To Do: May 17–May 31, 2017

To Do: May 17ï¿½May 31, 2017

Twenty-five things to see, hear, watch, and read.

Published May 14, 2017

(Photo: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection (Léon Morin, Priest); Manuel Harlan (Groundhog Day); Suzanne Tenner/courtesy of Showtime (Twin Peaks); Troi Santos (Salonga); courtesy of Lil Yachty (Lil Yachty))

Movies
1. See Logan Noir
Tony, stark.ï¿½
Say what you will about James Mangold’s mournful, Götterdämmerung-like Logan, but it was impressively stark. Because Marvel can do anything, an even starker, black-and-white Logan Noir will screen for one night at 26 theaters across the country, with a live-stream Mangold Q&A. One catch: You’ll be asked to wear black and white only. —David Edelstein
Alamo Drafthouse, May 16.

Festivals
2. Go to Vulture Festival
It’s big! It’s really big!ï¿½
Vulture’s fourth annual festival of all things culture returns with a stellar lineup, including Trump impersonator and The President Show star Anthony Atamanuik onstage with our own Gabriel Sherman; early screenings of summer movies Band-Aid, Dean, and The Little Hours; a TV panel with the cast of The Carmichael Show; a live taping of Jesse Fox’s Good One comedy podcast with comedian Bill Burr; SNL vets Senator Al Franken and Robert Smigel in conversation; and a jam session with indie-rock darling Waxahatchee.
Various locations, May 20 and 21.ï¿½

TV
3. Watch Twin Peaks: The Return
Back for more than a cup of coffee.ï¿½
At press time, nothing was known about the content of this long-anticipated sequel except that it reunited creators David Lynch and Mark Frost and most of the original cast. Nothing will be known until then, even if it is known. There is a soft wind in the trees, and it is happening again. Beware the man with the hat. Does he see you? Does he see you? —Matt Zoller Seitz
Showtime, May 21.

Art
4. See Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between
Tidal forces of structure.ï¿½
See the primal sutras of clothing adumbrated as ocean life-forms, pure abstraction, and experiments in fashion as uniform at the hand of artist-designer-witch Rei Kawakubo. —Jerry Saltz
The Met, through September 4.

Theater
5. See The Whirligig
Shosh does jewel-box theater.ï¿½ ï¿½
Girls fans who are still bereft over Shoshanna’s too-few appearances in the show’s final season can now catch Zosia Mamet in this new play by actor Hamish Linklater. Rounding out the New Group’s 2016–17 season, the show tells the story of a couple’s return to Berkshire County to care for their sick daughter, played by Grace Van Patten.
The Pershing Square Signature Center, opens May 21.

Pop
6. Listen to Teenage Emotions
Summer-soundtrack alert.
Atlanta rap sensation and self-professed “King of the Teens” Lil Yachty, age 19, releases his debut studio album. If it’s anything like the carefree, ebullient bubblegum trap of his mixtapes, Lil Boat and Summer Songs 2, it’ll fit your warm spring and summer nights hand in glove. —Craig Jenkins
Quality Control/Capitol/Motown, May 26.

Opera
7. See The Golden Cockerel
A glittering Russian romp.ï¿½
The New York Opera Fest, which gathers more than 20 tiny companies into a nightly exploration of the genre over two months, includes the return of Rimsky-Korsakov’s sparkling fairy-tale opera in a fully staged, if miniaturized, production. (The ballet version comes to ABT next month.) —Justin Davidson
Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, May 18–21.

Books
8. Read Borne
Identity remix.ï¿½
Bioengineered monstrosities rampage through a ruined city in Jeff VanderMeer’s latest novel. Our heroine, Rachel, discovers a strange cephalopod and brings it back to her boyfriend; the cute creature’s mystifying evolution opens up an absorbing moral saga. —Boris Kachka
Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Pop
9. See Sister Nancy
Dancehall’s reigning queen.ï¿½
A perfect pitch-shift sample on Kanye West’s “Famous” boosted the Jamaican DJ and singer Sister Nancy’s star power in the past year (her 1982 hit “Bam Bam” was a celebration of bass, reverb, and self-empowerment). See her perform a live set with backing band Rice and Peas.
Brooklyn Bowl, May 25.

Art
10. See Shara Hughes: Same Space Different Day
The presence of pleasure.ï¿½
The primary colors and structures that seem to have been hiding in Gauguin and David Hockney give rising Whitney Biennial star Shara Hughes’s new paintings an irresistible shamanic pull. —J.S.
Rachel Uffner, 170 Suffolk Street, through June 25.

Books
11. Read Salt Houses
A hopscotching emotional study.ï¿½
In Hala Alyan’s novel about a Palestinian family in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, children rebel and return and the matriarch’s memories fade with age, fraying the brood’s ties to their homeland. In the process, the book reveals the inner lives of people too often lumped together in the service of politics. —B.K.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Pop
12. Listen to Goths
Heady themes and hearty, folkie songs.ï¿½
The Mountain Goats’ chief singer-songwriter, John Darnielle, has never met a thematic concept too weird to hang a whole album on. This spring’s offering features warm reflections on the black-clad subculture, coated in lush, folkie arrangements that bring the warmth out of conversational singing and literary writing. —C.J.
Merge, May 19.

Classical
13. Hear The New York Philharmonic
New music, in the homestretch.
The orchestra moves toward the end of its season with a burst of new music. Outgoing music director Alan Gilbert leads works by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Icelandic phenom Anna Thorvaldsdóttir. Then a core ensemble heads for Williamsburg to perform a Contact! program of New York composers from the emerging to the deceased. —J.D.
Geffen Hall, May 19, 20, 23; National Sawdust, May 22.

Movies
14. See The Films of Jonathan Demme
Remembering a legend.
The death of the great American director Jonathan Demme hit many of us hard. One way to pay tribute is to rewatch (or watch) early works that established his humanist style. But put that thought aside for his first feature for Roger Corman, Caged Heat, a lusty specimen in the women-in-prison subgenre. Move on to the great ensemble comedy Handle With Care, which turns on people using CB radios to assume personalities much different from their own. —D.E.
On DVD and Amazon Video.

TV
15. Watch Downward Dog
Canine philosophical statement.ï¿½
This adaptation of a popular web series observes the life of a woman named Nan (Allison Tolman of Fargo) through the eyes of her dog (voiced by Samm Hodges). Sweet and a touch cute, but considerably more melancholy than the network norm, this comedy puts mundane situations, such as working for an insufferable boss, in a fresh frame. —M.Z.S.
ABC, May 17.

Talks
16. Go to Hostage Launch
Solitary confinement in comics form.ï¿½
Guy Delisle is one of the leading lights of modern comic books. His latest work recounts the experiences of a Doctors Without Borders worker who was stationed in the Caucasus when he was taken hostage. He’ll be in conversation with CNN’s Simon Ostrovsky, who was once kidnapped himself.
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, May 17.

Books
17. Read The H-Spot
Why “leaning in” just won’t cut it.
In her first book, journalist Jill Filipovic thoroughly explores the roadblocks, both institutional and cultural, to women’s pursuit of happiness. Spoiler alert: There are a lot of them, though the book offers potential policy and social prescriptions that could help things a good deal.
Nation Books.

Classical
18. Hear American Composers Orchestra
With lyrical-guitar virtuoso Sharon Isbin.
To celebrate its anniversary, the orchestra wraps up Symphony Space’s two-week Fuse Project festival with Sharon Isbin’s performance of John Corigliano’s guitar concerto Troubadours and the world premiere of a work by Carlos Simon. —J.D.
Symphony Space, May 23.

Theater
19. See Groundhog Day
Again and again and again.
Act Two is where this new musical, which just nabbed seven Tony noms, really comes alive, expressing an almost Nietzschean wonder and horror at the thought of the “eternal recurrence” that is our daily life. Lead Andy Karl and the tertiary characters are superb with the darker material.
August Wilson Theatre.

Books
20. Read Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give
On loving.
Ada Calhoun (of St. Marks Is Dead) has written a collection of linked essays on marriage and growing older that is by turns funny, melancholy, and profound. A thoughtful read for the monogamous, non-monogamous, and every relationship iteration in between.
W.W. Norton & Company.

Cabaret
21. See Lea Salonga: Encore
Like it’s the last night of the world.
Whether you love her for her role as your favorite Disney princess or just think her version of “On My Own” is the best, you’ll want to catch Salonga returning to 54 Below after a sold-out run last year. Expect Broadway classics and pop hits alike.
Feinstein’s/54 Below, through May 22.

Pop
22. See The xx and Sampha
Bring tissues.
British indie-pop minimalists the xx are touring their excellent new album, I See You, alongside opener Sampha, whose heartbreaking Process follows appearances on albums by Drake, Kanye West, and Beyoncé. —C.J.
Forest Hills Stadium, May 19 and 20.

Movies
23. See Léon Morin, Priest
A religious experience.
You can still catch the last few days of Jean-Pierre Melville’s rare and exceedingly weird 1961 drama about life in a little French village during the German occupation. Emmanuelle Riva is the woman who tries to find meaning by addressing God through her confessor, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo with lots of erotic energy. —D.E.
Film Forum, through May 18.

Talks
24. Hear Al Franken and David Letterman
Serious topics, comic timing.
The nation’s other current entertainer turned politician speaks to the big-bearded retiree about his new title Al Franken, Giant of the Senate, the type of political memoir that usually portends a run for higher office. Expect a “meeting between old friends” vibe — Franken appeared on the Late Show an impressive 23 times. It’s sold out, but it’s worth the search through secondary ticket outlets.
92nd Street Y, May 30.

Classical
25. Hear The Met Orchestra
Taking the show on the road.
With the opera season wrapped, the Met’s pit band moves in to Carnegie Hall for a three-night series led by Esa-Pekka Salonen. The first concert features mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and tenor Matthew Polenzani singing selections from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, plus his Symphony No. 1. —J.D.
Carnegie Hall, May 31.