About Town

Puppet Master Goes Homer

The Trojan War gets the puppet treatment in Theodora Skipitares' newest production, TRILOGY. The entire epic covers both pre-war and post-war periods with two shows presented on each night-so you'll have to do a repeat to catch the whole story. It's a bargain to brush up on your classics (it's even kid-friendly) and get a chance to catch works the prolific storyteller and puppet artist has been presenting individually at La MaMa since 2003. But if your idea of puppets ends at Elmo or that Mexican marionette you picked up on vacation, get ready for a Skipitares spectacle where the Greeks become weird speaking alien heads, submerged in water, speaking in bubbles, or delicate reeds transform into an elegant deer (or is that a god?).

Euripides' Iphegenia is wonderfully adapted using five-foot-tall Bunraku puppets strapped to the front of actors' bodies like a thick umbilical cords that powerfully highlight the symbiotic dynamic between men and their gods. Helen, Queen of Sparta takes liberally from various tales to tell the narrative of the beauty that caused so much pain. From her birth from an egg (pictured below) to her Trojan cloud stand-in-which is an eerily beautiful pillow and sheet with applied face and body-that sways across the stage. The misunderstood blonde gets the feminist treatment, explaining how she's been given short shrift all these millennia. The third, Odyssey: The Homecoming,continues the blend of eclectic theatrical techniques and political commentary. At points, the conceptual ideas are more of the focus than actual high production values: plenty of clunking and clanging goes on when the epic battle of Troy is being told with shadow puppets, and at times the acting can come across flat for the sake of a visual zinger. But at least plenty of comedic moments keep the stories fresh and engaging. (Jerry Portwood)

Through April 2. La MaMa Annex, 74A E. 4th St. (betw. Bowery & 2nd Ave.), 212-475-7710; Thurs.-Sun. 7:30; Sun. 3, $15-$18. www.lamama.org.

New is Sometimes Good For 35 years now, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and MoMA's NEW DIRECTORS/NEW FILMS series has asked audiences to take a chance on films and filmmakers they know nothing about. More than a few times, those adventurous audience members have gotten lucky. The likes of Spielberg, Almodóvar, Linklater, Spike Lee and John Sayles have all been part of the series before much of anyone knew who they were. So who knows what you might discover? This year, along with 25 features and a handful of shorts from around the world screening MARCH 22-APRIL 2, they're offering up a retrospective of 10 documentaries which have been part of the series in the past-including Streetwise, Paradise Lost and the campy-yet-tragic The Eyes of Tammy Faye. (Jim Knipfel)

Visit www.filmlinc.com for schedules. 212-721-6500, $8-$12.

Parker, Potable & Portable Dorothy Parker was the quintessential New Yorker: independent, witty, social, critical, acerbic and prone to drink and depression. When I gaze at some of the timeless buildings that Parker frequented like W. 42nd and Broadway, with its magnificent red brick façade and copper roof of the former Knickerbocker Hotel, I imagine myself joining the carousing Round Tablers. Then, I glance sadly at the Marriot Marquis, mourning the five theaters that were razed in 1982 to make way for the new hotel. The Algonquin Hotel gets into the Parker spirit with a release party for the new edition of THE PORTABLE DOROTHY PARKER on MARCH 28. Author/editor, Marion Meade, speaks about the book; readings by others will be presented as well. There's no need to excuse Mrs. Parker's dust-2006 is the new 1926. Go and honor her with a martini; she'll be pleased-or at least amused. (Stephanie Sellars)

Algonquin Hotel, 59 W. 44th St. (betw. 5th & 6th Aves.); 6:30, free, RSVP required. www.dorothyparkernyc.com.

SHORTLIST Wednesday, March 22

Director Takamine Go is an outsider artist from an outsider civilization-Okinawa, which was controlled by the United States after World War II, then returned to Japan in 1972-and his filmography expresses those feelings of dislocation. DREAM SHOW, the first-ever U.S. retrospective of Go's work, was shot over several decades in a variety of formats (from 35mm and Super 8 to home video) but keeps returning to particular themes: the fluidity of identity, the relationship between life and storytelling, and the eye-popping beauty of Okinawa's landscapes. March 22-26. Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Ave. (at 2nd St.), 212-505-5181. For a complete schedule, visit www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/schedule. (Seitz)

Thursday, March 23

THE TIN DRUM, Volker Schlöndorff's Oscar-winning portrait (based on Grass' novel) of Oskar Matzerath-who willingly stops growing at age three, then uses his stature, drum and scream to protest and disrupt the hypocrisy and absurdity of the adult world-remains one of my Favorite Films of All Time. It's a remarkable, sometimes confounding panorama of history and emotion, filled with shocking images that stick with you. (It was also yanked off video store shelves in the States by idiots who considered it a work of "child pornography.") In German with English subtitles, obviously. Goethe Institut, 1014 5th Ave. (betw. 82nd & 83rd Sts.), 212-439-8700; 7. $5. (JK)

Friday, March 24

Swedish pop stars THE ARK play their Thursday night set at the Bowery Ballroom, but the '70s glam rock aesthetic carries over for THE ARK AFTER PARTY at the Delancey. DJs John Cameron Mitchell (who knows a thing or two about big hair and glam looks) is joined by JD Samson of Le Tigre to add a little more glitter to your rock 'n' roll. Oh, and did I mention to get there early-all the Svedka vodka you can drink between 10-11. By the time midnight rolls around, you'll certainly think you're pretty effin fabulous. The Delancey, 168 Delancey (betw. Clinton & Attorney Sts.), 212-254-9920; Doors open at 9. Free. (JP)

Things get a little, um, sketchy at the FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL, with more than an hour's worth of "odd and hilarious" clips. Look out for: the high-pitched songs and stories of Lil' Markie, exercise videos by Marky Mark Wahlberg, O.J. Simpson and a quartet of pregnant rapping ladies and an instructional video for a frightening cosmetic device. March 24-25. Galapagos Art Space, 70 N. 6th St. (betw. Kent & Wythe Aves.), B'klyn, 718-384-4586; 7, $10. www.foundfootagefestival.com. (JP) Saturday, March 25

For insight into some of the most innovative movement around, Daria Fain presents her current work-in-progress, COCKS AND CLOUDS, which attempts to make visible the unconscious influence of sound in our perceptions and environment. Francisco Rider Pereira da Silva's Love Collection follows, a playful improvisation to love songs, including Nina Simone, Caetano Veloso, Janis Joplin and Edith Piaf. St. Mark's Church, 131 E. 10th St. (betw. 2nd & 3rd Aves.), 212-674-8112; 3, Free. (Atamian)

Sunday, March 26

Get your oral satisfaction with a taste of Queens transplanted in Brooklyn during the performance of CROSSING THE BLVD. For three years, photographer/writer/book artist Warren Lehrer and oral historian/actress/audio artist Judith Sloan documented the people and stories of their ethnically diverse borough, commenting on immigration policies and experiences in a book of the same name. The performance piece includes projections, music and live performance (by Sloan) in an effort to bring the "strangers, neighbors, aliens in a New America" to life. Brooklyn Arts Exchange, 421 5th Ave. (at 8th St.), B'klyn, 718-832-0018; 6, $5 donation. www.bax.org. (JP)

Monday, March 27

Michael Cerveris takes his days off seriously, and winning a Tony for his role as Sweeney Todd hasn't dulled his sense of fun. He "slums" with the Downtown "performance all-stars" for WEIMAR NEW YORK, a cabaret that juxtaposes Weimar-era musical numbers (think Kurt Weill) with the off-color imaginations of Taylor Mac, Theo Kogan, Rachelle Garniez, Adam Dugas and Helen Stratford. With Vaginal Davis on the turntables and Julie Atlas Muz choreographing the "pixie harlots." Who said Downtown's dead? Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette St. (near Astor Pl.), 212-539-8778; 11 p.m.-4 a.m. $20. (JP)

Tuesday, March 28

I love a good story, but lit readings can be a real snoozer. That, or the pretension runs high, I'm left with a gnawing feeling to scratch some MFA's eyes out. And that's not nice. At least the RITALIN READING SERIES promises a healthy dose of humor to quell those misanthropic musings with Sam Lipsyte, Jon Friedman, Chris Genoa and Jonathan Coulton (hopefully) causing a few chuckles (and no suicides). Mo Pitkin's, 34 Ave. A (betw. 2nd & 3rd Sts.), 212-777-5660; 8:30, $7. (JP)