ART

THE HIGHWAYMAN
Matthew Cusick’s “map paintings” are created by embedding fragments of vintage 20th-century maps onto wood panels. He uses the technique to recreate a famous portrait of Sitting Bull, to depict a dying Bonnie Parker, and to capture an aerial view of one of the first freeways in Texas.A map of New York City features a profile of Robert Moses gazing toward the city from Long Island. Mr. Cusick also displays a series of drawings that he made by burning lines into paper with a heated needle. The exhibit is the first to be shown at Kent Gallery in its new Chelsea location.
Reception: Saturday, 5-8 p.m. Exhibit: Through Saturday, December 4, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Kent Chelsea, 541 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-627-3680, free.

BOOKS

COLLEGE CLUES
Joshua Piven reads from the latest installation in his popular “Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook” series, which addresses college life.The event takes place on Columbia’s campus, where Mr. Piven’s advice about bad cafeteria food and avoiding a “nightmare hookup” can be put to immediate use. Tonight, 6 p.m., Columbia University Bookstore, 2922 Broadway at 115th Street, 212-854-4132, free.

BROOKLYN BABY
Stephen Elliott celebrates the paperback release of his novel “Happy Baby” (Picador) with a reading in Brooklyn. Authors David Amsden and Andrew Sean Greer join him. Tonight, 8 p.m., 826NYC, 372 Fifth Ave., between 5th and 6th streets, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-499-9884, free.

DANCE

THE BEAT GOES ON
More than 100 dancers take the stage for the gala Career Transition for Dancers benefit. The program, “Dancing on Air,” is a tribute to dance on the television screen and features artists from American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theater of Harlem, the Joffrey Ballet, and other groups. Tony Stevens will direct the event, which honors Debbie Allen and Patricia Kennedy. After the performance, there will be a black-tie dinner with more dancing. The evening benefits Career Transition for Dancers, a group that helps professional dancers find work after they hang up their toe and tap shoes.
Monday, 7 p.m., City Center, 131 W. 55th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-582-6690 for gala tickets, 212-581-1212 for performance only, $550 and $1,000 for gala and performance, $45-$95 performance only.

FAMILY

COSTUME FUN
A playground festival at Madison Square Park celebrates autumn with pumpkin decoration, craft projects, and a performance by children’s musician Ivan Ulz, who will sing “Fire Truck” and other favorites. Children can attend dressed for Halloween to participate in a costume parade (4 p.m.). Whole Foods provides refreshments. Tomorrow, 2-5 p.m., Madison Square Park, between 23rd and 26th streets and Fifth and Madison avenues, 212-538-5058, free.

MUSIC

CHOPIN CONCERTO
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra opens its 32nd season with a performance of Paul Chihara’s new orchestration of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor. Pianist Garrick Ohlsson is the guest soloist. The program also includes Brahms’s Haydn Variations and the Transylvanian dances of Hungarian composer S?ndor Veress. Saturday, 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, 212-247-7800, $30-$88.

PHOTOGRAPHY

TEEN SCENE
A tour designed by and for teenagers explores new photographic exhibitions about the New York City subway by Bruce Davidson, Sam Hollenshead, and Camilo Jos? Vergara. The event is part of Teen Fridays, a monthly program that includes gallery talks, concerts, film, and art workshops based on exhibits at the Museum of the City of New York. Tomorrow, 4 p.m., Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave., between 103rd and 104th streets, 212-534-1672 ext. 3390, free, registration requested.

TALKS

ELLISON’S PRAGMATISM
Poet and literary critic Michael Magee discusses Ralph Ellison’s connection to pragmatist philosophers such as William James, Alain Locke, John Dewey, and Kenneth Burke.
Tomorrow, 8 p.m., Poetry Project, St. Mark’s Church, 131 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue, 212-674-0910, $8 general, $7 seniors and students, $5 members.

THEATER

AUTUMN ‘FALL’
Creative Mechanics revives Steven Berkoff’s adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher.” The story includes an illicit relationship, a live burial, and Poeworthy spooky scenery. Opens: Tonight, 8 p.m. Runs: Tonight through Sunday, November 7, Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., the Independent Theater, 52A W. 8th St. at Sixth Avenue, 212-868-4444, $15. Extra shows: Friday, October 29, and Saturday, October 30, 11 p.m.

NOW OR EVER
Playwright Eric Bentley narrates a reading of “Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been,” a play whose dialogue is taken entirely from the hearings before the House on Un-American Activities Committee. The Phoenix Theatre Ensemble presents the reading, which includes the words of Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan, Paul Robeson, and others called before the committee in the 1940s and 1950s.
Monday, 7 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, 212-864-5400, $50.

TOURS

GHOSTLY JAUNT
Merchant’s House is draped in black cr?pe for a series of spooky candlelight tours. The tours culminate in a storytelling session of spine-tingling tales of encounters with the spirits that are claimed to walk the building’s halls. The city’s only fully preserved family home from the 19th century is rumored to house the ghost of Gertrude Tredwell (1840-1933), an eccentric recluse who spent her entire life there, keeping it “as papa wanted.” Fridays, October 22 and 29, 6-9 p.m. tours depart, Merchant’s House Museum, 29 E. 4th St., between Bowery and Lafayette Street, 212-777-1089, $20 general, $13 members, reservations suggested.

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.