ART

FROM MILLINER TO MOGUL The Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology presents the opening of “Lilly Daché: Glamour at the Drop of a Hat,” an exhibit devoted to the milliner whose success during the 1930s and 1940s epitomized the spirit of the American dream. Daché arrived from France in 1924 with only $13 and went on to build a fashion empire that included ready-to-wear, fragrances, and accessories, and a client list that boasted such starlets as Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. Among the featured items are rare garments, sketches, and photographs. The show is curated by graduate students of the school’s program in Fashion and Textile Studies. Opens tonight, exhibit through Saturday, April 21, Tuesday–Friday, noon–8 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., the Museum at FIT, 227 W. 27th St. at Seventh Avenue, 212-217-5800, free.

DANCE

RETURN TO THE WEST SIDE The Buglisi Dance Theatre, headed by artistic director Jacqulyn Buglisi, arrives at the Joyce Theater with two programs of new and repertory works. Two premiere works are featured, “Caravaggio Meets Hopper” and “Acapelorus (a walrus tale).” Performers include guest dancers Martine van Hamel and Robert La Fosse, and company dancers Terese Capucilli and Christine Dakin. Tonight through Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m., Joyce Theater, 715 Eighth Ave. at 45th Street, 212-242-0800, $36.

MUSIC

BLOWING OUT THE CANDLES The “Sing Into Spring Festival” is a concert given by jazz vocalist Mark Murphy and the Misha Piatigorsky Quartet. Mr. Murphy celebrates his 75th birthday with this engagement. Featured performers include Mr. Piatigorsky on piano, Hans Glawischnig on bass, and Ernesto Simpson on drums. Tonight through Sunday, March, 18, Tuesday–Thursday, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:00 p.m., Friday–Saturday, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 p.m., Sunday, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz at Lincoln Center, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 33 W. 60th St. at Broadway, 212-258-9800, $30 cover. For complete information, go to jalc.org.

MELODIC CYCLES The duo Two Sides Sounding, featuring soprano Eleanor Taylor and pianist Jocelyn Dueck, perform the premiere of the cycle “Songs of Lament and Praise” by Gilda Lyons, as well as songs by Tom Cipullo, John Musto, and Edie Hill. Tonight, 8 p.m., Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave. at 54th Street, 212-935-2200, $10 donation suggested.

OPERA’S BAD GIRLS “Fallen Female or Femme Fatale? Operatic Portraits” is a multimedia presentation given by Jasmin Cowin, a regular lecturer on opera at education and cultural institutions. Ms. Cowin discusses the role of women in opera, including their struggles, their relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, and lovers, and the sexual politics that often informs these relationships. The talk is a part of a celebration of Women’s History Month presented by the New York Public Library. Tomorrow,6:30 p.m., NYPL, Mid-Manhattan Branch, 455 Fifth Ave. at 40th Street, 212-340-0849, free.

POETRY

SHAKESPEARE IN INK Poet Martha Ronk gives a talk on the work of William Shakespeare. Ms. Ronk offers a look at the bard’s rhetoric and draws correlations between Elizabethan and contemporary poetry. A Q &A follows. The talk is featured as part of the “Passwords” series, created to provide audiences with a link between contemporary practitioners and poets of the past. Tonight, 7 p.m., Poets House, 72 Spring St., between Crosby and Lafayette streets, second floor, 212-431-7920, $7 general, free for members.

TALKS

ART AROUND THE SQUARE The Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America presents an illustrated lecture, “Left Bank New York: Artists Off Washington Square, 1890s to 1920,” by a research assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Virginia Budny. She discusses how painters and sculptors transformed the West Village at the beginning of the 20th century. The talk is co-sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Tonight, 6 p.m., Donnell Library Auditorium, 20 W. 53rd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-886-3742, free.

KEEPING MALLS AT BAY “Is Gotham Going Suburban?” is a panel discussion presented by the Gotham Center for New York City History, featuring seven contributors to the book “The Suburbanization of New York: Is the World’s Greatest City Becoming Just Another Town?” (Princeton Architectural Press). The panelists discuss the “malling” of the city by shopping chains and big-name real estate companies. Participants include a contributing writer for The New York Sun, Francis Morrone, and authors Neil Smith and Suzanne Wasserman. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., City University of New York Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., between 34th and 35th streets, 212-817 8460, free. PAINTINGS

WHITE HEAT The exhibit “Paul Pagk: Aftermath and Lexicon” features works created between 2002 and 2007, split into two categories: “the Lexicon Series” and large-scale abstractions. The Lexicon Series contains several dozen works, numbered sequentially as each canvas came into being. Selections from the exhibit include “White Light” (2003–04), above. Through Saturday, March 24, Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Moti Hasson Gallery, 535 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-268-4444, free.

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.