Détournement: Signs of the Times
Jonathan LeVine Gallery, 529 W. 20th St., 9th fl., nr. Eleventh Ave.; Tue–Sat, 11 p.m.–6 p.m.; through 8/25.
This optically popping, intellectually agile show is curated by one of the hippest dudes with one of the sharpest eyes around: longtime pop culture critic and all-around cool guy Carlo McCormick, who shows you that words and art can kick out the politico-visual cobwebs.
PS1 Warm Up
MoMA PS1, 22–25 Jackson Ave., at 46th Ave., Long Island City, Queens; 718-784-2084; Saturdays at 3; through 9/8.
There’s only three weeks left of the weekend dance party with this Saturday’s shindig featuring Just Blaze and the sartorially savvy Danny Brown. Come for the music and keep cool under Wendy, the geometric courtyard installation that also mists partygoers.
Breed
Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, 730 Fifth Ave., nr. 57th St.; 212-445-0444; through 8/24
Paintings by Duncan Hannah, Erika Keck, Eddie Martinez, and Jansson Stegner explore the relationship between musical composition and visual art in this exhibition, which takes its title from the Nirvana song.
dell’Arte Opera Ensemble
The East Thirteenth Street Theatre, 136 E. 13th St., nr. Third Ave.; 646-796-3492; through 8/26.
The troupe supporting emerging singers presents Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites and Bizet’s Carmen in repertory.
Clybourne Park
Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., nr. Broadway; through 9/2
Just a couple of weeks to catch this year’s Tony-winning Best Play, a near-perfect blend of two great American literary pastimes: the comedy of bad manners and the gloves-off, say anything racial cage match.
One Man, Two Guvnors
Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th St., nr. Broadway; through 9/2.
This isn’t just an expert demo in comedy fundamentals, but a full cross-section diagram of Why We Laugh, from meticulously choreographed pratfalls to the controlled chaos of improv.
Richard III
The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., nr. 4th St.; 212-539-8500; through 8/25.
After a whirlwind tour of the city’s prisons and elder-care facilities, Shakespeare’s most ruthless political climber returns to his home court on Lafayette Street for a tutorial in how nasty, brutish, and short (90 minutes!) the Bard can be. Don’t miss Amanda Dehnert’s sleek and thrilling production.
Uncle Vanya
Soho Rep, 46 Walker St., nr. Broadway; 212-941-8632; through 8/26.
Intimate distance is both the operative pleasure and defining frustration of this unique, often bewitching production, which offers a colloquial take on Chekov and isn’t likely to be repeated. Only a few more days to catch it.
Into the Woods
Delacorte Theater at Central Park, Central Park West, at 81st St.; 212-539-8750; through 9/1.
This whole production feels a little buried in its own footprint. Yet the cumulative result is inescapably magical, with a little over a week left to to see its awkward, flawed success.