The Underpants; Norman Kelley & Joel Shalit at Brecht Forum; Atget Photos; Monteverdi's Orfeo; The Barry Z Hardcore Comedy Show; "Victorians, Moderns, and Beats"; Re/Search Launches Modern Pagans; Tribeca Open Artist Studio Tour

?Two provocative authors you've read or read about in New York Press (where else?) appear together this Weds., April 24, 7:30, at the Brecht Forum. Norman Kelley's R & B (Rhythm & Business) is a fascinating look at how the white man stole the black man's music, and everybody rips off musicians. In Jerusalem Calling, Israeli-American (and Punk Planet editor) Joel Schalit anguishes over the warlike psychosis of the Jewish state. If there's a rabble in the hall, these guys'll rouse them. 122 W. 27th St. (betw. 6th & 7th Aves.), 242-4201.

?When he wasn't making violins out of half-naked women, Man Ray was busy collecting the pictures of the grand old man of Paris street photography. Eugene Atget recorded the older parts of his city in the early 1900s with his camera, creating the unique cityscapes that inspired the young American Ray. "Paris as Gameboard: Man Ray's Atgets" opens Weds., April 24 and offers a glimpse of one of the overlooked pioneers of surrealism. Weds.-Sat., 1-5 p.m., through June 15 at the Wallach Art Gallery, Schermerhorn Hall, Columbia University (B'way & 116th St.), 854-2877.

?When it comes to metaphors for the power of Art, the figure of Orpheus?able to transform nature with the beauty of his playing, nay, even to harrow hell?has everything else beat. Nothing else even comes close?which is one reason why hip, 17th-century composers, sitting around trying to invent opera, fixated on his story. Back then, everyone was looking for ways of making music more expressive, more adult. They wanted to get away from mere "word painting," which highlighted the cleverness and skill of composers and singers in underscoring the meanings of words. The solution? Dump polyphony and write in single lines of melody meant to be sung the way people naturally speak. The resulting stile rappresentativo, a sort of cross between song and recitative, is something you hear a lot of in Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607), which many consider the first opera, like, ever. Will the Chicago Opera Theater's modern dress production?which closes out the Brooklyn Academy's month-long tribute to Monteverdi and is widely expected to be the high point of the festival?make nonsense of early opera's raison d'etre? Who couldn't want to know! Weds., Fri. & Sat. at 7:30, at BAM's Harvey Theater. 651 Fulton St. (betw. Rockwell & Ashland Pls.), 718-636-4100.

?Barry Z, the irrepressible host of gay cable's long-running and eponymous tv show, is lately impresario and host of The Barry Z Hardcore Comedy Show, a wild night of hijinks at the Triad Theatre. The antics begin appropriately late?11 p.m.?this Fri., April 26. Admission is $10, with a two-drink minimum to ensure a pliant crowd and much after-show date-making. 158 W. 72nd St. (betw. B'way & Columbus Ave.), 362-2590.

?The New York Public Library shows off its newest additions to the Berg Collection of English and American literature with "Victorians, Moderns, and Beats." Divided into two camps?Great Britain/Ireland/Wales and America?samples include books, manuscripts, photos, notebooks and such from Dylan Thomas, Yeats, Pound, Eliot, Elizabeth Bishop, Auden, Joyce, et al. The crown jewels in the American portion are the newly acquired Kerouac archive and the inscribed copy of Melville's ode to the Mets, The Piazza Tales. Opens Fri., April 26, and is up through July 27 in the Library's Gottesman Exhibition Hall, 5th Ave. (42nd St.), 869-8089; www.nypl.org.

?RE/Search, the SF press that launched a million tattoos with Modern Primitives, comes to NYC this Sat., April 27, to celebrate the publication of a sort of long-range followup, Modern Pagans, which covers the waterfront from Wiccans and Druids to Earth Firsters and pagans in the military. Announced celebrants include fringe photographer Charles Gatewood, avant-rocker and practitioner of Santeria Genesis P. Orridge and leading spokespersons for the movement like Margo Adler. Hope for licentious revels?or at least autographs. At Enchantments, 6 p.m. 341 E. 9th St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.), 228-4394.

?TOAST?Tribeca Open Artist Studio Tour?celebrates its sixth-annual Tribeca art walk this Sat.-Mon., April 27-29, as 100+ artists and a bunch of galleries/studios offer up themselves and their works for public inspection. From Canal to Murray Sts., Washington to Lafayette, art-lovers and the merely curious can wander the open studios to see art in the wild, and chat with and buy from its producers. Have a snack down there to help revitalize the area. Free, from 1-6 p.m. each day; find participating artists and a map to them at www.toastartwalk.com.