TALKS

THE SCIENCE GUY Park Slope’s Union Hall presents another round of its Secret Science Club, which features informal and lively discussions by prominent scientists. This week’s speaker is the president of Rockefeller University, Paul Nurse, right, who won a Nobel Prize in 2001 for his work on how cell replication and its implications for cancer research. He has also been a co-host of the science series on “The Charlie Rose Show.” Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Union Hall, 702 Union St. at Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-638-4400, free.

ART

LENSES AND BRUSHES The Christopher Henry Gallery has mounted two separate exhibits featuring the work of photographer Jimi Billingsley and painter Lynton Wells. Mr. Billingsley’s exhibit, “Spreepark, Lost Paradise, Berlin,” includes snapshots of abandoned rides at a Berlin amusement park that closed in 2001. Mr. Wells’s exhibit, “Fiction,” features depictions of fairies and demons in fantastical realm. Through Monday, March 10, Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Christopher Henry Gallery, 127 Elizabeth St., between Broome and Grand streets, 212-244-6004, free.

BREAKING FREE Peter Sís is perhaps best known for his recent publication “The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), an illustrated story detailing how Mr. Sís used his art to escape communism in Czechoslovakia. He sought asylum in America in 1982. Drawings from the book, as well as other original works, are on view in “Freedom of Expression: The Art of Peter Sís.”

Through Saturday, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Mary Ryan Gallery, 527 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-397-0669, free.

MUSEUMS

RENAISSANCE MEN Before the Italian masters painted the ceilings of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, there were sketches and planning to be done. “Michelangelo, Vasari, and Their Contemporaries: Drawings from the Uffizi” gathers drawings by Ponteromo, Andrea del Sarto, and Bronzino. They were involved in creating the artworks that decorated the various apartments at the Florentine palace, which served as the home of the Medici dukes in the 16th century. Cosimo I de’ Medici commissioned artist Georgio Vasari to create and preside over much of the artistic expansion and direction at the palace. The show comprises nearly 80 sketches — including four by Vasari. Through Sunday, April 20, Tuesday–Thursday, 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m, Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Morgan Library and Museum, 225 Madison Ave. at 36th Street, 212-685-0008, $12.

MUSIC

BROKEN VOICE Bronx-born singer-guitarist Ari Hest kicks off the 55UnderGround concert series at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, playing selections from his latest album, “The Break-In.” Mr. Hest’s sound is a blend of soft folk and acoustic pop-rock. The new concert series aims to showcase contemporary music by emerging artists of all genres. Friday, 8 p.m., Baruch College, Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Ave. at 25th Street, 212-325-3101, $25. For complete information, go to 55underground.com.

INFLUENTIAL MOZART The St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble presents “Mozart’s Shadow,” a concert that celebrates the composer’s influence on the generation of Viennese composers that succeeded him. The program includes his Quintet in A major for clarinet and strings, and Beethoven’s “Eyeglass Duo” in E-flat major for viola and cello. Tonight and tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Ave., between 36th and 37th streets, 212-594-6100, $40 general, $30 members.

READINGS

MEAN STREETS Veteran writer Jimmy Breslin reads from and discusses “The Good Rat: A True Story” (Ecco), his account of the trial of two New York City detectives convicted in 2006 for acting as mob hit men. An informant, Burton Kaplan, delivered grand jury testimony that was key in bringing an indictment against Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappo. While following the trial, Mr. Breslin found that he was drawn more to Mr. Kaplan’s story — and other mob turncoats or “canaries” who sing under oath — than to that of the embattled detectives. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Mr. Breslin covered the mafia underworld for years at newspapers including the Daily News and Newsday. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West at 76th Street, 212-868-4444, $15 general, $10 students, faculty, and seniors.

TALKS

BELLA FROM THE BRONX The 92nd Street Y presents “Bella Abzug: The Political Legacy of One Tough Broad from the Bronx.” Abzug, an activist and congresswoman, made a career of championing the causes of the powerless and disenfranchised — from Zionism to the environmental and economic equality movements of the 1990s. A panel of speakers discusses the contributions of Abzug, who dies in 1998. Panelists include the authors of “Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed Off Jimmy Carter, Battled for the Rights of Women and Workers, Rallied Against War and for the Planet, and Shook Up Politics Along the Way” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom, and the Manhattan borough president, Scott Stringer, who campaigned as a youth for his cousin Bella. Tomorrow, 8:15 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $26.

THEATER

KISS THE GIRLS The National Theater of the United States of America presents Molière’s “Don Juan” at the Chocolate Factory. Written in the 1600s while Molière’s previous work, “Tartuffe,” was still banned from the stage, “Don Juan” tells the story of the legendary womanizer as he seduces the local women, luring them from convents and other men. “Don Juan” is the experimental theater company’s first attempt at classical text. Tonight through Saturday, 8 p.m., the Chocolate Factory, 5-49 49th Ave. between Vernon Boulevard and 5th Street, Long Island City, Queens 718-482-7069, $15.

TWO NATIONS AT ODDS The Public Theater, in association with England’s Royal Court Theatre presents Caryl Churchill’s “Drunk Enough To Say I Love You?” The play is a metaphorical work about the relationship between America and Britain. Through Sunday, April 6, Tuesday, 7 p.m., Wednesday–Fri day, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m. Sunday, 3 and 7 p.m., Public Theater 425 Lafayette St., between Astor Place and 4th Street, 212-539-8500 $50.

MULTIMEDIA

CRYING WOLF “Mister Pink and Friends,” an exhibit of works by Israel-born Leat Klingman, is also the name of the artist’s cast of the imaginary, animated world of finger-size characters. Ms. Klingman painstakingly creates the tiny costumes and detailed sets for the characters that appear in her videotaped art performances. The mini-features, with titles such as “Carmen” and “The Wolf, I Say,” are intended to address themes of childhood fantasy and adulthood. Selections from the exhibit include “Wolfi” (2007), above. Through Sunday, Friday–Saturday, 1–7 p.m., Sunday, noon–6 p.m., Galeria Janet Kurnatowski, 205 Norman Ave. at Humboldt Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 718-383-9380, free.

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