Music, Dance, Performing Arts
Josie Long: ‘Cara Josephine’ (through Oct. 25)
SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam St./ 9PM, $25
“A gem of the British comedy scene, Ms. Long is a stand-up and storyteller who dwells in earnestness and optimism. “Cara Josephine,” perhaps the best-reviewed comedy show at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, is a sweet and very funny hour about relationships, love and family.” (Czajkowski-NYT)

Fred Hersch (through Oct. 25)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave South, at 11th St./ 8:30 +10:30PM, $30
“Fred Hersch’s combo with bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson is one of the quintessential NYC piano trios. As you can hear on last year’s Floating, the band manages to sound at once archetypal and individualistic, and this run at one of Hersch’s favorite rooms is the perfect place to savor its elegant chemistry.” (TONY)

José Limón Dance Company (through Oct. 25)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th St./ $10 and up
“José Limón is a pillar of American modern dance, though perhaps the most unassuming of them. The work of the Mexican-born choreographer is celebrated for its proud nobility, palpable spirituality and high drama. Marking its 70th anniversary, the company that bears his name presents 15 works spanning three decades, from 1942 until Limón’s death in 1972. The works will be performed by companies and academies from around the United States, as well as South America, Europe and Asia.” (NYT-Schaefer)

Program C: (at 8pm)
Mazurkas, performed by sjDANCEco; Carlota, performed by Limón Dance Company; There is a Time, performed by American Repertory Ballet

Smart Stuff / Other
(Lectures, Discussions, Book Talks, Literary Readings, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)
Archtober (Oct. 01-31)
This month offers a prime opportunity to honor the beauty of the NYCity skyline with Archtober, a festival of tours, talks and exhibitions exploring the city’s architecture. In addition, the festival showcases a different building each day.
Today’s Building of the Day:
The Educational Alliance (Tour Time: 10AM, $10)
PBDW Architects – 197 East Broadway,
The Educational Alliance, a non-profit organization, has been serving the community of the Lower East Side of New York for over 120 years. PBDW transformed their historic East Broadway headquarters into the Manny Cantor Center, a new Center serving the needs of a thriving and dynamic but underserved community.

PBDW studied, re-imagined and transformed the aging flagship facilities into a new visionary and innovative environment. The result is a fully renovated, environmentally friendly, multi-purpose space that celebrates the diversity of its constituents by organizing the various program elements into a cohesive whole. The jewel of the project, located on the top floor, is a state-of-the-art glass enclosed multipurpose event space flanked on two sides by a roof terrace with stunning views of the city and park beyond.
Tour Guide: Leonard Leung, AIA, LEED AP, Associate, PBDW Architects

For all other events today check out the calendar at archtober.org

Microsoft Technology Center in Times Square.
“game on! spend an evening testing out 75 new video games one-on-one with their developers at the playcrafting nyc fall expo. bonus: free pizza!
microsoft times square, $8-15, 5:30-8:30PM” (theskint.com)

PDN PhotoPlus International Conference and Expo (also Friday and Saturday)
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 W34th St./
This massive show brings together roughly 21,000 photographers, filmmakers, students, teachers and photography fans. The schedule of events includes seminars, demonstrations and new technology on display. More information is at photoplusexpo.com.” (NYT/ST)

Bonus – Music Picks:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are a few of my favorite music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who’s playing tonight:
City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St. joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Metropolitan Room – 34W22ndSt., metropolitan room.com, 212-206-0440
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St. lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd dSt. bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. caffevivaldi.com, 212-691-7538
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.

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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, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015.  Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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WHAT’S ON VIEW
My Fave Special Exhibitions – MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s WestSide
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museums,
and also to see their expanded reviews of these exhibitions)

Museum of Modern Art:
‘Picasso Sculpture’ (through Feb. 7)
“Nearly a work of art in its own right, this magnificent show redefines Picasso’s achievement with the first full view here in 50 years of his astoundingly varied forays into sculpture. His materials, not his female loves, become the muses, and are different each time out. The basic plotline: After introducing sculptural abstraction and space, he spent about 50 years counting the ways that the figure was far from finished. 212-708-9400, moma.org.” (Smith-NYT)

‘Transmissions: Art in Eastern Europe and Latin America, 1960-1980’ (through Jan. 3) “Visiting this big, spirited group show is like walking into a party of intriguing strangers. For every person you recognize, there are 10 you don’t know. One topic everyone’s talking about, at different intensities, is the anti-institutional politics that swept Europe and the Americas in the 1960s, and almost everyone speaks the language of Conceptualism. A product of an in-house research initiative called Contemporary and Modern Art Perspectives, or C-MAP, intended to expand MoMA’s narrow Paris-New York view of modernism, the show is very much the beginning rather than the end of a learning curve. But with curators exploring material new to them — just steps ahead of their audience — the show has a refreshing buzz of surprise as it takes the museum in a realistic new directions. 212-708-9400, moma.org.” (Cotter-NYT)

New-York Historical Society:
‘Freedom Journey 1965: Photographs of the Selma to Montgomery March by Stephen Somerstein’ (through Oct. 25)
“See photo highlight. Almost 50 years ago, the picture editor of a campus newspaper at City College of New York assigned himself a breaking story: covering what promised to be a massive march in Alabama, led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to demand free and clear voting rights for African-Americans. On short notice the editor, Stephen Somerstein, grabbed his cameras, climbed on a bus and headed south. The 55 pictures of black leaders and everyday people in this show, installed in a hallway and small gallery, are some that he shot that day. The image of Dr. King’s head seen in monumental silhouette that has become a virtual logo of the film “Selma” is based on a Somerstein original. 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org.” (Cotter-NYT)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 10/20 and 10/18.