DON’T MISS!: MONSTER-RIFIC
Because of the Great Depression, Universal Pictures was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy in 1931 — at least until it released a pair of hugely popular horror classics that defined the studio for decades. Film Forum is kicking off a monthlong salute to Universal’s 100th anniversary with a double feature today, at various times, of James Whale’s “Frankenstein’’ and Tod Browning’s “Dracula” — showcasing iconic, unforgettable performances by Boris Karloff as the monster and
Bela Lugosi as the bloodthirsty count, respectively. The silent “The Phantom of the Opera’’ (1925),
starring Lon Chaney Sr., is showing at 7 p.m. only, with live piano accompaniment. The first weekend alone includes such must-see gems as Orson Welles’ “Touch of Evil’’ (1958) Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.’’ (1982) and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt’’ (1943). 209 W. Houston St.; 212-727-8110, filmforum.org
— Lou Lumenick
Universal Pictures/Photofest
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SING ALONG!: WOODY’S CHILDREN
The great American folk singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie — friend of the working man, uplifter of the downtrodden — was born 100 years ago tomorrow in Okemah, Okla. And New York, his adopted home starting in 1940, is celebrating.
Tonight at 8, Steve Earle hosts WoodyFest at the City Winery (155 Varick St.; 212-608-0555), where singers including Billy Bragg and Amy Helm will also perform.
Tomorrow at Coney Island (the Guthrie family lived there on Mermaid Avenue), a variety of free events begins at 4 p.m. A short performance by Earle and Bragg at 7 p.m. precedes a screening at dusk of the biopic “Bound for Glory” on the beach near the Cyclone.
And on Sunday at 7 p.m., Woody’s son Arlo brings a gaggle of Guthries to Central Park for a SummerStage celebration (Rumsey Playfield, enter park at Fifth Avenue and 69th Street). Be ready to join in on a rousing rendition of “This Land Is Your Land.” Details at woody100.com
— Billy Heller
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BON FETE!: A SPORTING FRANCE
France’s Bastille Day is tomorrow, but New Yorkers can mark the day with festivities on Sunday.
Sponsored by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), the Bastille Day on 60th Street (Fifth to Lexington; bastilledayny.com) fete offers Gallic delicacies, a Citroën car show and music by Brooklyn’s Hungry March Band.
Across the river, a sizable French community has settled in Cobble Hill, fueling the success of the pétanque tournament organized by that neighborhood’s Bar Tabac (128 Smith St.; 718-923-0918).
For the event’s 10th anniversary, the restaurant’s manager, Apostolos Valleras, expects 64 teams.
“It’s become one of the biggest pétanque tournaments in America,” he says of the French ball game. “Some people even come from Marseille!”
No need to be intimidated by the pétanque pros, though, as Valleras insists this remains a big community event: “You can just come and get a drink and a merguez sandwich.” Ouf!
— Elisabeth Vincentelli
ELIOT PRESS/bauergriffinonline.c
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ARTY PARTY!: OBSESSION
Yayoi Kusama is an artist obsessed — with flowers and fireflies, feminism and freedom, food and phalluses. Bouncing from pop to minimalism to performance art, she’s reinvented herself more times than Madonna; at 83, she flouts an orange pageboy. You’ll see six decades of her work, made here and in Japan, at the Whitney, which filled its fourth floor with pieces in every medium, including macaroni. Kusama’s dotty about polka dots — you’ll see her covered in them in her “obliteration” photos and videos. Here, too, are works she made at the mental hospital where Kusama committed herself in 1977. The biggest thrill lies off the lobby: “Fireflies on the Water,” a small mirrored room filled with twinkling lights. One person at a time is admitted, for just a minute. But the sense of infinite possibilities you’ll feel makes it worth the wait. 945 Madison Ave., at 75th Street; whitney.org
— Barbara Hoffman
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GRAB A TASTE!: MARKET VALUE
Supermarket meets art gallery at this weekend’s Super (Duper) Market — a three-day pop-up bazaar envisioned by Paper magazine editor Kim Hastreiter. “This is not a food conference,” she says. “It’s much more creative and unique.” She picked some 50 up-and-coming food “influencers” to sell their wares — ice cream from San Francisco’s Humphrey Slocombe (pictured), bottles from Sonoma’s Scribe Winery, olive oil from Norma Kamali — to a soundtrack of supermarket Muzak, ice-cream jingles and punk songs about food. Today and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; tomorrow, to 6 p.m. 410 W. 16th St.; papermag.com/superduper
— Carla Spartos
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TAKE A TOUR!: ISLAND WHIRL
Staten Island has always been its own separate world, but never more so than in this ethereal audio walking tour by sound artist Justin Bennett and poet Matthea Harvey. “Staten Island is a fascinating place,” says Bennett, “because it’s very quiet compared with Manhattan or Brooklyn.”
Part of the Guggenheim’s “stillspotting” series, this 90-minute walking tour, conducted with loaner iPods, combines two narratives: one about actual island resident Antonio Meucci, an Italian who in 1849 invented the very first telephone prototype — or telettrofono, the title of this tour — the other following a mermaid fascinated with above-water sounds.
“Meucci was so much into sound, and also noise prevention,” explains Bennett. “He’d thought about all this stuff back in the 19th century. He seemed like the perfect person to start us on the journey around the island.”
Tomorrow and Sunday (and through the first weekend in August); $12. Details at stillspotting.guggenheim.org.
— Sara Stewart
Christopher Sadowski
