A Parody of Animal Farm; a Benedict Arnold Play; Judy Tuwaletstiwa Paints Like the Hopi; A Brooklyn Nutcracker; the Golden Browns Rock It Straight; a Power-Pop Festival; John Cage Refigured; Pop-Punk by the Goodwill; Ned Vizzini's New Novel; a Rare Readin

One of our favorite playwrights, Richard Nelson, has a play in town just now: The General From America, which is being given its New York premiere by Theater for a New Audience in a bang-up production starring Corin Redgrave. The play, which uses the figure of Benedict Arnold to explore notions of treason and heroism, is completely absorbing and somewhat in the tradition of Nelson's Two Shakespearean Actors, though not quite on that level. Redgrave plays Arnold as a sort of small-scale proto-Tony Soprano?boorish and stupid yet somehow tragic?and the play would be worth seeing just for his performance alone. It's running Tues.-Sat. at 7:30, Sat. at 2 and Sun. at 3 & 7, at the Lucille Lortel Theater. 121 Christopher St. (Bedford St.), 239-6200, $55.

L.A.-born artist Judy Tuwaletstiwa combines her UC Berkeley and Harvard educations with her influences from residing on a Hopi reservation to create emotional abstract art from organic materials like sand, sticks and feathers. Mixed with acrylic, her exhibition "Prima Materia" explores structure and variation with thought-provoking beauty. A slight departure from her delicate organic collages, her recent paintings depict a harsher and stronger reflection of nature. The opening reception is Thurs., Dec. 5, 6-8 p.m., and the show is up through Jan. 16, at Linda Durham Contemporary Art. 210 11th Ave. (betw. 24th & 25th Sts.), 337-0025.

Fuhgeddabout sugar plums and dancing candy?this season take the kiddies to the Brooklyn Music School's A Brooklyn Nutcracker, set in the present among familiar landmarks?Junior's, Coney, Atlantic Ave., Brighton Beach?to the original Tchaikovsky score. This plucky Clara doesn't battle a mouse army; no, here she's up against Subway Rats, and she doesn't wake up in the living room under the tree on Christmas morn?this time out she's found by Mom and a cop in Prospect Park. Brooklyn Beep Marty "Slim" Markowitz even plays Drosselmeyer on the gala opening night, Fri., Dec. 6. How home for the holidays is that? Continues Sat., Dec. 7 & 14, at 7:30, and Sun., Dec. 8 & 15, at 3, at the BMS Playhouse, 126 St. Felix St. (betw. Lafayette Ave. & Hanson Pl.), 718-638-5660; $15, $10 st./child, $50 opening-night gala, incl. champagne reception.

As Korn tours the country on their ridiculously titled Pop Sux tour (uh, wouldn't that have been better in 2000, guys?), the International Pop Overthrow comes to New York to show us pop's good-natured roots. "It is music that relies on melody and harmony, with prominent guitars," according to organizer David Bash. That means fine power-pop bands like 3rd Degree, the Rosenbergs and Coppermine, all of whom play in Brooklyn this week for the best of the IPO shows, Fri., Dec. 6, at Southpaw. Come see who's got the best harmonies and choruses?our money is on the fantastic Rosenbergs. 125 5th Ave. (betw. St. Johns & Sterling Pls.), Brooklyn, 718-230-0236; 7:30, $9.

Given the glut of "Snake" bands?Hot Snakes, Deadly Snakes, the Snakes (East Coast & West), Impotent Sea Snakes and Snakefinger, not to mention Whitesnake?it's no wonder a local band known as the Snakes decided to change its name. But to the Golden Browns? Conjures up images of sitting on the crapper. Yet their music doesn't sound like shit. They play blues-inspired rock 'n' roll (think the Stones) with plenty of slide guitar. The Golden Browns could make a helluva bar band?even though two of them have PhDs and the other an MFA. Catch them this Fri., Dec. 6, at Luxx. 256 Grand St. (betw. Driggs Ave. & Roebling St.), Williamsburg, 718-599-1000; 7, $6.

When John Cage composed Variations VI in 1966, the idea was to drop the graphical score on a table and arrange the unspecified "sound sources"?be they trumpet players or loudspeakers?according to how the pieces fell. A new take on this work by pianist Joseph Kubera and computer music composer Michael Schumacher, continuing Sat.-Sun., Dec. 7-8, 2-8 p.m., at Engine 27, is at once more and less Cagean than the original. More in that each sound source, ranging from text and piano pieces to a live microphone on the street, is now a Cage piece itself. Less, in that the fun part?dropping the score?is now done by a computer. Still, it's different every time, and you'd be hard pressed to hear it realized in a better space. 173 Franklin St. (betw. Hudson & Greenwich Sts.), 431-7466; free.

Fine, we admit it. We have a secret soft spot for pop punk, and this week we'll be vigorously massaging it with the help of the Goodwill. This Long Island quintet represents all our favorite pop punk qualities: they're huggable, angst-ridden and extremely fucking loud. They play Sun., Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. (note that time) along with Ten Foot Pole, Slick Shoes and Trouble Is at Continental. After we're done pogoing our little pre-teen heart out and swooning over Travis, our Goodwill fave, we'll mark our calendars for the February release of their CD That Was a Moment. 25 3rd Ave. (betw. St. Marks Pl. & 9th St.), 529-6924.

To New York Press readers, Ned Vizzini may be best remembered for writing the big-dicked man's guide to condom outlets in Manhattan. Like he would know. To the outside world, it may be his book Teen Angst? Naah..., culled from his youthful Press writings and recently reissued in paperback. And soon, we trust, they'll all know him for the very funny novel he's currently finishing. We heard him read some of it a few weeks ago and he had the whole room laughing along with his mall-rat protagonist's doofy efforts to get laid. He'll probably read some of that again Sun., Dec. 8, 5 p.m., at the Living Room. 84 Stanton St. (Allen St.), 533-7235.

It is a very rare literary event when longtime Brooklyn resident James Purdy ventures into Manhattan to give a reading. One of those American literary treasures who's far better known and much more highly valued outside of this country than here among us tv-besotted philistines, Purdy's decades-long string of novels are expressions of a truly unique and idiosyncratic literary vision, a feverish amalgamation of Jacobean tragedy, American Gothic high weirdness and a delicate, frangible eroticism. He's been compared to his old pal Tennessee Williams, but his work exists in a strange, fascinating universe of its own. A grand old man of American letters whom American publishing has treated like a bum, he reads Mon., Dec. 9, 7 p.m., at Housing Works Used Book Cafe. 126 Crosby St. (betw. Houston & Lafayette Sts.), 334-3324.