Dear New Orleans
d.b.a. Brooklyn; 3/4 at 6 p.m.; 113 N. 7th St., nr. Berry St., Williamsburg; 718-218-6006
A photographic charity project celebrating the folks who make up the fabric of New Orleans with proceeds to benefit Evacuteer.org. Photos (whose celebrity subjects include Susan Sarandon, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Dr. John, Drew Brees, and Mos Def) are $10, and you can craft your own, which will be shared online.
5th Annual Nolafunk Mardi Gras Ball!
Le Poisson Rouge ; 3/5 at 7:30 p.m.; 158 Bleecker St., nr. Thompson St.; 212-505-3474
It’s a brassy dance party with Dr. John and the Lower 911, whose music is as steeped in the Crescent City as you can get: John’s career germinated there in the fifties and culminated with his 2008 album City That Care Forgot, which deals with life post-Katrina. Also on the bill are Soul Rebels Brass Band, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, and D.J. Cochon de Lait.
WWWorld of Mardi Gras
Spectacle Theater; 3/8 at 7 p.m.; 124 S. 3rd St., nr. Bedford Ave., Williamsburg
WWWorld is a regular series at the intimate, 27-seat theater, which combines various media footage (news, documentary, archival) to present a comprehensive portrait of a city. Next Tuesday, viewers will be transported to Bourbon Street, when New Orleans is the subject.
The Two Boots Mardi Gras Ball
Le Poisson Rouge; 3/8 at 7 p.m.; 158 Bleecker St., nr. Thompson St.; 212-505-3474
Luis Guzmán has been crowned king for this benefit for the Lower East Side Girl’s Club, hosted by drag king extraordinaire Murray Hill, and featuring live art and performances by singer Laura Cantrell and funksters the Hungry March Band. If it all makes you a little stir-crazy, you can also enter to win a trip to the actual New Orleans.
The Rover
World Financial Center; 3/2–3/6, 3/8–3/13, and 3/16–3/20 at 7 p.m.; West St. at Vesey St.
Presented by the New York Classical Theater, a play written by Aphra Behn, set at Mardi Gras in seventeenth-century Italy. The men, hidden behind masks, are drunk and volatile, while the women are given the freedom to go wild without the restraint of societal expectations. No doubt debauchery will ensue.
Rodeo Fat Tuesday
Rodeo Bar; 3/8 at 9 p.m.; 375 Third Ave., at 27th St.; 212-683-6500
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include a bar, so we’ll go with the most notorious party: Rodeo Bar’s annual extravaganza with frozen hurricane specials, fried gator, and “good ole’ jambalaya.” Bill Simms Jr. provides the music.