Interesting. Unusual. Uniquely NYC. The NYC-ARTS top five is your cheat sheet to what's hot before it hits the radar. Get the top five in your Inbox every Tuesday and follow @nycarts on Twitter to stay abreast of events as they happen.
Here are our picks for the week of February 5 through 11:
1. Composers Now
Saturday, Feb. 2 - Thursday, Feb. 28
The Composers Now Festival presents a premier selection of concerts, lectures, conversations and activities that highlight composers' contributions to the cultural fabric of our lives. Each event features a recent work by a living composer, with the composer present for Q&A. A few concerts in the line-up also honor Black History Month.
2. Caesar Must Die at Film Forum
Wednesday, Feb. 6 - Tuesday, Feb. 19
Neither documentary, nor fictional drama, Caesar Must Die is a brilliant mélange of the two by the renowned Taviani brothers. The film was shot in a Roman maximum-security prison, home to men serving long sentences for big crimes. Theater director Fabio Cavalli holds auditions for Julius Caesar, a play steeped in murder, conspiracy and revenge -- all of which deeply resonate with this cast.
3. The Madrid at Manhattan Theatre Club
Tuesday, Feb. 5 - Sunday, Apr. 14
Edie Falco returns to the New York stage in the world premiere of The Madrid by Liz Flahive. Falco plays a kindergarten teacher with a life many would want with a loving husband and a devoted daughter. But when she leaves it all behind, it's up to her daughter to pick up the pieces. This is a hilarious and heartbreaking story about motherhood, freedom and trying to see the people in your family as they really are.
The Costume Institute's "Punk: Chaos to Couture" exhibit doesn't open until May, but there are several fashion exhibitions to whet your palate until then. New York Fashion Week (February 7-14) may get all the buzz with the season's latest trends, but these shows focus on fashion's longer lasting impact and history in New York City.
5. Seinendan Theater Company + Osaka University Robot Theater Project at Japan Society
Thursday, Feb. 7 - Saturday, Feb. 9
Imagine a time when robot servants are found in every household. That's the futuristic setting of these two heartrending short plays by Oriza Hirata, founder of Japan's Seinendan Theater Company. In "Sayonara," an android is bought to console a girl suffering from a fatal illness. In I, Worker, a husband's struggle to cope with the loss of his child is juxtaposed with the malaise of one of his robots.