READING: The New School's wonderful public lectures and reading series are back in swing as the school year revs up, and tonight, the ethereal Mary Gaitskill will discuss her book Veronica (a National Book Award finalist) with moderator Jeffrey Renard Allen. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras

6:30pm // The New School [66 W 12th St, room 510] // $5

THEATER: The Soho Think Tank is legendary for nurturing some of the freshest new work in town. Their latest world premiere is “FIZZ: The Totally Fictionalized Story of America's Most Successful Blunder”. It tells the story Roberto Goizueta, a Cuban defector to the U.S. who rose through the ranks to helm Coca Cola during the 80s and 90s. Goizueta stuck gold with Diet Coke and the so-stupid-it’s-genius slogan “COKE IS IT!” But it all came crashing down in ’85 with the decision to replace olde Coke with New Coke. The world was devastated at the loss of their beloved brand and within three months Peter Jennings would interrupt General Hospital to break the news that the original Coke was back. “FIZZ” is described as a “rollicking” comedy about Goizueta catching the wave back to the top. - John Del Signore

8pm // The Ohio Theatre [66 Wooster Street]

EVENT: The New York Philharmonic's opening concert is tonight, and will be telecast live at Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center. The host of the evening with intermission interviews is Beverly Sills, and the Music Director is Lorin Maazel, who will lead the orchestra in works by Beethoven and Mozart, with Pianists Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman.

This is only the second time that a New York Philharmonic concert has been fed live on to Lincoln Center’s main plaza. The first was on September 20, 2001, when the Orchestra offered a memorial performance of Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem following September 11, 2001.

7:30pm // Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center [65th Street and Broadway] // Free

MUSIC: The Gossip play Irving Plaza tonight. They're a super fun group that'll get you movin', give them a listen at their MySpace page. Earlier this year our faves Ghostland Observatory played some shows with them.

8pm // Irving Plaza [17 Irving Place] // $15