.

After several security breaches involving the White House.

He also announced that the Department of Homeland Security would take over an internal inquiry of the Secret Service and that he would appoint of a new panel to review security at the White House. Joseph Clancy, formerly��.

Secret Service Failures on 9/11: A Call for Transparency.

The 9/11 Joint Congressional Inquiry and 28 Missing Pages.. ���By that time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the National Military Command Center, the Pentagon, the White House, the Secret Service, and Canadas Strategic Command all knew that three commercial. Were the Secret Service agents traveling with the president in contact with the agencys offices in Washington or New York?