GET HAPPY!: CLAUS FOR CELEBRATION!
‘It’s coming up to Christmas, and I’m feeling great.” So says Ronnie Spector, who’s been making her fellow New Yorkers feel great singing holiday delights such as “Frosty the Snowman” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” since 1963.
Spector, who grew up in Spanish Harlem, is back with her annual “Best Christmas Party Ever!” tonight and tomorrow at the Cutting Room. “I do my Christmas shows all over the world, but in New York it’s special because it’s my hometown,” she says with enthusiasm.
Recalling her childhood holidays, Spector adds, “I believed in Santa Claus so much when I was 6 or 7 years old. I had a chance to sit on Santa’s lap at Macy’s. I have never gotten over that. I had a red velvet dress with a white collar on, because I wanted to be like Santa, like his little girl.” Tickets are $30 to $45 (proceeds benefit the NYPD and NYFD Widows and Orphans Fund) at the Cutting Room, 44 E. 32nd St.; 212-691-1900. — Billy Heller
WireImage
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JUST DO IT!: UNHOLY NIGHT
Christmas season is about to get a bit rowdy. The 20th annual Unsilent Night creates a parade of boomboxes in the Village, simultaneously playing a holiday composition written by Phil Kline. When Kline says “go,” more than 1,000 people press play and the “unsilent” walk — from Washington Square Park to Tompkins Square Park — begins.
“The event is like a seasonal massage,” says Kline, who will provide 50 boomboxes but encourages everyone to bring theirs from home. The music is available at the event in CD and cassette form, or ahead of time as an MP3 or iPhone app.
Meet up at the Washington Square Park Arch tomorrow at 7 p.m.,
unsilentnight.com. — Gregory E. Miller
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DON’T MISS!: SCREEN MAGIC
As part of its “Magicians on Film” series, the Museum of the Moving Image will host a rare screening of John Brahm’s “The Mad Magician’’ (1954) in 3-D tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.
Vincent Price, who also starred in the better-known 3-D flick “House of Wax’’ the previous year, top-lines as an illusionist who straps his manager to a buzz saw after the manager makes the mistake of stealing Price’s wife (Eva Gabor) and his prize magic trick. It will be preceded, at 5 p.m., by William Cameron Menzies’ visually stunning “Chandu the Magician’’ (1932), starring Edmund Lowe in the title role and Bela Lugosi as a madman bent on world domination. 35th Avenue and 36th Street, Astoria, Queens; 718-784-0077, movingimage.us. — Lou Lumenick
Columbia Pictures/Photofest
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SEE THIS!: ENLIGHTENING
Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah, come kvell at the menorahs! The Festival of Lights doesn’t start till sundown Tuesday, but the Jewish Museum’s gotten a head start, putting 97 of its 1,047 lamps on display. And each one, says curator Susan Braunstein, has a story.
“We just sent a lamp to the White House,” she says. That particular menorah (pictured) was made in Germany right after WWII, in a camp for displaced persons. The people there made the menorah from copper tubing and dedicated it to Gen. Joseph McNarney, who, as America’s head of European operations, “was very good to the Jewish community,” Braunstein says. “Hanukkah celebrates the victory over oppression. These people who survived made a lamp and dedicated it to their liberator.” Fresh from President Obama’s Hanukkah party, the lamp’s come home again. Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street; 212-423-3200,thejewishmuseum.org. — Barbara Hoffman
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’Tis the season to be . . . tipsy. Why not do it with Puerto Rico’s answer to eggnog? The 10th annual Coquito Masters in El Barrio competition takes place tomorrow from 2 to 4 p.m. at six watering holes near El Museo del Barrio (1230 Fifth Ave., at 104th Street).
Attendees are invited to jump aboard the museum’s “Coquito Express” trolley, sip complimentary coquitos, then vote for a winner that will be announced at a 6:30 p.m. party at the museum featuring live music and coquitos.
“Some add ice cream, some banana, some people like it with very light alcohol, some people like it with heavy alcohol,” says event founder and “Coquito Contessa” Debbie Quiñones. According to Quiñones, “Everyone thinks they make the best coquito. It’s a source of pride.” Details at elmuseo.org. — Brian Niemietz
