ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN OF A CENTURY “Piranesi as Designer,” an exhibit that examines the artist’s role in the reform of architecture, is on view at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. An 18th-century Italian architect and designer, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, created elaborate interiors and exquisite furnishings that continue to have an impact on how artists work within the two mediums. The show includes etchings, original drawings, and prints by Piranesi, as well as a selection of three-dimensional objects by the artist and his successors. Through Sunday, January 20, Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday, noon–6 p.m., Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 E. 91st St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-849-8400, $12 general, $9 seniors and students, free for Cooper-Hewitt and Smithsonian Institution members, and children under 12.

DANCE

THESE ARE THE BREAKS A hip-hop dance and theater company, Full Circle Productions, began working on the piece “Innaviews” in January 2006 at Dance Theater Workshop. The completed work was constructed as a duet between dancers Kwikstep (Gabriel Dionisio) and Rokafella (Anita Garcia), and tells the stories of the pair’s efforts to bring street dance to the professional stage, as well as to debunk misconceptions about the art form. The workshop hosts a performance of the piece, which combines high-impact movement with monologues, poetry, and video. Mr. Dionisio and Ms. Garcia choreographed “Innaviews,” and Gamal Chasten is director. Tonight through Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Dance Theater Workshop, 219 W. 19th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-924-0077, $20 general, $12 students, seniors, and members.

DESIGN

BEST OF THE CLASS The New York School of Interior Design presents its annual B.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, featuring the work of 17 candidates for the degree from the school’s graduating class. Artists include Violeta Lekutanoy, whose design for a memorial to the victims of war in Sarajevo during the 1990s provides perspective on what everyday life was like for city inhabitants. Selections from the exhibit include views of the lobby, top, and ceiling, above, of Stefan Steil’s “Sander Haus,” a redesign of SoHo’s Cable Building into a spa and luxury apartment building owned by fashion designer Jil Sander. Opens today, through Friday, February 15, Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., New York School of Interior Design, 170 E. 70th St., between Third and Lexington avenues, 212-472-5100, free.

FAMILY

ALLEVIATING CABIN FEVER If your children are spending too much time sitting under a Christmas tree shaking presents, you can take them to Symphony Space, where two family-friendly film screenings are featured as part of the New York International Film Festival. “Ugly Duckling and Me” is a contemporary reinterpretation (in animated 3-D) of Hans Christian Andersen’s “Ugly Duckling” tale. It screens Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. The Danish film follows a scheming rat named Ratso that exploits a young, unattractive chicken on the carnival circuit. But Ratso soon discovers that his relationship with the youthful chick makes his pursuits extremely complicated. A screening of Juan Carlos Cremata’s “Viva Cuba!,” a live-action film about two runaways who travel the length of Cuba by train to find a missing father, follows. It screens Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, 212-864-5400, $10.

THE SWEET LIFE OF ZACK “A Kid’s Life,” a musical, follows the adventures of a 5-year-old boy, Zack, his golden retriever, Starsky, and a shy new girl in town, Zoe. The trio wanders around their neighborhood, while learning lessons about the passing of time, the ability of animals to have feelings, and the beauty of nature — from a talking clock, a spotted owl, and an orange tree. Theatergoers are invited to meet and greet all of the characters and pose for pictures with them after the show. A special Divalysscious Moms-sponsored show on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. includes VIP seating, and a book and CD, for $40 a family. The musical is recommended for children between the ages of 2 and 12. Saturday,10a.m. and12:30p.m.,Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Wednesday–Thursday, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., through January 12, dates and times vary, The Theatre at Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave. at 54th Street, 212-935-2200. $20–$35. For more information, go to divalyssciousmoms.com or akidslife.net.

FILM

INTO THIN AIR An aspiring filmmaker, Danny Williams, right, was the lighting designer and sometime lover of artist Andy Warhol during the Factory days. “A Walk Into the Sea” (2007), directed by Williams’s niece, Esther Robinson, explores her uncle’s artistic promise and mysterious disappearance in 1966. One afternoon, during a family gathering in Massachusetts, Williams borrowed his mother’s car, saying only that he was stepping out for air. He was never seen or heard from again. A lesser-known regular at the Factory, Williams worked on more than 20 films featuring such Warhol disciples as Edie Sedgwick and the Velvet Underground. “The brilliance that earned Williams a seat near the head of Warhol’s creative table and for a time a corresponding place in the artist’s bed led the sensitive Harvard dropout into direct conflict with the volatile egos that made up the Factory scene,” critic Bruce Bennett wrote in the December 14 New York Sun. Through Friday, December 28, times vary, Cinema Village, 22 E. 12th St., between Fifth Avenue and University Place, 212-924-3363, $10.50.

HOLIDAY

A CHOIR CHRISTMAS Before New Yorkers attend midnight Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the church plays host to a festive gathering during the “A City Singing at Christmas” concert. Performers include the St. Patrick’s Cathedral choir, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, the Queens College Choir and the Queens College Chorus, and the New York Symphonic Brass. Tonight, 7 p.m., St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 460 Madison Ave., between 50th and 51st streets, 212-753-2261, free.

MUSIC

EVERY ROSE HAS ITS HORN Vocalist Carolyn Sills and the Brooklyn-based alterna-country band, the Poor Man’s Roses, perform a tribute to country music legend Patsy Cline. Ms. Sills and her band play such classics as “Crazy” and “I Fall to Pieces,” as well as a program of holiday favorites made famous by Cline. Ms. Sills (also of the blues-Americana band Boss Tweed) and The Poor Man’s Roses have attracted a following on the East Coast with nostalgic renditions of Cline’s catalog. Tonight, 10 p.m., Rodeo Bar, 375 Third Ave. at 27th Street, 212-683-6500, free.

READINGS

POETRY FOR ALL Sip Lounge, a stone’s throw from Columbia University, hosts its monthly reading series, Sip Lit. Featured writers include poet Sarah Arvio, who reads from her two collections, “Sono” and “Visits From the Seventh” (Knopf ), and Peter Cameron, who reads from his latest novel, “Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You” (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux). Ms. Arvio’s work has earned her the Rome Prize, a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship, and the Paris Review’s Bernard F. Connors Prize. Tonight, 8 p.m., Sip Lounge, 998 Amsterdam Ave., between 109th and 110th streets, 212-316-2747, free.

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