Theater
Photo by Paula Court
From left: Joel Israel, Caitlin McDonough Thayer and Sarah Dahlen
DEEP TRANCE BEHAVIOR IN POTATOLAND
Avant-garde playwright and director Richard Foreman, 70, has become a Greenwich Village institution, but his plays never fail to surprise. Everything in “Deep Trance Behavior” is off-kilter, from the windows to the multiple pianos, one of which is sinking. The five young actors perform in front of projected digital footage from Japan and England, until the action ultimately jumps across the Atlantic to New York. In typical Foreman fashion, the production comes in at just over an hour, but it’s a wild experience, one that challenges the audience to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Through April 13 at 8 p.m. Ontological-Hysteric Theater at St. Mark’s Church. 131 E. 10th St. 212-352-3101, ontological.com.
Talks
VALENTINE’S DAY POETRY READING
To get in the mood, try listening to selections from “The Best American Erotic Poems: From 1800 to the Present,” read aloud by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins (pictured), and writers Mark Strand, Deborah Landau, Molly Peacock, Noah Michelson, Honor Moore, and the book’s editor, David Lehman. Between all the complicated designs Lehman lists in his own poem about how romantic love reveals itself, there’s this simple, perfect gem: “When a woman loves a man, she wants to stay awake.” It may be a different story, of course, after she starts drinking champagne. Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. NYU’s Hemmerdinger Hall, Silver Center. 100 Washington Square East. 212-998-8850, cwp.fas.nyu.edu
Film
CLASS OF THE ’80s
IFC’s weekend midnight movie series includes a monthlong look at the most iconic high school movies of the 1980s: “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Risky Business” “The Breakfast Club,” “Footloose,” and “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” In “Sixteen Candles,” Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and Michael Schoeffling navigate the hormonal minefield of unrequited lust, with hilarious cameos from baby-faced John and Joan Cusack. Twenty-five years after it came out, the movie still serves as an excellent reminder that while you might not get the guy you want, at least there’s someone else (with braces!) who wants to buy your underwear. Fridays and Saturdays, Feb. 15 thru March 22. IFC Center. 323 Sixth Ave. 212-924-7771, ifccenter.com
Courtesy Channel Productions
Music
Courtesy Band of Horses
TIBET HOUSE BENEFIT CONCERT
Fresh from composing haunting music for the NYTW’s “Beckett Shorts,” Philip Glass oversees a superlative line-up of musicians taking part in the 18th Annual Benefit Concert for the U.S. Tibet House, in Chelsea. Performers include Sufjan Stevens, Marisa Monte; Nawang Khechog; Ray Davies; Tom Verlaine; Ashley MacIsaac; and beloved Seattle indie rockers Band of Horses (pictured). Tickets for a post-concert dinner party are available through Tibet House. (Feb. 13 at 7:30pm. Carnegie Hall. 57th St. and 7th Ave. 212-247-7800, carnegiehall.org, tibethouse.org.) On the horizon, best-selling travel writer Pico Iyer discusses his upcoming book, “The Open Road: The Global Journey of the XIVth Dalai Lama.” Having known His High Holiness for 30 years, Iyer illuminates the hidden life of Tibet’s most famous icon. April 11 at 7pm. NY Public Library, 42nd St and 5th Ave. 212-868-4444, nypl.org.
Food & Drink
AN EVENING OF APHRODISIACS
Casanova is rumored to have downed several dozen raw oysters for breakfast every morning while in the bathtub, and if that’s true, he was smarter than your average professional playboy. Recent studies confirm oysters contain amino acids that trigger sex hormones—and what better reason than Valentine’s week to put yourself to the test? At Savoy restaurant in Soho, oyster connoisseur Jon Rowley will lead a white-wine paired taste-off of east and west coast varieties. It will at least satiate your desire to learn the difference. Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Savoy. 70 Prince St. 212-219-8570, savoynyc.com
