THEATER
The Public Theater pulls all the best theater from around the world that premiered in the past year and collects it in New York for its annual Under the Radar Festival. This year it returns for 12 days, with 26 shows ranging experimental theater like Thunderstorm 2.0 and a speculative, sensory piece about life beyond death called After. There’s also comedy, concerts, and a free group karaoke event: You can sing pop music with strangers in “Choir! Choir! Choir!” Jan. 4-15, Locations and times vary, Free-$45, undertheradarfestival.com
COMEDY
There’s got to be some superstition that says you’ll have a better year if it starts in laughter; and if not, it can’t really hurt. Kick yours off at 50 First Jokes, an annual tradition at the Bell House. Comedians including Jo Firestone, Emmy Blotnik and Matteo Lane tell some of the very first knock-knocks, one-liners and stand-up sets of the new year, inviting New Yorkers to wade into 2018 with the rare smile on their faces. Jan. 5, 8 p.m., The Bell House, 149 Seventh St., Brooklyn, $15, thebellhouseny.com
BURLESQUE
If you got all dolled up for New Year’s Eve but wound up jealous of the friends who stayed cozy at home in their PJs, you can make up for it this weekend by donning your favorite onesie and heading to Nasty Canasta’s Pajama Party. Be forewarned: Not everyone’s nighties will stay on, with performances by Amuse Bouche, Bunny Buxom and Puss N Boots. Jan. 5, 8 p.m., Littlefield NYC, 635 Sackett St., Brooklyn, $15-$30, littlefieldnyc.com
FILM
The Museum of the Moving Image once again kicks off the new year with its First Look Festival, dedicated to previewing the best of what’s happening in film around the world. The series will feature over two dozen works, starting with Blake Williams’ Prototype, a 3D sci-fi film that evaluates the effects of the hurricane that devastated Galveston, Texas, in 1900. This sets the tone for 2018’s lineup, with a variety of genre-bending stories told through experimental formats. Jan. 5-15, Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Queens, $15-$45, movingimage.us
MOVIES
The MoMA’s annual Contenders retrospective series of the past year’s cinematic highlights is always a treat, giving you another chance to see movies you may have missed on the big screen. The series includes the critical darling Lady Bird, newspaper drama The Post, and the smash hit Japanese time-traveling drama Your Name. Through Jan. 12, Museum of Modern Art, Titus 1, 11 W. 53rd St., free-$12, moma.org
MUSIC
It’s Dolly Parton’s birthday on Jan. 19, and if you can’t be invited to the ranch personally, you can still join one of the most happening parties being thrown in the country diva’s honor at Union Hall this Saturday. The all-nighter features top Dolly Parton cover band Doll Parts, as well as burlesque artist Darlinda Just Darlinda and stand-up’s Calcuttabitch. The event is hosted by Fantasy Grandma. Just don’t ask how many years they’ve been doing this — a lady never tells! Jan. 6, 8 p.m., Union Hall, 702 Union St., Brooklyn, unionhallny.com
PARTY
House of Yes has been gracing Bushwick with its unique brand of artistic debauchery for two years, and it’s celebrating its second anniversary in its current home with a blowout party over two nights this weekend. The revelry will include the aerial acts, go-go dancers and other live entertainment you’ve come to expect from the venue, plus DJs like David Kiss, Whitney Fierce, Playsuit and Eli Escobar. Celebratory dress is required. There will, of course, also be cake! Jan. 5-6, 10 p.m.-4 a.m., House of Yes, 2 Wyckoff Ave., Brooklyn, Free-$20, houseofyes.org
RACING
Visionaire Racing: Grand Finale
Mini car racing tournaments were popular in Japan in the ‘80s, and they’re seeing a second life with modern fans who are excited to design and race their own Tamiya Japan Cup-style model cars. In December, competitors brought their miniature cars to race on the largest Mini4WD track on the East Coast, installed at Cadillac House. This Sunday, finalists from those challenges will face off at Visionaire Racing’s Grand Finale. Jan. 7, 1 p.m., Cadillac House, 33 Hudson St., free, visionaireworld.com
FUN
Is it going to be the tamest year ever for the notorious No Pants Subway Ride, with temps stuck below freezing every day so far in 2018? Or will it be wilder than ever, as regulars dig deep to prove their mettle by shedding their lower layers in celebration of the whacky annual tradition? We’ll find out Sunday when the MTA is once again filled with half-dressed riders in the middle of an otherwise ordinary afternoon, thanks to a prank started 17 years ago by Improv Everywhere. Jan. 7, 3-5 p.m., seven locations, free, improveverywhere.com
MUSIC
The way modern audiences think about opera, theater and classical music are changing, and the Prototype festival is dedicated to framing those genres in a way that actually makes sense to today’s fans while promoting the new artists they’d most appreciate. With both full programs and works-in-progress, this year’s festival ranges from Secrets, a contemporary jazz opera, to Fellow Travelers, a minimalist work about being gay in the time of McCarthyism. Jan. 7-20, multiple venues, $30-$170, prototypefestival.org
