Monroe Film, Picasso, Jens Lekman, Mack the Knife: N.Y. Weekend
Jens Lekman brings his charmingly idiosyncratic brand of post-modern pop to Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday.
His lush crooner’s voice soars over deftly arranged melodies that harken back to 70s-era love songs.
What saves Lekman from overwhelming sop is the droll specificity of his lyrics. Every song is a story -- some are tragic, all are sweet.
66 North 6th St., Brooklyn. Information: +1-718-486-5400; http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com.
Saturday
Take this last chance to see Nick Cave’s arresting Soundsuit sculptures at Jack Shainman Gallery.
These are strange creatures constructed of buttons, wire, bugle beads, baskets and upholstery, some sporting jaunty bunny ears, others with tuba heads.
Here the palette is mostly black, white and gray. In one group, seven figures wear an interconnected poncho, covered with shimmering buttons. An upbeat video shows them hopping, twirling and dancing.
At Mary Boone, Cave’s Soundsuits erupt into color with the addition of such found objects as sock monkeys, pipe cleaners, recycled sweaters, dogwood twigs and lots of glitter.
“Ever-After” runs through Oct. 8 at 513 W. 20th St. Information: +1-212-645-1701; http://www.jackshainman.com.
“For Now” runs through Oct. 22 at 541 W. 24th St. Information: +1-212-752-2929; http://www.maryboonegallery.com.
Saturday Afternoon
Check out David Smith’s stainless steel totems at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Bringing together 60 sculptures, drawings, paintings and photographs, the exhibition focuses on geometry in the artist’s work.
Smith, who died at 59 in 1965, used found and industrial materials to stack up cubes, plates, rods and spheres into playful abstractions.
“David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy” runs until Jan. 8 at the Whitney, 945 Madison Ave. at 75th St. Information: +1-212-570- 3600; http://whitney.org.
Saturday Night
To get a real taste of class warfare, go to “Threepenny Opera” by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, first produced in 1928 Berlin.
Goes one of the lines: “Who is the greater criminal: he who robs a bank or he who founds one?”
Robert Wilson’s production with the Berliner Ensemble evokes German expressionist art and sleazy Weimar night clubs.
Stefan Kurt as Macheath gets to sing the famous murder ballad “Mack the Knife,” while Stefanie Stappenbeck does “Pirate Jenny,” in which a lowly maid yearns for the massacre of all the townspeople.
Brooklyn Academy of Music, Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn. Information: +1718-636-4100; http://www.bam.org.
Then cross the street to Berlyn for some hearty fare, beginning with a refreshing Schwartzwald Spritz, a mix of gin, pine liquor and sekt. It’s autumn, so why not dive into the choucroute with pork loin and bratwurst?
25 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn. Information: +1-718-222-5800.
Sunday
See Picasso’s 1901 self-portrait, power practically streaming off his intense face and shoulders. It’s in a show of 60 drawings from his first three decades, now at the Frick Collection.
There’s the amusing “Hercules,” drawn by the artist in 1890 when he was nine years old and preserved by his proud parents.
You can see his quick mind exploring everything from the 1907 “Yellow Nude,” a study for “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” and an early cubist “Bust of a Woman” (1909) to a consideration of African arts in “Standing Woman from the Back.”
At 1 E. 70th St. until Jan. 8. Information: +1-212-288- 0700; http://www.frick.org.
Sunday Afternoon
Valery Gergiev and his Mariinsky Orchestra are throwing a mini-festival at Carnegie Hall, part of a monthlong celebration of Russian composers and the venue’s 120 years of musical splendor.
Today there are two works by Tchaikovsky, the powerful Symphony No. 5 and the playful No. 2 or “Little Russian.”
57th St. and Seventh Ave. Information: +1-212-247-7800; http://www.carnegiehall.org.
To continue the Russian spirit, head over to Petrossian and feast on caviar with shots of icy vodka.
At 182 W. 58th St. Information: +1-212-245-2214.
Sunday Evening
During the filming of “The Prince and the Showgirl,” Marilyn Monroe royally annoyed director and co-star Laurence Olivier.
See the fireworks in “My Week With Marilyn,” as Michelle Williams portrays the Hollywood diva and Kenneth Branagh takes on the uptight, classically trained actor.
The rest of the cast is not too shabby either: Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Zoe Wanamaker, Dominic Cooper and Eddie Redmayne.
At Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. Part of the New York Film Festival, crammed with movie-goodies, running until Oct. 16. Information: +1-212-875-5050; http://www.filmlinc.com.
(With assistance from Lili Rosboch and Katya Kazakina. Zinta Lundborg is an editor for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Zinta Lundborg at zlundborg@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
"My Week with Marilyn"
New York Film Festival via Bloomberg
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn." The film about the making of the romantic movie starring Monroe and Laurence Olivier, "The Prince and the Showgirl," will be screened at the New York Film Festival.
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn." The film about the making of the romantic movie starring Monroe and Laurence Olivier, "The Prince and the Showgirl," will be screened at the New York Film Festival. Source: New York Film Festival via Bloomberg
"Tanktotem IX"
David Heald/Whitney Museum of American Art via Bloomberg
"Tanktotem IX" by David Smith, part of "David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy" at the Whitney Museum of American Art through Jan. 8, 2012.
"Tanktotem IX" by David Smith, part of "David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy" at the Whitney Museum of American Art through Jan. 8, 2012. Photographer: David Heald/Whitney Museum of American Art via Bloomberg
"17 h's"
David Heald/Whitney Museum of American Art via Bloomberg
"17 h's" by David Smith, in "David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy" at the Whitney.
"17 h's" by David Smith, in "David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy" at the Whitney. Photographer: David Heald/Whitney Museum of American Art via Bloomberg
"Head of a Woman"
Peter Schibli/Frick Collection via Bloomberg
"Head of a Woman" by Pablo Picasso in the exhibition "Picasso's Drawings, 1890-1921: Reinventing Tradition," on view at the Frick Collection through Jan. 8, 2012.
"Head of a Woman" by Pablo Picasso in the exhibition "Picasso's Drawings, 1890-1921: Reinventing Tradition," on view at the Frick Collection through Jan. 8, 2012. Photographer: Peter Schibli/Frick Collection via Bloomberg
"Pierrot and Harlequin"
Frick Collection via Bloomberg
"Pierrot and Harlequin" by Pablo Picasso is part of "Picasso's Drawings, 1890-1921: Reinventing Tradition" at the Frick.
"Pierrot and Harlequin" by Pablo Picasso is part of "Picasso's Drawings, 1890-1921: Reinventing Tradition" at the Frick. Source: Frick Collection via Bloomberg
Valery Gergiev
Alexander Shapunov/Carnegie Hall via Bloomberg
Valery Gergiev and his Mariinsky Orchestra will be at Carnegie Hall on Sunday.
Valery Gergiev and his Mariinsky Orchestra will be at Carnegie Hall on Sunday. Photographer: Alexander Shapunov/Carnegie Hall via Bloomberg
Mariinsky Orchestra
Richard Termine/Carnegie Hall via Bloomberg
The Mariinsky Orchestra from Russia will be playing at Carnegie Hall on Sunday.
The Mariinsky Orchestra from Russia will be playing at Carnegie Hall on Sunday. Photographer: Richard Termine/Carnegie Hall via Bloomberg
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