the Roots

In an effort to draw attention to the growing global water crisis, Live Earth is bringing people together on April 18 for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, taking place around the world over the course of 24 hours. The New York event will be held in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, where participants will walk or run a 6K course—the distance many women and children around the world walk each day to get water—and see the Roots and special guest John Legend perform. Water education villages will also be on site to educate about the global water crisis. The good news? More than 100 countries around the world are bringing awareness and funds to fight the scarcity.

Head to the Scandinavia House and peruse the designs by standout Scandinavian architecture firm Snøhetta in “Snøhetta: Architecture, Landscape, Interior”. The red-hot firm recently won Europe’s most prestigious architecture prize for its work on the stunning Norwegian National Opera and Ballet house. (The harmony of the building and its landscape proves stunning: Tens of thousands of individual bricks form a “carpet” extending from the bay up to the building’s roof, meaning you can virtually wade from the bay straight onto the façade and walk the large expanse. The interior features undulating wooden walls that pay homage to classic Norwegian boat design.)

The exhibition at Scandinavia House, open through April 24, uses different media, including films, photographs, computer visualizations, drawings and models, to allow visitors a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the working methods and visions of the architects at Snøhetta. You can also view some of its most prestigious works: the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion, the King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture, the Ras Al Khaimah Gateway project, the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Another highlight? The interactive multitouch table, which provides every detail on 100 Snøhetta projects.

With the romantic idea of April in Paris right around the corner, reacquaint yourself with the City of Light at Twilight Visions: Surrealism, Photography, and Paris at the International Center of Photography. More than 150 photographs from the 1920s and ’30s illustrate the interesting techniques (montage, fragmentation, unconventional view points) photographers used to present the city in an entirely fresh way. Through May 9. 1133 Ave. of the Americas, 212-857-0000

Visit the Japan Society’s Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Arthur R. Miller Collection—on view through June 13—and find a wonderland of more than 130 color-woodblock prints from Japan’s ukiyo-e master, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861), whose awe-inspiring depictions include vibrant samurai warriors, a gigantic skeleton and thrashing sea creatures. Added feature: Catch artist Hiroki Otsuka at work in the gallery for about 20 hours a week as he sketches his own manga inspired by Kuniyoshi’s storytelling at the gallery. 333 E. 47th St., 212-832-1155

Promising to be a comedy show like no other, D-Bags, A-Holes & Lovers at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at 8 PM on March 24 is not to be missed. (And with a name like that, how could it be?) The show, directed by Rachel Hamilton and written by and starring real-life husband and wife James and Jessica Eason, skewers, well, the d-bags, a-holes and lovers of the world. See it for $5. 307 W. 26th St., 212-366-9176

The race doesn’t run till May 1, but it’s never too early for Kentucky Derby prep. Thankfully, Mason Dixon—known for housing the largest selection of bourbon in Manhattan (it was the first joint to bring Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka to the island)—is helping the cause with a pre-Derby bourbon-tasting party on March 24 (9 PM–midnight). Pairing up with the Kentucky-based bourbon distillery Buffalo Trace, Mason Dixon will offer free bourbon tastings, mint juleps and a chance to win Derby tickets and an all-expenses-paid trip to Buffalo Trace for a VIP distillery tour. Post time couldn’t come any quicker…. 133 Essex St., 212-260-410

After hearing so much about the deterioration of the ozone layer, one event is here to help: the Go Green Expo, back for the third consecutive year (March 9 to 21) has more than 200 company booths showcasing green products and services and the Architectural Digest Home Design Show. From interactive seminars to a green Kids Zone, this gathering motivates even the youngest of crowds to go green. For those interested in learning about how to live a greener life, environmentally conscious celebrities like Mariel Hemingway, Matthew Modine and Ed Begley Jr. will address topics throughout the exhibition. Special guest Robin Wilson—an eco-friendly interior designer from New York, known for working on President Bill Clinton’s Harlem office and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s home—will also speak. If you don’t come out of this one inspired to live a more sustainable lifestyle, we’re not sure what would get the job done. Pier 92 and Pier 94, 12th Ave. at W. 55th St., 646-778-3211

Lights, cabaret, action! Tony and Olivier Award-winning singer and actress Lea Salonga, best known for her lead role in Miss Saigon, will hit the scene at Café Carlyle March 9–27. “I’m very excited. This is my first cabaret appearance and I’m looking forward to it,” says Salonga. The show, titled The Journey So Far, will not only comprise songs that have been part of her career—such as Filipino tunes and songs she has performed on Broadway—but also pieces you’ve never heard her sing before. And it’s intertwined with personal stories. “Everything that’s in the show has something directly or indirectly to do with my life,” she explains. Her singing will be accompanied by a superb quartet, which is bound to have fans singing long after the show ends. “I think it’s going to be fun for the audiences that are going to come and watch,” she said. “Hopefully they’ll have fun on this journey.” 35 E. 76th St., 212-744-1600

Nightclub-turned-mini mall Limelight Marketplace opens this month in the Flatiron District, hosting three floors of 80 boutique shops, like Cosme Proud and J. Sisters, and foodie destinations, like Mari’s New York. Destined to be a favorite among urban shoppers—no glow sticks required. 656 Sixth Ave., 212-226-7585

FROM LEFT: Ildar Abdrazakof as Attila; Abdrazakof and Russell Thomas as Uldino

Throughout his career, Riccardo Muti has had more than a few invitations to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera. But it wasn’t until Verdi’s Attila (through March 27) that he finally accepted. Perhaps it was the lure of working with a dream team that includes Miuccia Prada (costumes) and Pritzker Prize-winning architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron (set design) that swayed him. Whatever the reason, the Met—and its audiences—is luckier for it. Having held some of the most prestigious musical posts in the world, music director of La Scala and chief conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra among them, Muti is a specialist in Verdi operas—particularly Attila. Well-known for the line, “You can have the universe, but leave Italy to me,” sung by the Roman general Ezio, Attila is set in the mid-fifth century with the Huns blowing through the crumbling Roman empire. Herzog describes the set for the Hun camp as “a forest that you know from imagination… a forest from fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel.” He goes on to describe the set’s mood as “a vision based on destruction and nature” that stays true to Verdi’s descriptions. As for Prada’s contribution, the costumes don’t disappoint. With no shortage of leather (trenches, fringe, helmets spiked with feather mohawks), a color wheel consisting mostly of black and brown, and studded accents throughout, there’s a bit of biker in these Prada Huns. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 212-362-6000