Weds., January 25
by Jim Knipfel
Spelling things aloud from memory can be tougher than it sounds, especially after you’ve had a couple. I once saw famed gadabout Anthony Haden-Guest get booted from a spelling bee after misspelling “chihuahua.” (He protested.) But if you’re able to pull it off at Freddy’s, you could win a fabulous cash prize. Or at least a cash prize. It costs a buck to enter, and all those bucks add up to become the final jackpot. Bring some friends and do the math (which is also pretty hard after you’ve had a few).
Freddy’s Bar & Backroom,
485 Dean St. (at 6th Ave.), B’klyn,
718-622-7035; 8, $1.
Peter Blauner
reads from Slipping Into Darkness
Thurs., January 26
by Jim Knipfel
I always thought it was unfair to pigeonhole Blauner, author of The Intruder and The Last Good Day, as someone who wrote “thrillers.” His books are more complicated (and better written) than that. He’s never relied on cookie-cutter plots and cardboard characters repeated ad infinitum. Instead, Blauner writes novels—gritty, realistic novels that often include a police investigation along the way, and don’t always have a neat, happy ending. Case in point is his latest, Slipping Into Darkness. The plot’s way too serpentine to lay out here, except to say that it involves a suspicious ex-con, an NYPD detective with RP, and two murders separated by 20 years, but connected by something that should be impossible. This, his sixth novel, is his most elaborate and intriguing yet. And it’s much more than a “thriller.”
44 Greenwich Ave., (betw. 6th & 7th Aves.); 6:30, free.
The Trip To Bountiful
Through February 19
by Jonathan Leaf
Top-quality theater is insanely expensive, right? Well, maybe not. Horton Foote’s The Trip To Bountiful is offering tickets purchased on the day of performance for its wildly praised production (Wall Street Journal, Daily News, New York Post, et al.) for 15 bucks. What’s more, you can buy a series of six for their upcoming play productions—including stagings of three lauded August Wilson plays—for $90. All in all, it’s a cheap date that even makes you look classy.
Signature Theater Company
Peter Norton Space
555 W. 42 St. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.),
212-244-7529; Weds.-Sat. at 8 & Weds. Sat. & Sun. at 3,
$15 day of performance.
“Drinking and Thinking” returns
Every Weds., beginning February 1
by Jim Knipfel
So what was the name of Klaus Kinski’s character in Venom? Who wrote Fable For Another Time? In the song “Golden Showers,” what line follows, “Our relationship, I don’t want to spoil it…”? If you can answer all three, you are one clever fuck—and probably handsome, too. It also means you’re probably set for the return of “Drinking and Thinking,” the weekly trivia contest at Dempsey’s. It’s been retooled a little during its five-month hiatus, but hosts Janet Rosen and Tony Hightower still promise glorious prizes, drink specials, and timeless snappy repartee. Bring your own team (up to six members) or hook up with some mumbly juicehead while you’re there. If you’re too stupid to play, it’s still a good show, as fistfights and publicly broken engagements are almost inevitable.
Dempsey’s,
61 2nd Ave. (betw. 3rd & 4th Sts.); 7:30, free.
