ART

MOMA REOPENS The big event this weekend is the grand opening of the Museum of Modern Art’s new $425 million extension. Designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi (whose work is also the subject of an exhibit), the Midtown building opens its doors to the public for free on Saturday before its new $20 admission price extension kicks in. Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-708-9400, free.

LOONEY TUNE Dick “Doc” Duerrstein will create an on-the-spot painting of Bugs Bunny at the opening of a new exhibit of his animation-based art. Broadway actor Robert Evan performs and auctions off the painting to raise funds for the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation. Saturday, 2-5 p.m. painting and reception, 5-6 p.m. auction, free, reservations requested. Exhibit: Saturday through Sunday, December 26, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Animazing Gallery, 461 Broome St., between Greene and Mercer streets, 212-226-7374, free.

FREAK SHOW The visual and performance artist known as Bambi the Mermaid presents a collection of photographs of herself in various grotesque, back-stage get-ups. The “Freak Pin-Ups” series includes depictions of a girl with lobster hands, a “makeup-obsessed” character, and a beautiful woman posing on the beach next to her blow-up doll twin. Opens: Saturday, 8 p.m.-midnight. Runs: Saturday through Sunday, December 19, Friday-Sunday, noon-6 p.m., the Dollhaus Art Gallery, 37 Broadway, between Wythe and Kent avenues, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 917-667-2332, free.

BENEFITS

TALK ABOUT SIX The comedy group Six Characters gathers a group of burlesque dancers and vaudeville acts for a benefit party. The group also screens its new short film, “Brilliant!” in which the characters make trouble with about 650 pies in a museum. Saturday, 6-10 p.m., Remote Lounge, 327 Bowery at Bond Street, 917-304-2465, $20 includes open bar.

SONGS FOR THE HART Julie Andrews and Beverly Sills co-host “Hart to Hart,” a gala celebration of Moss and Kitty Carlisle Hart. The tribute to the musical couple includes performances, film clips from their careers, and appearances by Mario Cuomo, Orson Bean, Rosemary Harris, Celeste Holm, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, and Ms. Hart herself. The program is followed by a gala dinner. The evening benefits the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Sunday, 6 p.m. concert, 8:30 p.m. dinner, Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, 64th Street and Columbus Avenue, 212-769-7062, $50-$2,500. 344 1845 416 1855

BOOKS

AMERICA IN 3-D Pop-up book creator Robert Sabuda signs his new 3-D work, “America the Beautiful” (Little Simon) and celebrates the 10th anniversary of “The Christmas Alphabet” (Orchard). Saturday, noon-2 p.m., Books of Wonder, 18 W. 18th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-989-3270, free.

FAMILY

MUPPETS AND PUPPETS A weekend celebration of Jim Henson includes movies for children and adults and puppetry workshops. Highlights of “Muppets, Music & Magic” include screenings of the 1985 “Sesame Street” film “Follow That Bird,” followed by a Q &A with the performer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, Caroll Spinney (Saturday, 10:15 a.m.) and 1983’s “Fraggle Rock,” with both screenings introduced by a different Fraggle performer (Saturday and Sunday, 12:15 p.m.). Saturday and Sunday, BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave., between St. Felix Street and Ashland Place, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, $10 each screening, $7 children 13 and under. See www.bam.org for full schedule.

BUILDING BRIDGES Two new exhibits examine the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which turns 40 this year – one at each end. An historical collection in Staten Island opens with an afternoon of family programs (Opening: Sunday, 1-5 p.m. celebration, 3 p.m. family workshop, free. Exhibit: Sunday through January 31, Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, 1-5 p.m., Staten Island Museum, 75 Stuyvesant Place at Wall Street, Staten Island, 718-727-1135, $2 general, $1 seniors and students, free for children under 12). In Brooklyn, the exhibit “Beauty Suspended” includes contributions from Bay Ridge residents who were affected by the bridge’s construction (Exhibit: Friday through March 20, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday, noon-5 p.m., Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont St. at Clinton Street, Brooklyn, 718-222-4111, $6 general, $4 seniors and students, free for members).

SOUTHPAW SONGS Indie-rock haven Southpaw exchanges beer bottles for baby bottles when children’s musician John Carlin performs two daytime shows. The stroller set is invited to enjoy music and snacks (and parents can enjoy a full bar). Sunday, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Southpaw, 125 Fifth Ave., between Sterling Place and St. John’s Place, Brooklyn, 718-738-0236 for venue information, 917-416-4012 for reservations, $12 general, $6 children, free for children under 2.

80 GREAT YEARS Both Mayor Koch and the Museum of the City of New York will celebrate their 80th birthdays this weekend at a public ceremony. New York artist Hilary Cooper presents Mayor Koch with a new portrait and then the guest of honor and his sister, Pat Koch Thaler, will read their children’s book “Eddie: Harold’s Little Brother” (Putnam). Attendees can also enjoy a piece of a large cake in the shape of the museum itself.

Sunday, 1-5 p.m. festivities, 3:30 p.m. presentation, Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd Street, 212-534-1672, free.

FESTIVALS

ANIME DAYS The “eNerGy” festival is a weekend full of video games, anime, and film and television screenings. Highlights include screenings of “Pokemon Movie 7” (Saturday, 11 a.m. session) and anime television series (Sunday, 11 a.m. session). Japanese game-makers such as Yu-Gi-Oh and Dragon Ball also show off their wares in an exhibition arena. Festival: Friday, 8 p.m.-midnight, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. at West Side Highway, 212-220-1460, $50 for three-day pass, $25 student three-day pass, $12 for half-day pass, $10 student half-day pass.

FILM

BUNUEL IN MEXICO Luis Bunuel’s “The Exterminating Angel” (1962) screens in a retrospective focusing on the Spanish artist’s work during his exile in Mexico. Friday, 6 p.m., Instituto Cervantes, 211-215 E. 49th St. at Third Avenue, 212-308-7720, free, reservations recommended.

BROADWAY BABIES A screening of the documentary “Broadway: The Golden Age” is followed by a discussion with figures from the Great White Way. Participants include the film’s director, Rick McKay; choreographer Jerry Mitchell (“Hairspray”); the conductor at Radio City Music Hall, Donald Pippin; dancer Ina Kurland, who played “Topsy” in the original Broadway production of “The King and I”; and actors Michael Mastro, Anita Gillette, and Gavin Creel. Sunday, 5 p.m., Makor, 35 W. 67th St., between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, 212-415-5500, $20.

SHORT STUFF Animator Emily Hubley presents a selection of her short films based on personal essays. Ms. Hubley created art and animated segments for “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” among other projects. She discusses her work after the screening, which is presented by the Ocularis series of independent film and video projects. Sunday, 7 p.m., Galapagos Art Space, 70 N. 6th St., between Wythe and Kent avenues, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-782-5188, $6.

MUSIC

BAROQUE TO BEATLES The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps is a 50-piece “concert band” comprised of brass, woodwinds, reeds, and percussion. On Saturday, it launches its 26th season, titled “Close Your Eyes and Think of England: British Music from the Baroque to The Beatles.” Saturday, 8 p.m., Washington Irving High School Auditorium, 40 Irving Place, between 16th and 17th streets,212-591-2886, $20 general, $12 seniors and students.

COMING TO AMERICA A program titled “Music on the Edge of Life” features works by composers who found refuge in America between 1928 and 1945, including Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, and Kurt Weill. Saturday, 8 p.m., CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., between 34th and 35th streets, 212-817-8215, free, $10 donation guarantees seating if paid in advance.

CENTENNIAL CONCERT The “Encores!” musical series, which begins formally in February and highlights rarely heard vocal works by American composers, kicks off with three preview concerts. Performers include Christine Ebersole, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Hathaway, Rebecca Luker, Patti Lupone, and others. The event celebrates the 100th anniversary of the births of songwriters Harold Arlen, Marc Blitzstein, Dorothy Fields, Frederick Loewe, and Jule Styne. Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m., Monday, 8 p.m., New York City Center, 130 W. 56th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-581-1212, $25-$90.

DRIVER’S SEAT With the release of her album “Everything I’ve Got in My Pocket,” Minnie Driver follows Russell Crowe and Juliette Lewis into the pool of actors looking for a second career in music. The British beauty performs her smooth pop music this weekend. Sunday, 10:30 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St. at Bowery, 212-533-2111, $15.

READINGS

ROTHLESS Writers including Molly Jong Fast, Mike Daisey, and Jennifer DeMeritt pay tribute to Philip Roth at an installment of the Fez Reading Series. Participants tell stories of sex, neuroses, and growing up in New Jersey in an homage to the man who writes about all of the above better than anyone. The show ends with a burlesque performance by Julie Atlas Muz and free copies of Mr. Roth’s books will be raffled off to the audience. Monday, 7 p.m. doors open, 380 Lafayette St. at Great Jones Street, 212-533-7000, $10.

TALKS

GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY A former executive editor of National Geographic, Robert Poole, gives an illustrated inside view of the American institution. Mr. Poole tells the story of National Geographic through the lives of its founding family, which is now in its fifth and last generation of guiding the organization. Monday, 6 p.m. doors open, 6:30 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. lecture, 8:15 p.m. book signing, Explorers Club, 46 E. 70th St., between Park and Madison avenues, 212-628-8383, $15 general, $5 students, free for members.

THEATER

STAGE AND SCREEN The performance piece “El Automovil Gris” (The Grey Automobile) combines Japanese-style stage acting with a 1919 Mexican silent film that is the most-viewed film in Mexico’s cinematic history. The Japanese benshi tradition of silent film narration uses live actors on stage, accompanied by a pianist, to add voice and commentary to the screen’s images. This production uses just a few actors to characterize the film’s 50 or so actors. The movie tells the story of “The Grey Car Gang,” a notorious band of thieves who terrorized Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution. Claudio Valdes Kuri directs the Certain Inhabitants’ Theater Company production. Those who mention The New York Sun when requesting tickets can purchase two for $20.Saturday, 8 p.m., El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th Street, 212-660-7132, $20 general, $15 seniors, students, and members.

LOVE AND MARRIAGE Nikolai Gogol’s 1833 comedy “Marriage” takes place in St. Petersburg and follows a young unmarried woman who is wooed by four bachelors. The play is performed in repertory with Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid.” Opens: Sunday, 8 p.m. Runs: Through Sunday, December 19, days and times vary, the Pearl Theatre Company, Theatre 80, 80 St. Mark’s Place at First Avenue, 212-598-9802, $40 for Tuesday-Thursday shows and Saturday matinees, $50 Friday-Sunday shows.

TOURS

MANHATTAN HISTORY A walking tour of Union and Stuyvesant squares focuses on the neighborhoods’ history within the city. The tour is presented by Bowery and Canal Walking Tours. Sunday, 2 p.m., meet in front of the George Washington statue, 14th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South, 212-979-8013, $12 general, $10 seniors and students.

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.