ART

BIG-SKY BOROUGH Brooklyn painter Derek Buckner’s New York cityscapes are on view at the George Billis Gallery. Many paintings capture views of Manhattan across Red Hook’s industrial rooftops. Through Saturday, April 2, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., George Billis Gallery, 511 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-645-2621, free.

BENEFITS

ISLAND DREAMS A Manhattan party celebrates Brooklyn’s Coney Island. Burlesque performers, “mermaids” swimming in a fish tank, and a carnival freak show are all part of festivities that mark the 25th anniversary of the nonprofit arts organization Coney Island USA. Tomorrow, 8-11 p.m., Coral Room, 512 W. 29th St. at Tenth Avenue, 718-372-5159, $100 minimum donation.

IMMIGRANT AID Asian Americans for Equality celebrates New Yorkers who have contributed to the city’s immigrant community at a benefit next week. Thursday, 5:30 p.m. VIP reception, 6:30 p.m. dinner, 7:30 p.m. program, Jing Fong Restaurant, 20 Elizabeth St., between Bayard and Canal streets, 212-680-1374, $100-$250.

BOOKS

NEW YORK STORY Thomas Kelly’s novel “Empire Rising” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) opens in March of 1930, just after construction began on the Empire State Building. It follows a romance between a construction worker and an artist who is simultaneously romantically involved with a Tammany Hall insider. Mr. Kelly reads from his gritty love story tonight. Tonight, 7 p.m., Half King, 505 W. 23rd St. at 10th Avenue, 212-462-4300, free.

BE COOL The first swimmer to navigate the Strait of Magellan, Lynne Cox, reads from her memoir “Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer” (Harcourt). She has also swum the Bering Strait, crossed the English Channel (in record time at age 15), and made a historic one-mile paddle to Antarctica in 32-degree weather. Ms. Cox’s plump physique is one key to her success: Her balance of fat and muscle helps her survive extremely cold waters. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd Street, 212-362-8835, free.

FILM

MRS. ROBINSON’S WISDOM A middle-age seductress, a stammering college graduate, and a woman who leaves her fiance at the altar: “The Graduate” is not everyone’s idea of a guidebook to successful relationships. Author Dean Sluyter disagrees, and he’ll show clips of the film to accompany a lecture on romance and spirituality. He also presents meditative exercises. Tonight, 8-10 p.m., New York City Open Center, 83 Spring St., between Crosby Street and Broadway, 212-219-2527, $25.

OLD WEST Steve Sterner provides piano accompaniment to a screening of the silent film “The Great K&A Robbery” (1926), a stunt-heavy adventure set in Colorado. It is part of a Western double feature with “Tumbleweeds” (1925), which recreated the 1889 Cherokee Strip land rush. Tonight, 8:20 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.

FACTS OF LIFE Actress Asia Argento stars in her directorial debut, “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.” The film is based on J.T. Leroy’s autobiographical novel of the same name. Twelve-year-old twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse play the character modeled on Mr. LeRoy. The film also features Winona Ryder, Marilyn Manson, and Peter Fonda. The screening is part of the New York Underground Film Festival. Wednesday, 8 p.m., Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave., between 1st and 2nd streets, 212-505-5181, $8.50.

MUSIC

BELLE OF THE BALL Broadway singer Gavin Creel anticipates the release of his album “Prom King” with a musical homage to the high-school dance. He performs a program of songs by the Pointer Sisters, Chaka Kahn, and Michael Jackson with Shoshana Bean of “Wicked” and others. Tonight, 8 p.m., Second Stage Theatre, 307 W. 43rd St. at Eighth Avenue, 212-246-4422, $35.

LIONESS IN WINTER Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, performs a solo set in Brooklyn. Tomorrow, 7 p.m., Southpaw, 125 Fifth Ave., between St. Johns and Sterling places, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-230-0236, $17.50.

POETRY

FINDING ATLANTIS Mark Doty reads his poems and discusses his work as part of the “Distinguished Writers” series. His collection “Atlantis” (HarperCollins) candidly discusses his partner’s death from AIDS. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Hunter College faculty dining room, 68th Street and Lexington Avenue, eighth floor, 212-772-4007, free.

READING

COSMETIC QUEEN A staged reading of a new musical celebrates the life of the first black female millionaire in America, Madame C.J. Walker. She was born Sarah Breedlove to ex-slave sharecroppers in Louisiana. Walker invented a hair-straightening conditioner for black women in 1905 and made her fortune in door-to-door sales. Playwright Joyce Griffen directs the New Heritage Theatre Group production of “The Lady Beneath the Legend.” Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave., between 103rd and 104th streets, 212-534-1672 ext. 3393, $10 general, $6 seniors, students, and members, reservations required.

TALKS

SETTING THE SCENE Art director Dante Ferretti, who won an Academy Award this year for his work on Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator,” discusses his craft with New York University’s Antonio Monda. Mr. Ferretti also collaborated with Mr. Scorsese on “The Age of Innocence,” “Bringing Out the Dead,” and “Gangs of New York.” In addition, he has worked with directors Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, Anthony Minghella, and Julie Taymor, and has been nominated for eight Oscars. Tomorrow, 1 p.m., NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo, 24 W. 12th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-998-8730, free.

PERFECT SHOT Photo editors from The New Yorker and several New York newspapers discuss how they choose just a few images to publish, out of thousands of options. “The Mind of the Photo Editor” is sponsored by the Aperture Foundation. Wednesday, 7 p.m., New School, 66 W. 12th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-229-5488, free.

THEATER

CLOWNING AROUND The Undermain Theatre in Dallas brings a production of Jeffrey M. Jones’s “A Man’s Best Friend” to New York. The play follows a clown gone bad – Sluggo smells terrible, kicks his dog, and picks on his little brother. He also receives a baby from Andy Warhol and battles a squid. Tom Lenaghen stars as the demented clown and Bruce DuBose plays Warhol, Sluggo’s mother, and other characters. In her review in The New York Sun, Helen Shaw wrote that the play is “wildly uneven, occasionally hilarious, and best enjoyed after a stiff drink.” Katherine Owens directs. Through Saturday, March 19, Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Walkerspace, 46 Walker St., between Broadway and Church Street, 212-352-3101, $15.

METAMORPHOSIS In Keith Jarrow’s rock musical “Gorilla Man,” a 14-year-old wakes up one morning to discover that fur has sprouted on the backs of his hands. As he sets out to find his father, the mysterious Gorilla Man, the play makes the indisputable case that “Puberty is hard enough without the insatiable thirst for blood.” Habib Azar directs. Mr. Jarrow, who plays the piano during performances, also penned last year’s Obie Award-winner “A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant.” “Gorilla Man” runs in repertory with Young Jean Lee’s “Pullman, WA.” Thursday through Sunday, March 27, Thursday-Saturday, 9 p.m., Sunday, 7 p.m., P.S. 122, 150 First Ave., 212-477-5288, $15 one show, $25 both shows.

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