MUSIC

LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR The New York Philharmonic presents a partial staging of Lerner and Loewe’s “Camelot.” Actor Gabriel Byrne, in the role of King Arthur, leads an all-star cast of actors that includes Fran Drescher as Morgan Le Fey and Stacey Keach as Merlyn. The musical is based on the T.H. White novel “The Once and Future King,” and tells the tale of a monarch whose idealized kingdom meets a tragic end at the hands of his illegitimate son. The royal must also cope with a disastrous affair between his most trusted knight, Sir Lancelot, and his beautiful queen, Guenevere. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, 132 W. 65th St. at Columbus Avenue, 212-875-5030, $65­-$250.

READINGS

COMIC CALAMITY Author David Hajdu discusses his new book, “The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Mr. Hajdu examines the censorship debate over comic books that raged in the 1950s, prompting congressional hearings and highlighting the growing generation gap. He casts the controversy as a prelude to the culture war over rock music that would follow in the next decade. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Freebird Books and Goods, 123 Columbia St., between Kane and Degraw streets, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, 718-643-8484, free.

TALKS

IN THE BEGINNING The chairman of the department of religion at Boston University, Stephen Prothero, gives a lecture on “Biblical Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — and Doesn’t.” Mr. Prothero discusses the hazards of religious ignorance in America, particularly as Western society appears to grow increasingly secular. According to research, about nine out of 10 Americans claim to believe in a higher power, but many cannot identify Biblical references in history, art, or literature. Friday, 6:30 p.m., Museum of Biblical Art, 1865 Broadway at 61st Street, 212-408-1500, free.

LET’S TALK ABOUT ART The National Academy Museum and artcritical.com host another installment of the ongoing Review Panel series. The assembled group discusses the 2008 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Among the panelists are an art critic for Bloomberg News, Carly Berwick, a painter and critic at Newsweek, Peter Plagens, and an art critic of The New York Sun, David Cohen. Friday, 6:45 p.m., National Academy Museum, 945 Madison Ave. at 89th Street, $5 general, free for members and students.

IN RAINBOWS The Museum of Modern Art hosts a gallery talk in conjunction with the ongoing exhibit “Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson.” An artist who has taught at the New School for General Studies and New York University, Paula Stuttman, gives a lecture and leads atour of the show. The artist’s first comprehensive survey in America features spectacular “natural” indoor environments, sculptures, and photographs that re-create the extreme landscapes of the artist’s native Scandinavia. Today, 11:30 a.m., MoMA, Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium, 11 W. 53rd St., second floor, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-708-9400, $20 general, $16 seniors, $12 students, free for members and children under 16.

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