Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014.

French cinema’s “Secret Trove”
“Curated by one of the world’s most influential film journals, Cahiers du Cinéma, CinéSalon celebrates French cinema’s “Secret Trove” — rarely shown films featuring some of the best examples of overlooked, poetic cinema classics in French film history. Each 7:30 p.m. session is preceded by an introduction by an arts luminary and paired with a free post-screening wine reception. Films are shown in French with English subtitles. Today’s films are “Rue de l’Estrapade” at 4 p.m. and “Flammes” at 7:30 p.m.” (DNA Info)
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St.
Tickets are $16.35 and $9.95 for students.

El Gallo Místico
“Jazz at the Crossroads: The Dance of Eleggua, a progressive Latin-jazz series, presents a new collaboration between percussionist-vocalist Román Díaz and pianist David Virelles, commemorating the anniversary of Cuba’s birth as a republic. This pair fueled Virelles’s heady, engrossing 2012 set, Continuum, so we expect further fascination here.” (TONY)
Minton’s, 206 W 118th St., Harlem
At 8pm and 10pm / $20
212-243-2222 / mintonsharlem.com

Karrin Allyson (through May 24)
“Ms. Allyson is a jazz singer and pianist of imaginative savvy, and she has a genuine connection with her fellow musicians. Her most recent release is a holiday album, so it seems likely that she’ll look elsewhere for repertory here — to evergreen standards, Brazilian tunes and Beatlesesque pop songs.” (Chinen-NYT)
Birdland, 315 West 44th St.
212-581-3080, birdlandjazz.com
At 8:30 and 11 p.m. / $40 cover, with a $10 minimum.

LIVE from the NYPL: Kara Walker
“One of today’s most significant and complex contemporary artists, Kara Walker, reflects on themes of race, gender, sexuality, violence and subjugation in her visually striking work.

New York-based artist Kara Walker is best known for cut-paper silhouettes and tableaus that complicate traditional narratives of power and repression. Walker’s provocative work, which has taken the form of drawing, painting, text-based work, video, film, performance and cyclorama, retells historic moments, such as slavery in the Antebellum South and Hurricane Katrina, and has frequently been the subject of controversy.

She has received numerous awards, perhaps most notably in 1997, when she was the second-youngest person ever to receive a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant.”
(ThoughtGallery)
New York Public Library – Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, 476 5th Ave.,
at 7:00 pm / $15-$25
917-275-6975

The Pinch Brothers in “The Bawdy House”
When THE PINCH BROTHERS (also sisters) are hired to save an ailing theater, they turn it into a BAWDY HOUSE, complete with ribald comedy, risqué magic, and of course, burlesque, burlesque, burlesque!

But on opening night, everything goes wrong — buttons keep popping, pants keep dropping, and the schtick keeps getting schtickier. Can this Marx Brothers-inspired crew of reprobates get through the show with their clothes intact? …Nope. Pinchbottom’s classic burlesque tribute to the funniest brothers in showbiz returns to the stage as part of MarxFest 2014, an ambitious month long festival.
“Daring, funny, imaginative and titillating to all tastes.” -The Sunday Telegraph (UK)
The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal St.
at 8:00 pm
Adults only. Admission starts at $29 (includes two beverages).
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♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.

♦ NYCity is a big town with many visitors where quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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Chelsea is the heart of the NYCity contemporary art scene. Home to more than 300 art galleries, the Rubin Museum, the Joyce Theater, and The Kitchen performance spaces, there is no place like it anywhere in the world. Come here to browse free exhibitions by world-renowned artists and those unknowns waiting to be discovered in an art district that is concentrated between West 18th and West 27th Streets, and 10th and 11th Avenues. Afterwards stop in the Chelsea Market, stroll on the High Line, or rest up at one of the many cafes and bars and discuss the fine art – my fave is Ovest on W 27th St., where the aperitivo is like Happy Hour on steroids.

For a listing of 25 essential galleries in the Chelsea Art Gallery District, organized by street, which enables you to create your own Chelsea Art Gallery crawl, see the Chelsea Gallery Guide (nycgo.com) Or check out TONY magazine’s list of the “Best Chelsea Galleries” and click through to see what’s on view. ==========================================================

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : Manhattan’s WestSide” dated (05/18) and (05/17).