Lou Reed
Lou Reed will be making a special appearance to read from his new book, “Pass Thru Fire: the Collected Lyrics,” a body of work that spans more than three decades. Through his many incarnations, from proto punk to glam rocker to elder statesman of the avant garde, Reed’s music has maintained an undeniable vividness and raw beauty, fueled by precise character studies and rendered with an admirable shot of moral ambiguity. After the reading Record Producer Hal Willner, co-host of The New York Shuffle – Sirus XM radio show with Lou Reed, will be moderating a Q&A with audience members, which will be followed by a signing. Fri., Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. Free. Paula Cooper Gallery. 534 West 21st St. (btwn 21st & 22nd Sts.) RSVP 212-255-4022; 192books.org.
Must Read After My Death
Filmmaker Morgan Dews was very close to his grandmother, but it wasn’t until after her death in 2001 that he became aware of an astounding archive she’d amassed throughout the 1960s. Filled with startlingly intimate and candid audio recordings detailing her family’s increasingly turbulent lives, the collection also contained hundreds of silent home movies, photographs and written journals. Using only these found materials, Dews has fashioned a family portrait that affords fly-on-the-wall access to one family’s struggles amid an America on the verge of dramatic transformation. Opens Fri., Feb. 20. Quad Cinema. 34 W. 13th St. 212-255-8800, quadcinema.com.
This Beautiful City
Obie-winning company The Civilians has created this new musical, about about the expansion of the Evangelical movement in Colorado Springs. While conducting interviews with people involved with or affected by the mega-church movement, scandal broke about New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard and shook the entire city. “This Beautiful City,” is a provacative and timely look at faith and how it informs the American landscape. Now in previews for a Feb. 22 opening. Tuesdays at 7 p.m., Wed-Sat at 8 p.m., & Sat and Sun at 3 p.m. Through March 15. $60. The Vineyard Theatre. 108 E. 15th St. (btwn Union Sq. East & Irving Pl.) 212-255-5793, vineyardtheatre.org.
Tina Dico
Housing Works’ “Live from Home” concert series presents a benefit featuring Danish singer Tina Dico. Inspired by musicians like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, Dica has won several Danish Music Awards, including Best Female Vocalist and, last September, national recognition for “having the courage to look the contradictory and difficult parts of existence in the eye, and for the ability to express it in a very special, life-affirming fashion that many can identify themselves with.” Fri., Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. $15. Housing Works Bookstore. 126 Crosby St. (btwn Prince & Houston). 212-334-3324, houstingworksbookstore.org.
Katyn
“Katyn” is the name of the forest where Soviets secretly murdered 15,000 Polish officers, intellectuals and professionals over a three-day period in 1940 (including the father of the film’s director Andrzej Wajda’s father among them). Stalin’s purpose was to destroy those elements of the population who would be most resistant to Soviet control following WWII. For decades the truth was obfuscated, with the Nazis often blamed for the atrocity. Half a century later, in 1990, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev admitted his nation’s responsibility. In this elegant production, Wajda recreates war-torn Poland and the stories of both the perpetrators and their victims. This was a 2008 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Wed., Feb. 18-Tues., March 3. $11. Film Forum. 209 W. Houston St. (btwn Sixth Ave. & Varick) 212-727-8110, filmforum.org.
