A Morris Line
It’s a special occasion when a dance turns a quarter-century old. And Mark Morris’ “L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato” returns to Lincoln Center Friday and Saturday to celebrate.
The modern dance classic, a visualization of Handel’s ode on human temperaments, fuses simple, fluid movement with vivid theatrical spectacle, with 24 dancers arrayed in kaleidoscopic patterns, as well as an orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists — and James F. Ingalls’ gorgeous lighting.
Morris isn’t sentimental about his baby turning 25: The company performs it around the world, often a few times a year, so it’s never on the shelf for long. “We warm it up!” he jokes about the process of rehearsing it. His advice for newcomers is more cheeky wit: “Don’t be scared. And turn off your phone.”
7:30 p.m. at the David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center; 212-721-6500, davidhkochtheater.com. Tickets, $40 to $125. — Leigh Witchel
Another miracle
The crowd that lined Broadway for the 1946 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade got a special treat — the Santa Claus float featured Hollywood character actor Edmund Gwenn as St. Nick. What most New Yorkers didn’t find out — until it was released the following May — is that Gwenn was filming “Miracle on 34th Street.’’ He plays the “real” Santa Claus, recruited as a last-minute parade replacement by a harried Macy’s employee (Maureen O’Hara) and eventually thrown into Bellevue. O’Hara (Natalie Wood plays her daughter) and John Payne — as a lawyer defending Santa at a sanity hearing — got top billing, but it was Gwenn who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Free screenings Friday in Herald Square Plaza, outside of Macy’s, begin at 11 a.m. And Turner Classic Movies’ Robert Osborne introduces the final showing at 7:45 p.m. “Miracle” is also playing Sunday at 11 a.m. at Film Forum, Houston and Varick streets; filmforum.org. — Lou Lumenick
Giving, thanks
The biggest challenge of Cranksgiving — the annual Thanksgiving food drive that’s part scavenger hunt and part bike tour — isn’t navigating the city streets on bike; it’s fighting through New York’s notoriously busy stores.
“The tricky part really is finding a can of beans once you’re in that grocery store,” organizer Ken Stanek says. “It’s just shopping, but it’s hilarious when you’re running through the stores with 30 other people who are frantically looking for a can of peas.”
Cranksgiving, now in its 15th year, invites anyone to participate in the charity drive. Bikers get a manifest of items to collect, and they’re on their own to find the best route to grocery stores all over the city. Last year, nearly 300 riders collected 1,500 food items; the event has spread to 40 cities around the world.
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. starting at Solar One, 23rd Street at the East River; cranksgiving.org. — Tim Donnelly
Make a new plan, Van
After more than 50 years of touring, it seems the end might be near for Van Morrison. “I think there’s a distinct possibility that my dad will have to retire in the next year,” says his daughter Shana Morrison, who opens for Van in two NYC shows, performing songs from her 2010 album, “Joyride,” and singing backup in his band. “He’s been going through divorce litigation, and it’s good for him to have friends and family around him — it takes his mind off things.” Not that playing with her dad, whose songs included “Moondance” and “Brown Eyed Girl,” is easy. “We’re expected to know the 500 songs he’s written, in case he call’s one of them out,” says Shana. “He still performs in the moment — we all have to follow!” Monday, 8 p.m. at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, theateratmsg.com; Tuesday, 8 p.m. at the Beacon Theatre, Broadway and 74th Street, beacontheatre.com. Tickets for each, $69.50 and up. — Hardeep Phull
For the record
Broadcasting everything from unreleased doo-wop singles to the Sun Ra Arkestra’s “Batman” album, WFMU 91.1’s free-form, listener-supported radio has always promised musical adventure. But if you want to own some of the weird stuff for yourself, there’s no better place than the annual WFMU Record Fair, where collectors can scour the more than 30,000 square feet of records, CDs and DVDs. “It’s a sizable portion of WFMU’s fund-raising,” says Record Fair director and station DJ Chris M., so when it was canceled by last year by Hurricane Sandy, “it was really rough.”
The DJ says the fair attracts “hardcore collectors,” but, thanks to the resurgence of vinyl, “new groups of people are cropping up.” Admission ($7) gets you access to screenings of music docs and live performances by WFMU-certified acts like “the original dirty rapper” Blowfy. “Hopefully,” Chris M. adds, “there’ll be no hurricanes.”
At the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St. Friday, 7 to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Info: wfmu.org/recfair. — Charlie Heller