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FRIDAY

photo: Michael Brosilow

Bobrauschenbergamerica kisses up to one of our greatest living artists (see Wednesday).

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More About

• Heidi Jon Schmidt
• David Murray
• Christine Kim
• Keith Sonnier
• Hiroshi Sugimoto

OCTOBER 17

Art

KEITH SONNIER

A stark, glowing square at one end of Ace's grand hall and a spotlit circle at the other achieve taut Platonic perfection. Between them, radio scanners emit random real-time chatter. The rest of the show—which revives Sonnier's experiments in black light, live video, laser, and vivid neon (running rings around incandescent bulbs or scattered like pickup sticks) from the late '60s and early '70s—is handsome but not quite so sublime. LEVIN

Through December 31, Ace Gallery, 275 Hudson Street, 212.255.5599

Film

'AU HASARD BALTHAZAR'

Bringing together all Robert Bresson's ideas about acting, sound, and editing, as well as grace, redemption, and human nature, his heartbreaking and magnificent Au Hasard Balthazar—the story of a donkey's life and death in rural France—is the supreme masterpiece by one of the greatest of 20th-century filmmakers. Amazingly, this 1966 movie never had a New York commercial release. HOBERMAN

Opens today, Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, 212.727.8110

Theater

'STRICTLY ACADEMIC'

Playwright A.R. Gurney takes on the scholarly establishment in this pair of one-acts, one about a married couple whose dual infidelity presents publishable, or perhaps perishable, prospects; the other features a highbrow artistic director whose theater has a curious way with guest lecturers. Paul Benedict, a good comic actor himself, directs a cast that includes another droll playwright, Keith Reddin. FEINGOLD

In previews, opens Tuesday, Primary Stages, 354 West 45th Street, 212.333.4052

SATURDAY

OCTOBER 18

Film

'BELA LUGOSI WEEKEND'

Getting a two-week jump on Hollywood, AMMI corners the Hungarian-horror-ham market. Saturday offers Bela's career-making Draculaand two far superior follow-ups: White Zombie and The Black Cat. Sunday adds the 1932 Murders in the Rue Morgueand two career-ending Ed Wood outings, the ineffable Glen or Glenda? and Bride of the Monster. HOBERMAN

Today and Sunday, American Museum of the Moving Image, 35th Avenue and 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, 718.784.0077

Music

MOUNTAIN GOATS

With little of the clowning around that usually puts solo acoustic over, fanzine editor and songwriting super-strummer John Darnielle holds his own on intelligence and intensity—both of which rev higher as you grasp the words. Word is, the newest ones are the best of his blossoming life and/or career. Also: Coco Rosie. CHRISTGAU

At 9, Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, 212.219.3006

Photo

HIROSHI SUGIMOTO

Like so much of Sugimoto's work, the "Architecture" series is almost forbiddingly flawless—a combination of minimalist restraint, conceptual purity, and luxe presentation. Here, he's given iconic buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Frank Gehry, Antonio Gaudí, and others the soft-focus treatment, turning them into fuzzy black-and-white memories or the perfect embodiments of their creators' dreams. Though the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the UN look more like scale models than actual structures, Sugimoto bathes them in such a romantic fog it hardly matters. ALETTI

Through November 1, Sonnabend Gallery, 536 West 22nd Street, 212.627.1018

SUNDAY

OCTOBER 19

Film

'STAR SPANGLED TO DEATH'

The ultimate underground movie, Ken Jacobs's epic assemblage annotates a lyrical junkyard allegory, shot in late-'50s New York, with chunks of mainly '30s American movies. This six-hour version adds more found material, plus updates on Iraq. Jacobs alternates between marshaling evidence and showcasing manic performances—mainly the young Jack Smith, a fabulous whirligig fearlessly making a public spectacle of himself. HOBERMAN

At 3:30 and 8:30, Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, 212.875.5600

Music

FUSHITSUSHA

Luckily, for the last few years, NYC's been blessed with annual visits from these premier Japanese psyche demigods. Led by eccentric 11-guitar lord Haino Keiji—who conducts the band's brutal noise-rock improvisations with Butoh-like foot stomps and necromancing hand gestures—they melt the boundaries of rock and free jazz. The Japanese canon of noise owes much to these legends. Pure transcendence, sonic satori. BOSLER

At 8 and 10, Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, 212.358.7501

MONDAY

OCTOBER 20

Music

'14TH ANNUAL CABARET CONVENTION'

Once a year in Manhattan, impresario Donald Smith arrives in blue suit, white shirt, and conservative tie to suggest what's hot, and by omission, what's not in boîtedom. The bill for the first two nights—the second tagged "Julie Wilson's Birthday Party"—includes the birthday girl herself, Karen Akers, Blossom Dearie, John DePalma, Jessica Molasky, Tom Andersen, and Sally Mayes. Not to mention some Smith-anointed up-and-comers. FINKLE

Today and Tuesday at 6, Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, 212.840.2824

TUESDAY

OCTOBER 21

Books

HEIDI JON SCHMIDT

Schmidt's first novel, The Bride of Catastrophe, is as disconcerting and comically beautiful as its title. In polished, nearly Austenian prose, she blurs the lines between nostalgia and self-examination, inanity and tragedy, as the misguided Beatrice tries her hand at love—of all sorts. With Elizabeth Strout (Amy and Isabelle). REIDY

At 7, Barnes & Noble, 240 East 86th Street, 212.794.1962

Dance

RONALD K. BROWN/EVIDENCE

BWith his lush movement vocabulary, Brown celebrates Nina Simone in a new ensemble work, and commemorates the late Stephanie Reinhart in a new solo. The Bessie-crowned Walking Out the Dark and High Life complete the program. ZIMMER

At 8, and October 22 through 26, Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, 212.242.0800

SUSAN MARSHALL & COMPANY

Her Sleeping Beauty and Other Stories delves into issues of isolation, connection, rescue, and change, burrowing down to explore the nature of difference. Jane Shaw mixes the soundscape; Douglas Stein assembles a set from factory windows. ZIMMER

At 7:30, and October 22 through 25, BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, 718.636.4100