City Week: July 9-15

a selective listing of recommended cultural and community events

compiled by alice robb friday, july 9 magic musical-tada! youth theater presents the magic pot: three tales from china, an original musical for kids, performed by kids, about a young girl who finds herself in the middle of ancient tales. tada! theater, 15 w. 28th st., 2nd floor, 212-252-1619 x5; 7 p.m., $6-$25.

pictures from the past-the new york public library for the performing arts presents lincoln center festival in pictures, a retrospective photography exhibition highlighting the festival's artists and productions over the past 14 years. the gallery portrays some of the great artists who have participated in the festival over the years, including liam neeson, harold pinter, mikhail baryshnikov, ornette coleman and merce cunningham. plaza corridor gallery of the new york public library for the performing arts, 40 lincoln plaza, 212-870-1630; 11 a.m.-6 p.m., free.

zombies-the museum of arts and design continues its italian zombie film series with a screening of zombie 2 (1979), directed by lucio fulci. while investigating an unmanned yacht drifting into the new york city harbor, two patrolmen are attacked by a member of the living dead. the film series is presented in conjunction with special exhibition dead or alive, which explores how contemporary artists incorporate once-living materials in their work. wear zombie makeup for a discounted ticket. mad theater, 2 columbus circle, 212-299-7740; 7 p.m., $7-$10. saturday, july 10 operatic-the emerging artists of the martina arroyo foundation's prelude to performance program present a fully staged and costumed production of mozart's die zauberflöte (the magic flute). the kaye playhouse at hunter college, 695 park ave., 212-772-4448; 7:30 p.m., $20-$90.

civil war history-a walking tour marks the 147th anniversary of the infamous new york draft riots. learn through first-person accounts about the flourishing of gramercy park and personalities such as george templeton strong and edwin booth. the tour is led by new york city expert maria dering. meet outside church of the transfiguration, 1 e. 29th st., 646-573-9509; 11 a.m., $15-$20.

meet a penguin-interact with a live black-footed penguin at the museum of natural history's wild, wild world program. jarod miller, host of the television series animal exploration with jarod miller, discusses the habitats and surprising behaviors of these "extreme climate" animals. linder theater, american museum of natural history, central park west at west 79th street, 212-769-5100; 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., $10-$12. sunday, july 11 international festival-tens of thousands flock each year to the nyc celebration of nations festival, which features international food, art and merchandise, as well as entertainment. madison avenue from east 47th to east 57th street, 212-809-4900; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., free.

summergarden-the museum of modern art's summergarden concert series returns to the abby aldrich rockefeller sculpture garden, with a performance of chamber music including the world premiere of laurie altman's ways of looking: at zurich (2008) and new york premieres of works by reynold tharp and paul desenne. moma, 11 w. 53rd st., 212-708-9400; 8 p.m., free.

groovy tunes-families can hear the energetic pop-rock sound of milkshake along with curious george inspired tunes, in conjunction with the jewish museum's exhibition curious george saves the day: the art of margret and h. a. rey. the jewish museum, 1109 5th ave., 212-423-3337; 2 p.m., $11-$16. monday, july 12 broadway from the inside-the town hall continues its fourth annual summer broadway festival with broadway winners: the award-winning music of broadway. the evening features music and dance coupled with witty insider tidbits, all performed by broadway's finest. the town hall, 143 w. 43rd st., 212-840-2824; 8 p.m., $40-$50. tuesday, july 13 east meets west-the 2010 new york philharmonic concerts in the parks series opens with a performance by musicians from new york and shanghai. the?shanghai symphony orchestra, conducted by?long yu, and international star pianist?lang lang?share the stage with the?new york philharmonic,?conducted by?andrey boreyko. the great lawn, 79th to 85th streets in central park, 8 p.m., free.

czech film-the czech center new york continues its free screenings of czech films (with english subtitles) with a showing of the ironic comedy ecce homo homolka (1969), directed by jaroslav papousek. rooftop of the czech center, 321 e. 73rd st., 646-422-3399; dusk (around 8:30 p.m.), free. wednesday, july 14 picnic with a soundtrack-the mta arts for transit's music under new york program continues its summer concert series, which brings members of new york's diverse underground music scene to the lively oasis of broadway and 66th street. music lovers are invited to bring lunch, join friends and relax at a performance featuring tunisian percussionist najib bahri, one man band peter joseph paul and gypsy funk group sistermonk. richard tucker park, broadway and 66th street, 212-878-7250; 12 p.m., free.