Pencil This In

MOVIE: Every national election year reminds us of that part in The Dark Crystal where the hideous Skeksis systematically drain the Gelfling’s “essence” and drink it to increase their power. If you don’t know the scene we’re talking about, you need to go see it on the big screen tonight – a regular-sized TV monitor just doesn’t do Jim Henson’s creepy masterpiece justice. The one-night-only screening will be introduced by one of the film’s puppet makers, Cheryl Henson, daughter of Jim. She’ll be joined by Robbie Barnett, who operated some of the main Skeksis; the pair will sign merch after the screening.

Friday // 9:30pm // Rubin Museum of Art K2 Lounge [150 W 17th St.] // Free with a $7 bar minimum; call (212) 620-5000 to reserve a ticket in advance.

THEATER: Mark Mulcahy, former front-man for Miracle Legion and Polaris, the house band for Nickelodeon TV series "The Adventures of Pete & Pete," has been participating in some rather fruitful theatrical collaborations in recent years with Ben Katchor, an illustrator and cartoonist whose work is often seen in The New Yorker. Combining Mulcahy’s bouncy pop score with live acting and singing against backdrop projections of Katchor’s kinetic art, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island “follows the efforts of a New York philanthropist to bring the modern poetry of instructional pamphlets to a group of exploited island workers.” We saw this delightfully absurd production when it premiered at the Kitchen in 2004 and are glad to see it back in New York for an extended run, which begins tonight.

Friday // 8pm // The Vineyard Theater [108 E. 15th St] // Ticket prices vary.

MUSIC: Local dance-punk favorites Radio 4 headline Studio B tonight, with support from Dragons Of Zynth, who breathe fiery, twitchy, psychedelic oddities. David Sitek of TV on the Radio produced their debut album Coronation Thieves and, according to SPIN, the band came to his rescue when he almost choked to death on a piece of beefsteak during the production. Maybe he'll return the favor and sit in tonight?

Friday // 10pm // Studio B [259 Banker St., Brooklyn] // Tickets cost $12.

ART: Brooklyn artist and self-described “rogue taxidermist” Nate Hill has been toiling on his A.D.A.M. Project for a year now; the big unveiling is this weekend. The piece is a life-size human replica assembled with a needle and thread using animal parts – mainly roadkill – scavenged from New York and other parts of America. “The thirteen species included in the finished human being are: chicken, conch, cow, crab, deer, dog, duck, eel, fish, frog, lobster, rabbit, and shark. A complimentary face mask will be provided for all who attend because this event will smell.” There will also be free beer.

Saturday // 6pm-10pm // Nate Hill Open Studio [893 Lafayette Ave., Bed-Stuy] // Free

FOOD: As a warm-up to checking out Hill’s roadkill human, take the kids in the afternoon to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan for a cooking and nutrition show with Cat Cora, the Food Network’s first and only female Iron Chef and founder of Chefs for Humanity, which works for hunger relief around the world. Cora (pictured) will work with ten child chefs during the presentation to prepare a healthy lunch, tasting to follow. Seating is limited, so arrive in time to pick up tickets at 12:30 at the Visitor Information Desk. Recommended for ages 5 and up. (Details.)

Saturday // 2pm // Children's Museum of Manhattan [212 West 83rd St] // Free with admission to the Children’s Museum

MUSIC: The Ladybug Transistor has been doing sweetly-spun indie rock for over a decade now, despite death and band dismemberments. Their sound has been described as “pop baroque” and comes ornamented with flutes and strings, but in recent years they’ve added some touches of folk and country to the arrangements. They perform tonight with Spectrum (featuring Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember; ex-Spacemen 3) and The Instruments.

Saturday // 7pm // The Knitting Factory [74 Leonard St] // Tickets cost $10.

THEATER: Ariel Dorfman’s powerful play Windows concerns “the aftermath of a war under a brutal occupying regime, inspired by Mr. Dorfman’s Chile after his forced exile during the Pinochet regime.” But the action is set in an unspecified country that could be anywhere. “When a male body washes ashore on the banks of a river in a war-torn village, several women each claim the body as her own missing loved one, to spite the occupying Army captain who has recently arrived to tame the village.” The play cuts back and forth between the would-be widows and the soldiers, in a production that Martin Denton calls “powerfully disturbing” and “a call to action.”

Sunday // 3:15 // 59E59 [59 East 59th St] // Tickets cost $20.

MUSIC: The Brooklyn County Fair will be rolling into Galapagos Sunday for a full day of live American roots, country, folk, and blue grass music. There will be six bands, ranging from the old-time bluegrass East River String Band to the headlining Kamara Thomas, bassist for Earl Greyhound, with her band Larune. You won’t go hungry either, folks; the fair will feature “the best down home BBQ pulled pork, beans, warm cornbread and cheesy grits you've ever tasted!”

Sunday // 1pm - 8pm // Galapagos [70 N 6th St] // Free