MUSIC

THE ADAMS FAMILY OF SONGS The multiplatinum-selling Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams returns to New York for a concert promoting his new album, “11.” The release’s title is symbolic: The disc is his 11th album of entirely original music and features 11 songs recorded in hotel rooms and backstage concert venues throughout Europe during the past two years. Mr. Adams is known for such hits as “Summer of ’69” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.” Saturday, 8 p.m., New York Society for Ethical Culture, the Concert Hall, 2 W. 64th St. at Central Park West, 212-307-7171, $35.

DESIGN

EXTREME MAKEOVER An exhibit of the thesis work of 17 graduating students in interior design concludes today. The theme of the show, presented by the National Arts Club, is “envisioning a greater New York.” To that end, School of Visual Arts students created a series of design concepts whose purpose is enhancing life throughout the city. Among the proposals is Helen Lee’s idea for the Tribeca Culinary Institute and Grace Hwang’s project, Koinonia Bible Church, which is inspired by St. Peter’s in Rome and incorporates traditional materials such as limestone into a contemporary edifice. Today, noon–5 p.m., National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South at 20th Street, between Park Avenue South and Irving Place, 212-475-3424, free.

GALLERY-GOING

ROCKWELL AT THE PARK As part of its “Meet a Museum” series, the Gallery at the Park Avenue Bank presents “Norman Rockwell in Black and White: Drawings for Classic Saturday Evening Post Covers” from the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass. The museum holds the world’s largest and most significant collection of Rockwell’s works. The current exhibit features a selection of full-scale charcoal drawings Rockwell created as studies for Post covers such as “The Art Critic” (April 16, 1955), and “The Gossips” (March 6, 1948), for which Rockwell’s neighbors in Vermont, wife, and the artist himself served as models. Through Friday, June 6, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m., Thursday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Gallery at the Park Avenue Bank, 350 Park Ave., between 51st and 52nd streets, 212-755-4600, free.

THE VIEW OUTSIDE Zhu Daoping’s first American exhibit, “Ink Tracery,” is inspired by a life spent admiring the natural beauty of Chinese landscapes. Born at the outset of the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Zhu was not allowed to take up the formal study of painting until 1974. Instead, he spent his childhood working alongside peasants in the rural countryside, where he had been sent as a youth from his native Nanjing. In that provincial setting, though, he saw his first snowfall and decided to become an artist. His work with ink on paper is considered in China to be some of the finest traditional art in the country. Through Saturday, June 14, Tuesday–Saturday, noon–5 p.m., M. Sutherland Fine Arts, 55 E. 80th St., 2nd floor, between Madison and Park avenues, 212-249-0428, free.

MUSIC

GRITTY SOUL British-born singer Estelle, the first artist signed to R&B crooner John Legend’s record label, HomeSchool, performs songs from her new album, “Shine,” at the Highline Ballroom. Accompanying acts are as yet unnamed surprise guests, but an appearance by Mr. Legend is not a long shot. Estelle’s sound melds rap, soul, and the music of her gritty, native West London. Estelle’s sultry vocals can currently be heard on the exceedingly danceable duet “American Boy,” with Kanye West. Tonight, 9 p.m., Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St., between Ninth and Tenth avenues, 212-414-5994, $15.

READINGS

GIRLS RULE! In the 1960s and ’70s, folk-pop singers Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon were among the three most important women in American music. Author Sheila Weller’s biography of the trio, “Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon — and the Journey of a Generation” (Simon & Schuster), is an account of the women’s lives but also an exploration of the impact they had on the young women who were embracing feminism, confronting issues of identity, sexual politics, and self-empowerment. Ms. Weller reads from the book and relays some of its juicier tidbits. Tonight, 7 p.m., Borders, 10 Columbus Circle at 59th Street, 212-823-9775, free.

THEATER

BRECHT IS BACK The Hipgnosis Theatre Company presents a revival in of one of Bertolt Brecht’s most important plays, “The Caucasian Chalk Circle.” The broad comedy, which the German-born Brecht wrote while he was living in America in the 1940s, follows villagers in immediate postwar Russia who are trying to decide how to divvy up the village land after the retreat of the Nazis. Brecht explores the complexities of wealth and ownership in a cross-cultural parable that uses the device of a play within a play. Margot Newkirk directs, with an original score by Demetri Bonaros. Through Sunday, May 11, Wednesday–Sunday, 7 p.m., the Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street, between Broadway and Lafayette streets, 917-591-7817, $18.

SHAKESPEARE ABRIDGED The Sackett Group theater ensemble stages the comedy “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield. The play tackles Shakespeare’s prolificacy by cramming shortened version of his 37 plays and 154 sonnets into one theatrical performance. A longtime Sackett Group member, Corinne Slagle, directs the play, which features only three actors. Through Sunday, May 11, Thursday–Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Brooklyn Music School Playhouse, 126 St. Felix St., between Lafayette Avenue and Hanson Place, Brooklyn, 718-638-7104, $20 general, $16 students and seniors.

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