Pencil This In

THEATER: A one-of-a-kind theatrical event is happening this weekend only in a clothing store and barbershop on the edge of Chinatown. Called American Standard, this solo, seven character ‘sideshow’ is the work of Canadian-American troupe bluemouth,inc., which has been building a reputation for staging innovative theater in bizarre locales. (Other productions have taken place in hotel rooms and the basement of an office building.) In their latest foray, “a preacher, a tourist, a politician, an entertainer, an immigrant, a poet and a terrorist inhabit a storefront installation, spilling onto the street and lurking within the basement.” Martin Denton praises the show as “dense, artful, absorbing, and fun. The penultimate scene is so thrillingly unexpected that to say anything about it risks spoiling American Standard's neatest surprise; suffice to say that you've almost certainly never witnessed anything like it in any theatre of any description.”

Friday // 8pm // Barbershop, Freeman's Sporting Club [8 Rivington Street at Freeman Alley] // Tickets cost $20 and are sold at the venue, which has a limit of 20 audience members per performance.

MUSIC: Ted Leo and The Forms play a benefit tonight, raising money for the family of Callum Robbins. Callum (pictured) is J. Robbins (of Jawbox) and Janet Morgan's son. He was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a genetic motor neuron disease. From their website: "The facts are brutal: SMA kills kids. The disease affects the brain's ability to communicate with the voluntary muscles that are used for activities such as crawling, walking, head and neck control, breathing, and swallowing. Type 1 SMA is usually fatal." It's tragic, so please make a donation if you cannot make it to the show.

Friday // 8pm // Northsix [66 N 6th St, Williamsburg] // $15

PARTY: Tranzucer is a monthly series of performances and installations, kicking off tonight. Come check out the inaugural event, which is described like the bar scene in Star Wars. There will be drinks, couches, a gallery, dancing, deejays and playing with robots.

Friday // 8pm // 461 3rd Ave, Brooklyn // $5

EVENT: Even if you don't have a crazy theme and costumes together for Saturday's Idiotarod, you can still watch the colorful drunken participants cruise through the streets of New York. And remember: don't mess with Idiotaroders.

Saturday // Time and Place TBA // Free to watch, $25 to participate

THEATER: The Under the Radar Festival wraps up this weekend, although a few productions, such as the must-see Must Don’t Whip ‘Um will continue beyond the festival. (Read our previous picks here.) One production that’s flying further under the radar than most is the solo performance Another You, a “brutally honest portrait of human recklessness that employs a kinetic method of storytelling, incorporating abstracted phrasing and incantatory speech. Robin Reed swears it’s “the single most powerful thing I've seen on stage in years.”

Sunday is your last chance for the Under the Radar production of The Brothers Size, the much buzzed about brain-child of third-year Yale Drama student Tarell Alvin McCraney and The Foundry Theatre. “Playing fast and loose with West African myths, this piece unfolds the modern-day story of the Size brothers from San Pere, Lousiana – Ogun Size, auto mechanic and Spirit of Iron; Oshoosi Size, recent parolee and Spirit of the Wanderer – and an outsider who threatens to transform the very ground on which they’ve reunited. The Brothers Size brings contemporary rhythms together with traditions of ceremonial presentation to tell a story that transcends culture and time.” The Times implores you to “listen closely, and you might hear that thrilling sound that is one of the main reasons we go to the theater, that beautiful music of a new voice.” - John Del Signore

Saturday and Sunday // Check the festival website for show times. // The Public Theater [425 Lafayette St.] // Tickets to both shows are $15 and nearly sold out!

EVENT: People will be hugging it out all afternoon in Union Square Sunday. FreeNYC says, "Inspired by a rather hearwarming 3.5 min video, a few good hippie souls will get together this afternoon in Union Square to dole out free hugs to passers by. Come and join in the positive action or simply drop by to get a hug."

Sunday // Union Square Park South // Free