Terrorsex Cabaret; Debbie Does Dallas; Bob Fingerman's Beg the Question; "New York Eats Out"; Donna, Donna, Donna and Donna; East Side Oral; Alan Cumming's Novel; Harry Mathews Reads; An Evening of Female Trouble
After watching Comedy Central's Porn 'n Chicken recently, we considered throwing our own porn night?watching classics like Deep Throat or one of John Holmes' while snacking on Kennedy Fried Chicken or finger foods. Instead, we went to see the new Debbie Does Dallas. Updated for the stage with new music, this thing is raunchy, crude and hilarious. We were partial to the actress playing the bottle-blonde cheerleader, with her high-pitched voice, her need to show off her bloomers and her screwing Debbie's boyfriend the quarterback. The orgy scenes are hot, even though they leave their clothes on. The penis-shaped candles onstage gave us some ideas, too. It plays at Jane Street Theater Weds.-Thurs. and Mon.-Tues. at 8, Fri. at 8 & 10:30, Sat. at 7 & 10. Tickets are $30-$35. 113 Jane St. (betw. Washington St. & 10th Ave.), 239-6200.
The young ladies in editorial were darn near scandalized by a copy of cartoonist/writer Bob Fingerman's latest joint Beg the Question, a meticulous, smutty, hilarious quasi-autobiographical slice of life (collected and retouched from his acclaimed comic series Minimum Wage) about a young cartoonist maintaining grownup relationships while struggling to rise from the "low-end of the New York food chain." Funny if you've been there, even funnier if you still are. Fingerman will be on hand to discuss and sign copies (as well as any of his previous work for obsessive fans) 7-8 p.m., Weds., Nov 6. If we're really lucky he might even make with some caricatures, but don't let on you heard the suggestion here. At Jim Hanley's Universe, 4 W. 33rd St. (5th Ave.), 268-7088. Say what you will about Broadway and museums, New York has always been about food. Why else would the New York Public Library mount a hyperextensive, four-month-long exhibition on the subject? Curated by Times restaurant critic William Grimes, "New York Eats Out" documents city dining?from the birth of Delmonico's (the first restaurant for swells) in the mid-19th century through street vendors (including clam stands and Isidore's Hot Frankfurters) and the automat (with Berenice Abbott's snappy photo thereof) to the late Windows on the World?with photos, menus (many from the Library's vintage collection), magazine covers and the like. The historical feast opens Fri., Nov. 8, and runs through March 1. 5th Ave. (42nd St.), 869-8089; closed Sundays & Mondays.
Q: Did you hear the Donnas added a new member? A: No. What's her name? Q: Moira di Same... Sorry, just cracking wise on the Donnas' Spend the Night, a new album of exactly the same straightahead girl-group-does-the-Ramones as, well, every other Donnas album. But hell, everybody loves it, so why change? And onstage they're an awful lot of fun. As Iggy once said of his band, they "rock it straight, no bullshit." They get better, harder, faster every time we see them. And they're so cute and sexy, which explains why their audience tends to be 50 percent bald-headed ponytails and 50 percent girls the Donnas' age and 100 percent adoring them. They rock Warsaw in Greenpoint Sun., Nov. 10, 261 Driggs Ave. (betw. Eckford & Leonard Sts.) 718-387-0505; and then Bowery Ballroom Mon., Nov. 11, 6 Delancey St. (betw. Bowery & Chrystie St.), 533-2111; both nights with the cool band Your Enemies Friends.
The East Side Oral reading series is so well-organized, it's tough to believe it's actually good. But Elise Miller, who hosts the proceedings every month at the Living Room, brings a talented bunch of writers, poets and musicians to the fray, makes sure that no single dating victim or speech-impaired nut rules the day and passes around a bucket at the end to pay her performers. It's simple and always fun and warm, Jesus. This month, you get Ingrid Ducmanis, who writes about her sexual alter ego "Kitty," Mark Swartz (Instant Karma) and Mari Brown. Free (if you're a dick). Sun., Nov. 10, 5 p.m. 84 Stanton St. (Allen St.), 533-7235.
Harry Mathews is a great master of experimental postmodern prose, whose playing with structure and process is more a European than an American approach. But don't let that throw you. He's also got a sense of humor that can be downright madcap, and his lines flow like music?in fact, he writes to be read aloud, so that even when his stories get kind of surrealistic, you'll be floating along quite happily on the lovely images and beautiful cadences. Dalkey Archive Press, which has kept Mathews masterpieces like The Journalist and Tlooth in print, has just released a collection of shorter prose gems, The Human Country. No doubt he'll offer a taste Tues., Nov. 12, 6:30, when he reads at the Drawing Center, 35 Wooster St. (betw. Broome & Grand Sts.), 219-2166.
An unlikely but compelling bunch of women takes the stage as "An Evening of Female Trouble" at the Gershwin Hotel Tues., Nov. 12, at 8. The "Female Trouble" thing may have tipped you off to the fact that Amy Sohn, who wrote a column of that name for New York Press, will be there. She'll read from her upcoming book My Old Man, accompanied by the Pontani Sisters, who do kitsch 50s burlesque, and Lisa Levy, who does live, off-the-cuff psychotherapy advice. Singer Cynthia Hopkins will belt as well. A promising train wreck. $8. 7 E. 27th St. (betw. 5th & Madison Aves.), 725-6060.