(New York Botanical Garden, 200th Street and Kazimiroff Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10458) (10am - 6pm) See spring in the Garden through the eyes of one of America's most beloved literary figures, Emily Dickinson. This exhibition combines her fascinating life's story with her passion for nature, all set in 250 acres of living beauty. Discover the gardener who became the poet. Experience the life and works of one of America’s most treasured poets as never before. Tour her Victorian Homestead recreated in the Conservatory filled with tulips, lilacs, lilies and more. ($20) Event Website

(Studio 54, 254 West 54th St, New York, NY 10019) (See website for schedule) The Story It's a completely different kind of Sondheim evening: an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words...and music. An ensemble cast, led by Tony Award winner Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat, will perform brand-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes, ranging from the beloved to the obscure. Event Website

(Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011) (11am-6pm) Bringing together seven artists who, through More Art, partnered with local schools on a series of collaborative art projects. Each artist conducted tailored workshops with students of Chelsea’s Clinton Middle School and Liberty High School, sharing the nature of their artistic practice while creating original works of art together. These collaborations encompassed a wide range of media, involving students on many different levels. The resulting array of works touched upon the themes of adolescence, examining language, place, and the fleeting reality of meaning. ($4-$8) Event Website

(Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011) (11am-6pm) A laser light and fog installation which mingles the spatial clarity and structure of minimalism with the ephemeral, virtual qualities of new media and technology.This installation both underlines and questions the meaning of space and perception by playing with the physics of light and spacial geometry, creating ever-evolving colored structures as the visitor shifts in his or her viewing angle. ($4-$8) Event Website

(Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011) (11am-6pm) This exhibition explores totalitarian and post-totalitarian contemporary art from Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, and New York. The videos and installations are gathered around the idea that history can only be represented through some form of distortion, detour, or absurdity that enables a distancing from the represented reality, so that meaning can be redefined and rearticulated. Jacques Rancière queries: “Are some things unrepresentable?” and responds, “The invention of actions is both a boundary and a passage between two things: the events, at once possible and incredible, which tragedy links; and the recognizable and shareable feelings. ($4-$8) Event Website

(Dixon Place, 161 A Chrystie, (Between Rivington & Delancey), New York, NY 10002) ($15) Celebrate LAVA’s 10 year retrospective as New York’s OBIE and Bessie Award winning all-female integrated dance, theater, and acrobatic troupe. The signature LAVA works combine athletic physicality, intellectual rigor, social commentary, and multi-media theatricality. Highlights from a decade of explosive choreography which integrates daring irreverence, color, and surprising audience participation. (We-Su 7:30pm, Su 3:30pm) Event Website

(Peter Jay Sharp Theater, The Juilliard School, 155 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023) (Tu-Sa 7:30pm, Sa & Su 2pm, Su 7pm) Staring Edie Falco portraying an ex-con trying to make a go of it on the outside with her former cellmate. The two outcasts, once so close on the inside, struggle to navigate a friendship beyond the prison walls - which may threaten their prospects to start over. This is is a heartfelt and witty portrait of two lost souls trying to find their way in an unforgiving world. ($70) Event Website

(Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, 421 East 61st St, New York, NY 10065) (Tu-Su 11am-4pm) Test your knowledge about the history of ice cream at this new interactive exhibit in the museum's historic kitchen. See how ice cream was prepared in the 18th and 19th centuries. Uncover the myths and find out some surprising truths about one of America's favorite treats. Continue your ice cream adventure with take-home activities for both adults and children. ($8) Event Website

(IRT, 154 Christopher Street #3B, New York, NY 10014) (Th & Fr 8pm, Sa 8 & 10pm, Su 6pm) Doesn't Everybody Do It In Paris? expands upon Flaubert's classic Madame Bovary, a tale of Emma Bovary's attempts to reconcile her simple life as a country doctor's wife with her idealized notions of romance and glamour. The daughter of Karl Marx and an idealist whose life ended in suicide, the translator's story serves as an echo of themes explored in Emma Bovary's fictional world. The fusion of these two women's lives brings to the stage the question of what happens when human ambitions and idealized notions are interrupted by reality. ($15-20) Event Website

(Robert Moss Theater, 440 Lafayette Street 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10003) (Check website for details) On election night, while the only white democratic family in Bush oil country holds an Obama party, they discover they are split on a California issue that hits close to the core, raising questions about their own sense of "family." Winner Audience Favorite Award at The 2010 National NewBorn Festival. PFLAG ($18) (866-811-4111) Event Website

(Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, New York, NY 10012) (Tu-Sa 8pm, Sa 2pm, Su 2 & 7pm) Pull up an electric chair and witness the most shockingly over-the-top show in town, where nothing is sacred and everything is hysterically demented. One jail, four men and a whole lotta funny (dirty) antics make 666 the rudest, laugh-out-loud prison comedy you’ll ever see. The internationally acclaimed Yllana has wowed audiences all over the world and now brings their twisted brand of humor to the US. Who knew prison could be this much fun? ($20+) Event Website

(Varies on Lower Eastside) (See website for schedule) Pride Goes East unites Fourth Arts Block (FAB) theaters with Lower East Side (LESBID) businesses as they celebrate Pride in the way that only such a unique, diverse, culturally-rich neighborhood can! Performance Space 122, Dixon Place, La MaMa, and other FAB theatres will be presenting a variety of LBGT performances while Lower East Side shops and restaurants offer hot deals and special events in support of fundraising efforts for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk School. (Varies) ((212) 228 4670) Event Website

(Midtown Theater, 163 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10024) (We-Sa 9 pm, Su 6 pm) Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner will help make Times Square a little pinker – and all of New York City, in fact - when they present actor Leslie Jordan in his acclaimed solo show. Jordan, that small man and giant scene stealer, and one of the funniest men in America, has created an outrageous tell-all that weaves together a hilarious collection of true life stories. He is known on sight for his wildly popular recurring role as Karen’s nemesis, Beverley Leslie, on “Will & Grace”, and his acclaimed role on the cult classic, "Sordid Lives." ($55.00-$79.50) ((212) 352-3101) [email protected] Event Website

(Theatre at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036) (Th - Sa 8pm) Set in the deep South, Another Part of the Forest tells the story of the most “dysfunctional” family in all of American drama- the notorious Hubbards -- wealthy, ruthless, and immoral -- and their rise to prominence. ($25) Event Website

(Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036) (Tu 7pm, We-Fr 8pm, Sa 2 & 8pm, Su 3pm) MODOTTI is the story of photographer, silent film actress and ultimately activist and communist subversive, Tina Modotti. Sleek and sensuous, yet as dangerous as a tiger, she tore through the male dominated political forums almost as fast as she tore through her lovers. Modotti fled to Mexico lured by the revolution and artistic excitement. Accompanied by her lover, American photographer, Edward Weston, she took on the challenge of a culture undergoing rapid change. ($50) ((212) 279-4200) [email protected] Event Website

(Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 West 44th St, New York, NY 10036) (Tu 7pm, We - Sa 8pm, We, Sa & Su 3pm) ($59.50+)

(New World Stages, 340 W 50th St, New York, NY 10019) (Mo - Sa 8pm, Sa 2pm, Su 2 & 7:30pm) Some guys are scared stiff at the prospect of settling down, getting married, having kids...and Joe White is no exception. He’s a divorce lawyer, representing one of his many ex-girlfriends, and above all else, he's a bachelor who wouldn’t have it any other way. So when his mother desperately wants him to start a family, he’ll do the next best thing: make one up. What could go wrong? ($60+) Event Website

(The Metropolitan Opera, Broadway and W. 64th St., New York, NY 10023) (See website for schedule) Celebrating the Company’s 70th Anniversary with a tribute to legendary ballerina Alicia Alonso and the 30th Anniversary of Natalia Makarova’s production of La Bayadère. The season will also feature the Company Premiere of John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias. ($38+) Event Website

(The Esopus Foundation, 64 West Third St., New York, NY 10012) Presenting an exhibition of 44 never-before-seen photographs of the extraordinarily inventive drag queens who performed at New York’s legendary Pyramid Club in the mid-1980s. The photos, which were taken by artist, documentarian, and social activist Clayton Patterson in the dressing room of the club in 1986 and 1987, Event Website

(The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10128) (Su.-Tu. & Th- Fr. 11AM) Curious George, the beloved, irrepressible monkey of children’s book lore, is famous for his ability to “save the day.” Interpreting the role he played in safeguarding his own creators in times of danger as symbolic, this exhibition delves into the remarkable lives and works of Margret and H.A. Rey. The couple fled Paris in 1940 with a Curious George manuscript in their suitcase. Event Website

(Sofia's Downstairs Theatre, 221 West 46 St, New York, NY 10036) (Fr-Sa 8pm, Su 3pm) A touching and hilarious 'tell-it-like-it-is' look at the lives of a group of female friends. GIRLS NIGHT is bursting with energy and is packed with hits Lady Marmalade, It's Raining Men, Man, I Feel Like a Woman, I Will Survive, We are family and many more! ($53+) Event Website

(Central Park, 58th St, New York, NY 10155) (See website for performance schedule) Featuring Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jesse L. Martin, Al Pacino, Lily Rabe, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Max Wright This season will present two Shakespeare plays in repertory giving audiences eight straight weeks of free Shakespeare. Under directors Daniel Sullivan and Michael Greif, the same company of actors will perform in both THE WINTER’S TALE and THE MERCHANT OF VENICE on rotating nights. (FREE) Event Website

(Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th St, Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY 11215) (See website for schedule) This is one of New York City's longest running, free, outdoor performing arts festivals. A performing arts festival that presents over 25 free performances each summer at the Prospect Park Bandshell. (FREE) Event Website

(Bronx Museum, 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th St, Bronx, NY 10456) (Th.- Su. 11Am-6PM) During the span of twelve years, a series of events, later hailed as the Civil Rights Movement, would forever change the social and political course of America. Exhibitions that chronicling these pivotal moments in the nation’s history. Featuring 150 vintage photographs, Road to Freedom is the most comprehensive collection of photographic prints and related artifacts ever devoted to the subject and was organized by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. ($5) Event Website

(Museum of Arts & Design, 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019) (Tu-Sa 11am-6pm, Th 11am-9pm) This shows displays the designs of six internationally renowned bicycle builders whose work in metal, as well as graphics and artifacts, elucidate this refined, intricate and deeply individual craft. The twenty-one handbuilt bicycles exhibited sit squarely at the intersection of design, craft, and art, and include a range of contemporary designs: fixed-gear, road racing, cyclocross, mountain, and commuter bicycles, as well as the stripped-down radonneur, designed exclusively for long-distance racing. ($15) Event Website

(New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023) (10am - 6pm) The exhibition explores the musical creativity and influence of the Grateful Dead from 1965 to 1995, the sociological phenomenon of the Deadheads and the enduring impact of the Dead's pioneering approach to the music business. ($12) Event Website

(Cyclone at Coney Island, 834 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224) (Noon) The world-famous Coney Island Cyclone is revved up and ready to roll. The Cyclone is the most famous attraction in all of Coney Island and one of the most famous roller coasters in the world. Make it the cornerstone of a trip to Coney Island that includes the Beach, Boardwalk, Aquarium, games, great food and drink! There is still plenty to see and do!! ($8) Event Website

(Museum of Sex, 233 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016) (Su-Sa 10am- 8pm) Making safe sex sexy again with the launch of “RUBBERS: The Life, History & Struggle of the Condom”. A new exhibition detailing the provocative life of the condom. This exibition takes a fun, fundamental look at the history and progression of the condom from a single object to its role as a multidisciplinary artifact. ($16.50 or see coupon for discount) Event Website

(MoMA, 11 West 53 St, New York, NY 10019) (10:30 Closed Tu.) Featuring approximately one hundred works, this exhibition explores Picasso’s creative process through the medium of printmaking, tracing his development from the early years of the twentieth century, with depictions of itinerant circus performers in the Blue and Rose periods, to his discovery of Cubism. ($20) Event Website

(Central Park, 58th St, New York, NY 10155) (See website for schedule) Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2010, SummerStage will offer 33 free concerts and 8 benefit shows that will feature emergent acts, high profile reunions, and New York City homecomings, highlighting genres and works definitive to the many neighborhoods they serve. This season will prove to be among the best such series ever presented in the city! (FREE) Event Website

(Pier 40, West Houston St & West Side Hwy, New York, NY 10001) (See website for schedule) This volunteer organization, the Downtown Boathouse offers free river kayaking to the general public. Instructors provide the equipment and tutorials, so all you have to do is show up in a swimsuit or shorts and strap on a life vest. (Oh, and you also have to know how to swim.) (FREE) Event Website

(Museum of Arts & Design, 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019) (Tu-Sa 11am-6pm, Th 11am-9pm) A showcase of the work of over 30 international artists who transform organic materials and objects that were once produced by or part of living organisms-insects, feathers, bones, silkworm cocoons, plant materials, and hair-to create intricately crafted and designed installations and sculptures. ($15) Event Website

(Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011) (open Tu - Sa 11am to 6pm Th 11am to 8pm closed Su) Miotte’s artistic influences include performance, choreography, jazz music and Ballet, and of these his most seminal influence is Ballet. In London in 1948 he did set design and saw the work of Balanchine, the Diaghilev Ballet and Margot Fonteyn. Being exposed to this variety of art was of profound inspiration to him. Dance is the universal language of non-verbal communication, evident through performance. Miotte would experiment with gesture through painting and hone lyrical movement in his own art. ($8, $4)

(Discovery Times Square Exposition, 226 West 44th St, New York, NY 10036) (Su-Th 10am-8pm, Fr & Sa to 9pm) Behold the legendary treasures of King Tut. For the first time in a generation, revel in the splendor of the ancient Egyptian world as you view a dazzling array of possessions unearthed from his tomb, along with antiquities representing his family and contemporaries. Through 10 galleries and 130 artifacts, New York City will experience the world of the pharaohs like never before ($27.50) Event Website

Tuesdays at 7pm, 3rd St & Prospect Park West; Wednesdays at 6:45pm, 236 West 73rd St; Saturdays at 9:15am, 236 West 73rd St Event Website

(LGBT Community Center, 208 West 13th St, New York, NY 10011) The world's oldest and largest not-profit agency dedicated to serving LGBT senior citizens. Activities include Daytime Discussion, Art Studio, 75+, Support Group, Scrabble & Bridge and Women's and Men's activities. Event Website

(Corio, 337 West Broadway, New York, NY 10003) (8:00pm) Last Call at the Starliner Lounge, a new and entirely original burlesque noir musical featuring live music, murder, mystery, camp and, last but never least, a bevy of twirling tassels- in the tradition of the five lesbian brothers. The once-underground, once-illegal show formally takes the top floor of Soho’s burlesque landmark. ($15) (212-966-3901) [email protected] Event Website

(Ripley Grier Studios, 939 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor, Buzzer 307, New York, NY 10019) (Tu 8pm; We 8:30pm) Greg Ryzio brings same sex ballroom dancing to Hells Kitchen. Learn classic Ballroom and spicy Latin dances with your partner or on your own. Classes are open to anyone looking to learn in a comfortable and friendly environment. Come join in on the fun! ($20) (917.692.8732) [email protected] Event Website