ART & DESIGN

HAUTE COMMODES New work by the contemporary French sculptor Ingrid Donat is on view at Barry Friedman Ltd. The exhibit features Ms. Donat’s richly textured, limited edition bronze-cast furniture. Ms. Donat’s aesthetic combines tribal, classical, and Modern sources, and recalls the stylistic influence of colonial Africa, Central and South America, and Oceania on French artists and designers of the 1920s and ’30s. Highlights include her “Commode, 6 Tiroirs” (2005), right, and low-lying tables that evoke the handcrafted detail of ancient African masks. Through Saturday, March 15, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Barry Friedman Ltd., 515 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-239-8600, free.

BENEFITS

HIGH ROLLERS WITH BIG HEARTS The Young Professionals Committee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City holds its annual Big Night Out benefit, which raises money for the nonprofit organization’s mentoring programs. Guests are expected to number between 800 and 900 at the black-tie event, which is open to the public. Entertainment includes casino games, dancing, a silent auction, and dinner. DJ Mode of Bungalow 8 spins beats for the evening. Saturday, 9 p.m.–2 a.m., Cipriani 23rd Street, 200 Fifth Ave. at 23rd Street, 212-994-7701, $165–$200.

FAMILY

GIANT STEPS With a catalog that includes hits such as “Particle Man” and “Istanbul,” the group They Might Be Giants has always been a child-friendly band. The release this month of the album “Here Come the 123s” solidifies the band’s effort to make music specifically for families to bop to. It follows the 2005 recording “Here Come the ABCs.” The quirky, Brooklyn-based Giants perform tracks from the new CD this weekend. Members include keyboardist John Linnell and guitarist John Flansburgh.

Saturday, 3 p.m., Borders Columbus Circle, 10 Columbus Circle at Broadway, 212-823-9775, free.

FILM

CHILLS AND THRILLS The American Scandinavian Foundation presents a screening of “Heima,” a concert film featuring the post-rock quartet Sigur Rós. The documentary, whose title translates as “homeland” or “at home,” explores not only the success of the band but also the unique Icelandic landscape, which has also spawned singer Björk. Sigur Rós is known for its experimental riffs and lead singer Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson’s distinctive falsetto. Filmmaker Denni Karlsson’s documentary-style film includes footage from the group’s 2006 series of summertime concerts, when the band played in a range of unusual venues, from deserted fish factories and far-flung community halls, to darkened caves, and an enormous, horseshoe-shaped canyon. Saturday, 7 p.m., Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave. at 38th Street, 212-879-9779, $10.

MUSIC

STAIRWAY TO PARADISE An award-winning composer and music lecturer, Joelle Wallach, revisits some of the classic songs George and Ira Gershwin wrote for Hollywood films. The talk, on Saturday at 4 p.m., is the second of a three-part series at the 92nd Street Y titled “Music as Melting Pot Mosaic,” which examines the Gershwins’ contributions to American music. Tunes such as “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” made their way to the silver screen. Also at the Y on Saturday is the venue’s ongoing Saturday Night Ballroom Party. Revelers are invited to waltz, tango, quick-step, or cha-cha the night away. The Sandra Cameron Ballroom Dancers also perform. Lecture Saturday, 4 p.m., $35; party, Saturday, 7 p.m.–midnight, $15, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5435.

RAP, MEET ROCK The Brooklyn venue Studio B celebrates the launch of its Web site with a genre-bending musical lineup. The unofficial leader of the Staten Island-based rap super-group Wu-Tang Clan, RZA (pronounced “ri-zah,” born Robert Diggs), headlines a concert featuring four indie-rock bands. Murder Mystery Group, Blood Red Sun, Paul Holmes and the Great Depression, and the Stationary Set share the bill with glam-hop band Team Facelift. Friday, 10 p.m., Studio B, 259 Banker St., between Meserol and Calyer streets, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-389-1880, free.

SPANISH LULLABY The Skirball Center for Performing Arts at New York University presents the band Son de la Frontera, which performs as part of the 2008 New York Flamenco Festival. The festival is being celebrated at various venues around the city. The Grammy-nominated ensemble is best known for blending traditional flamenco with rhythms and melodies that span the Americas. Son de la Frontera (which translates as “sound of the frontier”) is also the first flamenco group to incorporate the Cuban trés, a guitar with three double strings, in its recording. The program includes selections from the critically acclaimed album “Cal.”

Saturday, 8 p.m., and Sunday, 7 p.m., NYU, Skirball Center for Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South, 212-279-4200, $35–$45 general, $15 NYU students.

FILM SERIES

LIFE OF CRIME In Japan, the term yakuza refers in general to the country’s organized crime groups, which are drawn in part along familial lines. In the late 1960s, director Toshio Masuda helmed a six-part “Burai” series of films that offered a glimpse of the lives of the yakuza. The first in the collection, “Gangster VIP” (“Burai yori daikanbu”) (1968), features actor Tetsuya Watari (standing, above center, in dark suit) as Goro, a hit man who is sent to prison for stabbing a childhood friend who is also a rival gang member. When he is released from prison, Goro vows to leave behind the criminal life. But when a tragedy strikes, Goro can’t resist seeking revenge. The Japan Society screens the movie as part of its series “No Borders, No Limits: 1960s Nikkatsu Action Cinema.”

Friday, 7:30 p.m., Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St., between First and Second avenues, 212-715-1258, $10 general, $7 members and seniors, $4.50 students.

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