Vienna 1900: Style and Identity
Currently on view at Neue Galerie is “Vienna 1900: Style and Identity,” an exhibition that reveals how the fine and decorative arts of early twentieth century Vienna redefined individual identity in the modern age. At the turn of the century, women’s status was rapidly evolving. The change was seen in fashion where the restrictions of the nineteenth century were cast off by Viennese women who adopted a less constraining style of dress. Artists found the “new woman” a compelling subject for painting, ranging from Oskar Kokoschka’s searing psychological portraits to the highly nuanced and decorative canvases of Gustav Klimt. But the age also ushered in Sigmund Freud’s groundbreaking theories of the subconscious and sexuality. They had a powerful impact on artists’ representations of the various dark and troubling states of the “inner man.” “Vienna 1900: Style and Identity” has been extended until August 8th.

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
In theater, a world premiere comedy from a Pulitzer-prize winning playwright continues to make waves and produce laughs. “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark” by Lynn Nottage takes a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood. The play tells the story of Vera Stark, budding actress and maid to a Hollywood star desperately trying to hold on to her career. When fate intervenes both Vera and her boss land a role in a Southern epic. But years later, the legacy of that film becomes a subject of debate, and the life of Vera Stark, an unresolved mystery. “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark” has been extended through June 12th at the Second Stage Theatre.

The Orchestra of St. Luke’s
A subway series is usually the occasion for rivalries in New York, but the Orchestra of St. Luke’s is asking fans of classical music to come together for a free concert and a good cause. From June 1st to June 7th, the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble will present five free concerts in all five New York City boroughs, and a food drive for New York City’s homeless. The St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble will present its Manhattan concert of works by Gershwin, Barber and Dvorak on June 3rd at the Dimenna Center for Classical Music, where the Orchestra of St. Luke’s now makes its home. The Dimenna Center, which opened earlier this year, provides much needed rehearsal, recording, and education facilities for classical musicians. The building itself is shared with the Baryshnikov Arts Center, which uses its spaces to foster and present work that combines dance with other media.

Frame Dances and Adamantine
Susan Marshall and Company celebrates its 25th anniversary June 9th to the 11th with two multidisciplinary works: “Frame Dances,” a video and dance installation, and the New York premiere of “Adamantine.” “Adamantine” combines dance, sound design, visual art and theater.

The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman
The prolific composer Cy Coleman never wanted a revue of his work in his lifetime. He just wanted to keep writing songs, which he did right up to his death at the age of 75. Now, director David Zippel, who made his Broadway debut as the lyricist for Coleman’s Tony Award-winning “City of Angels,” brings the first revue of the composer’s work to off Broadway from the Rubicon Theatre in California. “The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman” features favorites from Coleman’s Broadway career which spanned over three decades, as well as pop hits made famous by Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand.

A New Home for The Drawing Center
Plans for a new home for The Drawing Center are looking up. In an innovative approach to its growing pains, The Drawing Center has found a way to both stay put and expand its galleries. Renovations to the center will connect the ground floor of the SoHo building where it has been for 25 years to a newly acquired second floor in the same building on Wooster Street. The Drawing Center closes its doors for renovation later in the summer, but in the meantime it is presenting two exhibitions in its current space. In “Drawing and its Double: Selections from the Instituto Nazionale per la Grafica”, the center presents 59 rarely-exhibited metal printing plates engraved by Italian masters dating from the 16th Century to the late 20th Century. The plates are presented on their own, without the resultant prints, putting the focus on the act of drawing in this unconventional medium. Also on display is a series of works by contemporary artist Paolo Canevari. These ten large-scaled etched plates were conceived by the artist as works of art in their own right. Catch these exhibitions at The Drawing Center through June 24th and look for the center’s reopening in spring 2012.