ART

THE VASE PLACE The new exhibit Vasemania: Neoclassical Form and Ornament features about 100 rarely displayed pieces of silver, textiles, ceramics, furniture, works on paper, and paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. The exhibit explores the revival of classicism in the 18th century in popular vase motifs. Excavations of the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum (1738) and Pompeii (1748) fueled interest in classical design forms. The vase collection of Sir William Hamilton and Wedgwood’s neoclassical designs, both included in the exhibit, encouraged the trend.The exhibit includes not just functional vessels and garden ornaments but items in which the vase is used as a design motif – in wine and water urns, knife boxes, ink wells, perfume burners, furnishing fabrics, and carved paneling.

Through Sunday, October 17, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Bard Graduate Center Gallery, 18 W. 86th St., between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, 212-501-3023, $3 general, $2 seniors and students, free for all on Thursday evenings.

EVERY MOVE COUNTS In celebration of the Olympics, the Laurence Miller Gallery displays collotypes from Eadweard Muybridge’s 1887 motion studies. The gallery’s selections depict sports that are in the modern-day Olympics. Muybridge’s studies include athletes performing the pole vault, long jump, high jump, and javelin throw. They are also shown running, fencing, boxing, and even participating in team sports such as baseball. The series, Human and Animal Locomotion, revolutionized the way artists and scientists viewed movements that happened too fast to be studied by the naked eye. Through Friday, tomorrow-Friday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Laurence Miller Gallery, 20 W. 57th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-397-3930, free.

SUMMER IN THE CITY A large group exhibit at ACA Galleries includes 19th- and 20th-century paintings, drawings, and sculpture. The summer show features pieces by Judy Chicago, Max Ernst, and DeLoss McGraw. Works on display range from Max Ferguson’s painting of three elderly men poring over a book in a “Jerusalem Study Group” to Faith Ringgold’s family scenes framed in quilt pieces. Through Friday, tomorrow-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m., ACA Galleries, 529 W. 20th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, fifth floor, 212-206-8080, free.

BOOKS

WISH YOU WERE HERE Robert Olen Butler reads from “Had a Good Time: Stories of American Postcards” (Atlantic Monthly). The Pulitzer Prize-winning author draws on 15 early 20th-century postcards as inspiration for his latest volume of short stories. Tonight, 7-8 p.m., Barnes & Noble Chelsea, 675 Sixth Ave. at 21st Street, 212-727-1227, free.

TENSE THOUGHTS Lauren Grodstein reads from her novel “Reproduction is the Flaw of Love” (Dial). The book focuses on one man’s musings as he awaits the results of his girlfriend’s pregnancy test. Tonight, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 106 Court St., between State and Schermerhorn streets, Brooklyn, 718-246-4996, free.

HARMFUL EXPORTS Lou Dobbs of CNN’s “Money Line” reads from his book “Exporting America” (Warner Business Books). In the book, Mr. Dobbs denounces the outsourcing of American jobs to cheap foreign labor markets.

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 2289 Broadway at 82nd St., 212-362-8835, free.

ORCHID ANNIVERSARY The 10th anniversary of the Black Orchid Bookshop is celebrated with a street party. Mystery writers S.J. Rozan, Jim Fusilli, Chris Niles, and Dan Judson are expected to attend. Thursday, 6 p.m., outside of Black Orchid Bookshop, 303 E. 81st St., between First and Second avenues, 212-734-5980, free.

COMEDY

FACEOFF “Saturday Night Live” is in reruns for the summer, but sketch comedy lovers can fulfill their cravings with another live comedy series – on Saturday nights, no less. “The Vital Funny” is a six-weeklong competition between New York comedy groups. The finals take place this weekend, with the winners receiving a full weekend of solo performance at the theater in September. Saturday, 9:30 p.m., Vital Theatre Company, 432 W. 42nd St., between Ninth and Tenth avenues, second floor, 212-592-0129, $8.

DANCE

TINY DANCERS The Smuin Ballet performs a program that features the premiere of Michael Smuin’s “Come Dance Me a Song,” a playful ballet set to a medley of Elton John tunes. “Les Noces,” a dance set to Stravinsky, was influenced by traditional Russian folk art. Mr. Smuin is the former director of the San Francisco Ballet, and principal dancer and resident choreographer for American Ballet Theatre.

Tonight through Saturday, tonight, tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday, 8 p.m., Wednesday and Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th Street, 212-242-0800, $40.

FASHION

SCREEN STYLE An exhibit of film costumes from the collection of the Cinematheque Francaise, Musee du Cinema in Paris closes this weekend. The exhibit, CUT! Costume for the Silver Screen, includes gowns worn by actresses Martine Carol, Vivien Leigh, Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Leslie Caron, and Elizabeth Taylor. Many of the dresses appear alongside screens showing original film clips of the costumes in action. Some of the featured designers are Lanvin, Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, and Hollywood costume king Walter Plunkett. Through Saturday, today-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, noon-5 p.m., AXA Gallery, 787 Seventh Ave. at 51st Street, 212-554-2015, free.

FILM

MONKEY BUSINESS The original “Planet of the Apes” features a young Charlton Heston leading a space expedition that gets waylaid on a simian-infested – yet strangely familiar – world. Tonight, 5 p.m. lawn opens, sunset screening, Bryant Park, 40th Street and Sixth Avenue, 212-512-5700, free.

THE MADDIN CROWD Director Guy Maddin is known for his utterly otherworldly filmscapes; he juxtaposed dance and vampires in “Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary” and wove a Depression-era tale of a Winnepeg man in last year’s “The Saddest Music in the World.” Mr. Maddin’s old-fashioned techniques include spreading Vaseline on his camera lenses. In his new movie “Cowards Bend the Knee,” which was originally screened in pieces as installation art alluding to peep shows, a character named Guy Maddin falls in love with a woman one operating table away from his lover. Mr. Maddin’s short films “The Phantom Museums,” “Sissy-Boy Slap Party,” and “Sombra Dolorosa” screen with “Cowards Bend the Knee.” Through Tuesday, August 24, 1, 2:50, 4:40, 6:30, 8:20, and 10:10 p.m., Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St., between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street, 212-727-8110, $10 general, $5 members and children under 12, $5 seniors on Monday-Friday before 5 p.m.

HISTORY

CENTENNIAL REMEMBRANCE When an excursion boat, General Slocum, caught fire in the East River in 1904, 1,021 people died – the greatest number of casualties in a single event in New York until the losses of September 11, 2001. The New-York Historical Society commemorates the centennial of that disaster with an exhibit, closing this weekend, that looks at the event and the German-American community it devastated. Items on view include a

lantern from the boat, family scrapbooks, period photographs, and memorabilia from survivors. Through Sunday, tomorrow-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., New-York Historical Society, 2 W. 77th St., between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, 212-873-3400, $8 general, $5 seniors and students, free for children 12 and under accompanied by an adult.

MUSIC

THE BEAT GOES ON Cuban-born percussionist Francisco Aguabella has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Carlos Santana, and Paul Simon. His music fuses traditional African and Latin rhythms with jazz and soul. Tomorrow and Wednesday,, 8 and 10:30 p.m., The Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St., between Sixth Avenue and MacDougal Street, 212-475-8592, $25 at tables and $15 at the bar.

DUELING BANJOS The Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue at SummerStage features ensemble performances and solo sets from the best contemporary country music has to offer, including Emmylou Harris, Patty Griff in, Buddy Miller, Gillian Welch,and David Rawlings. Wednesday, 6 p.m. gates open, 7:30 p.m. show, Central Park East, enter at 69th St. and 5th Ave., 212-360-2756, $40.

UP-AND-COMING COMPOSERS Daniel Bernard Roumain hosts a concert showcasing chamber works by young composers ages 17-26. Monday, August 23, 7 p.m., The Studio Museum of Harlem, 144 W. 125 St., between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, 212-594-6100, $10 suggested donation.

PHOTOGRAPHY

URBAN WORSHIP Over the past several years, David Dunlap photographed every church, synagogue, and mosque in Manhattan. Mr. Dunlap’s urban pilgrimage is recorded in an exhibit at the New-York Historical Society. The photographs are also gathered in his book, “From Abyssinian to Zion: Photographs of Manhattan’s Houses of Worship” (Columbia University). Through October 24, Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., The New-York Historical Society, 2 West 77th St. at Central Park West, 212-873-3400, $8 general, $5 students and seniors, free for members and children 12 and under.

TALK

REPUBLICAN CITIES The New School hosts a day of conversation with Republican leaders titled Urban Conversations: Where Red Meets Blue.They discuss the effect of city issues on Republican and Democratic majority states. Participants include Senator Alexander, Reps. Jeff Flake and James Walsh, a former HUD secretary, Andrew Cuomo, and the Pew Research Center’s Andrew Kohut. Moderators are an anchor for ABC News’s “This Week,” George Stephanopoulos; a columnist for the Washington Post, Colbert King, and a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Ron Brownstein. Tuesday, August 31, 8 a.m. breakfast, 8:30-10 a.m. Urban Issues and the Electorate panel, 10-11:30 a.m. Urban Housing panel, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Urban Immigration panel, The New School, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 W. 13th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-229-5488, free, reservations required by Monday, August 23.

THEATER

HELLO, NORMA JEAN Actress and writer Lenore Zann’s play “The Marilyn Tapes” traces Marilyn Monroe from her teenage years as Norma Jean Baker to her prime of life as a screen icon. Inspired by tapes from a 1962 recording session just prior to Monroe’s death, Ms. Zann sets the story in a Rat Pack-era jazz club and uses stories and songs to bring Monroe to life. Through Saturday, August 28, Tuesday-Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday, 4 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 7 p.m., the Pearle Theater, 80 St. Marks Place, between First and Second avenues, 212-598-9802, $40.

FAULKNER ON STAGE Inspired by William Faulkner’s short story “The Bear,” the new play “Blood of the Bear” tells the story of a 17-year-old Faulkner who embarks on an annual family hunt that proves to be a watershed event in his life. Through Saturday, August 28th, Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 7 p.m., The WorkShop Theater, 312 W. 36th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, fourth floor, 212-695-4173, $15 general, $10 students.

THE MIND OF PARIS Many men like to look at Paris Hilton, but one man has attempted to look like her. Kevin Shinick portrays the publicity-hungry socialite in Doug Field’s new play, “I Love Paris.” The play follows “Paris” as she prepares to audition for the fifth co-host seat of the ABC daytime television talk show “The View.” Paris’s musings include topics such as “The real causes of World War II” and “Split Ends: The Environmental Impact.”Mondays through August 30, 8 p.m., Blue Heron Arts Center, 123 E. 24th St. at Park Avenue South, 212-868-4444, $20.

CONSTITUTIONAL DRAMA The play “Founding Fathers” dramatizes the 1787 Constitutional Convention in three acts. A former columnist for The New York Sun, William Tucker, wrote the play with the goal of explaining American democracy to other societies. With that in mind, a new Arabic translation has been prepared for export to Iraq as it tries to 1165 1700 1320 1710craft its own new Constitution. The play is performed in English several times during the Republican convention. Attendees can see George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton on stage and then complete their constitutional experience by requesting a free preview of the museum’s Alexander Hamilton exhibit, which opens to the public on September 10. Saturday, August 28, 8 p.m., Monday, August 30, 2 p.m., New-York Historical Society, 2 West 77th St. at Central Park West, www.foundingfathersplay.com for tickets and full schedule of performances, $20.

TOURS

A HOUSE DIVIDED Civil War buffs may enjoy NYC Discovery Walking Tours’ “Civil War New York,” a walking tour that makes stops at the location of the 1863 draft riots, a Confederate prison camp, and sites associated with Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m., 212-465-3331 for reserva tions and meeting place, $12.

BOTANICAL STROLL Visitors to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden can learn how cultures from around the world rely on plants. Strollers in the guided tour discover how civilizations past and present have used flora for food, clothing, medicine, and ceremony. Saturdays and Sundays through August 29, 3 p.m., Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 900 Washington Ave. at Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, 718-623-7200, $5 general, $3 seniors and students (Tuesdays: free for all. Fridays: free for seniors, members, and children under 16).

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.