ART

COLORFUL LIVES Color photographs by Charles Traub are on display at Gitterman Gallery. Many of the lush images provoke a smile: fur-clad women primp at a Paris bus stop, a poodle gets overly amorous with a kissing couple on a beach in Rio de Janeiro, and a buttoned-up businesswoman unconsciously echoes the pose of a naked model on a poster behind her. Through Saturday, April 2, Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Gitterman Gallery, 170 E. 75th St., between Third and Lexington avenues, 212-734-0868, free.

NEW IN CHELSEA The new Jonathan LeVine Gallery opens with the group show “Pop Pluralism.” Proprietor and curator Jonathan LeVine formerly ran the Tin Man Alley Gallery in Philadelphia and New Hope, Pa. – he branded it the area’s “premier gallery for the discriminating hipster.” Artists on display include Dalek, Doze Green, Seonna Hong (who won an Emmy for animation for “My Life as a Teenage Robot”), and the Clayton brothers. Through March 7, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Jonathan LeVine Gallery, 529 W. 20th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, ninth floor, 212-243-3822, free.

BENEFITS

CLOSE EMBRACE A star of the film version of “The Phantom of the Opera,” Patrick Wilson, is among the performers at a concert that benefits the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Other participants in the “Embrace!” concert include Jai Rodriguez of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” Max von Essen, and Broadway star Laura Benati and her mother, Linda. Tonight, 7 p.m., Westside Theatre, 407 W. 43rd St., between Ninth and Tenth avenues, 646-289-6864, $50 general, $100 includes post concert V.I.P. reception.

EARLY ART The Art Show opens next week with a gala preview benefiting the Henry Street Settlement. Agnes Gund, Daniel Shapiro, Kitty Carlisle Hart, and Richard Schwartz serve as honorary chairmen. Wednesday, 5:30-9:30 p.m., Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street, 212-766-9200 ext. 248, $150-$2000.

BOOKS

UNBLOCKING The author of the popular guide to creativity “The Artist’s Way” (Tarcher), Julia Cameron, reads from her latest book. “The Sound of Paper: Starting From Scratch” (Penguin) includes writing exercises, essays, and advice, including “Getting at it makes it easier. Every day we write creates a habit of writing in us.” Tonight, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Chelsea, 675 Sixth Ave. at 21st Street, 212-727-1227, free.

DISASTER STORIES Daphne Kalotay reads from “Calamity and Other Stories” (Doubleday), an interconnected collection of short stories. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., Borders Books Park Avenue, 461 Park Ave. at 57th Street, 212-980-6785, free.

COLLECTING

STATE OF THE ART New York artists, critics, and collectors gather for a daylong symposium that explores the current state of art collecting. Panelists include artists Chuck Close and Kiki Smith; collectors Agnes Gund and Werner Kramarsky; a senior art writer for Newsweek, Peter Plagens; the chief curator at MoMA, Gary Garrels, and the deputy director for exhibitions and programs at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Thelma Golden. “An Eye Toward Collecting” celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art. Saturday, February 26, location disclosed at registration, 212-399-5030, $150 includes lunch, reservations required.

COMEDY

CLEAN CHUCKLES The National Comedy Theatre turns improvisational comedy into a competitive team sport. The audience chooses games, calls fouls, and decides on a winner each evening. A new show, family friendly (like all NCT production), opens this weekend. Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 and 10 p.m., National Comedy Theatre, 347 W. 36th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, www.manhattancomedy.com , $15 general, $12 seniors, students, and military.

DANCE

BALLET AND BROADWAY Choreographer Susan Stroman’s first full-length ballet returns to the New York State Theater. “Double Feature” is set to music by Irving Berlin and Walter Donaldson. The first act, “The Blue Necklace,” is a melodrama about a young girl’s search for her birth mother. The second act, “Makin’ Whoopee!” is much sillier. It follows a bachelor who must marry quickly to receive his inheritance. Pia Catton wrote in The New York Sun that “Double Feature” is “a deft combination of ballet and Broadway.” Tomorrow, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday, February 24, 8 p.m., New York State Theater, 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue, 212-870-5570, $20-$83.

FAMILY

DEE-LIGHTFUL The Brooklyn band Deedle Deedle Dees perform their goofy rock music at Symphony Space. The children’s group’s songs sing about Aaron Burr, John Wilkes Booth, and the perils of being “Scared By My Own Costume.” Saturday, 11 a.m., Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, 212-864-5400, $14 general, $10 members and children.

GW SLEPT HERE General George Washington stayed at the Morris-Jumel Mansion during the 1776 Battle of Harlem Heights. The building, now Washington’s only remaining Revolutionary War headquarters in Manhattan, celebrates the first president’s birthday this weekend. A costumed interpreter will lead hourly tours (reservations required), children can make Colonial hats and enjoy a scavenger hunt, and there will be warm “wassail punch” for all. Saturday, noon-4 p.m., Morris-Jumel Mansion, 65 Jumel Terrace, between 160th and 162nd streets, 212-923-8008, free.

FILM

THUMBS UP Roger Ebert signs copies of his new essay collection, “The Great Movies II” (Broadway). Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-595-6859, free.

THE HEAT IS ON Sidney Poitier stars in “In the Heat of the Night” (1967), about a Philadelphia detective who heads south to solve a murder. Ray Charles sings the title tune. Tomorrow, 6 p.m., Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, 718-230-2100, free.

HEALTH

STRAIGHT TO THE HEART The heart-health organization Sister to Sister presents a health expo that includes free screenings for women over 18 to check for signs of heart disease. Tomorrow, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Madison Square Garden, Expo Center, Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street, free.

MUSIC

VIENNESE EVENING A Metro Chamber Orchestra concert celebrates New Year’s in February with a program of light Viennese waltzes and other “happy music.” The program features music by Strauss, Lehar, Kreisler, and Brahms. Tomorrow, 8 p.m., Church for All Nations, 417 W. 57th St., between Ninth and Tenth avenues, 718-645-4277, $30 general, $20 seniors and students.

SOLO SET The former front man for the Red House Painters, Mark Kozelek, performs a solo acoustic show. His voice sounds wounded and lonely even when surrounded by instrumentation and electronics – bring Kleenex for this stripped-down set. Monday, 8 p.m. doors open, Bowery Ballroom,6 Delancey St. at the Bowery, 212-533-2111, $15, 21 and older only.

SPORTS

HOCKEY TALK Former – aren’t they all? – professional hockey player Jim Craig joins the author of “The Boys of Winter” (Crown), Wayne Coffey, for a reading. Mr. Craig, a goalie, made the winning save during the “miracle on ice” 1980 America-Soviet Union Olympic hockey game, the focus of Mr. Coffey’s book. Today, 1 p.m., Barnes & Noble Rockefeller Center, 600 Fifth Ave. at 47th Street, 212-765-0592, free.

TALKS

TIBETAN TRAIL The author of “Yak Butter Blues” (Heliographica), Brandon Wilson, shares his story of trekking 650 miles across Tibet. He uses slides to illustrate the journey he made with his wife to Kathmandu, Nepal, from Lhasa, Tibet. Tonight, 7-9 p.m., Tibet House, 22 W. 15th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-807-0563 for reservations, free.

GEFFEN GABS A cofounder of Dream-Works SKG, David Geffen, lectures tonight at an event sponsored by BusinessWeek magazine. Tonight, 8 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $25.

NAKED TRUTH Artists Doug Sheer and A.D. Coleman discuss the work of Finnish-American photographer Arno Rafael Minkkenen, particularly his nude studies. The discussion is part of the “Artists Talk on Art” series. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m. doors open, 7 p.m. talk, School of Visual Arts amphitheater, 209 E. 23rd St. at Third Avenue, $7 general, $3 seniors and students.

THEATER

SHYLOCK RECONSIDERED The Perry Street Theatre presents a production of Gareth Armstrong’s “Shylock.” The story is told from the perspective of the best friend of Shylock, the villain of “The Merchant of Venice.” Through Sunday, March 13, Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 and 7 p.m., Perry Street Theatre, 31 Perry St. at Seventh Avenue, 212-868-4444, $55 general, $20 senior and student rush tickets.

FICKLE FELLOW Theatergoers can warm up for next month’s production of “Julius Caesar” at the Belasco Theatre, starring Denzel Washington, by taking in a production of another Shakespearean Roman tragedy. Karin Coonrod directs “Coriolanus,” produced by the Theatre for a New Audience and starring Christian Camargo as a war hero who turns on his beloved Rome when he is refused a political appointment. Opens: Tonight, 6:30 p.m. Runs: Tonight through Saturday, March 5, days and times vary, John Jay College, Gerald W. Lynch Theater, 899 Tenth Ave., between 58th and 59th streets, 212-279-4200, $60.

THE PLAY’S THE THING Playwrights represented in the new edition of “Plays and Playwrights” (New York Theatre Experience) convene to celebrate the collection’s publication. Kevin Augustine performs excerpts from his play “Animal” and original cast members perform sections of “Vampire Cowboy Trilogy” and “Kalighat.” Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Sunday, 4 p.m. doors open, 4:30 p.m. program, Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Ave. at 25th Street, 646-312-4085, free.

TOURS

‘GATES’ GAMBOL NYC Discovery presents a walking tour that explores Central Park’s history as well as “The Gates.” Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m., 212-465-3331 for meeting place and reservations, $13.

GOLDEN GATES Bike the Big Apple presents a family friendly bicycle tour of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Central Park art installment. Through Saturday, February 26, daily, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., meet at 69th Street and Second Avenue, 877-865-0078, $59 includes bicycle and helmet.

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