Arts calendar: Happenings for the week of July 19

Film

• “Bad Counselors” (July 22): Caught after committing a crime on campus, two frat boys attempt to satisfy their court-mandated community-service requirement by pretending to be counselors at a Christian summer camp in this comedy directed by Chris Dowling and featuring Chris Klein.

• “Brunello: The Gracious Visionary” (July 24): Giuseppe Tornatore (“Cinema Paradiso,” “Malèna”) directs this documentary on the life of Brunello Cucinelli, tracing his path from farmer’s son to celebrated designer and fashion mogul.

• “Her Private Hell” (July 24): In a futuristic city, a young woman on a quest to find her father crosses paths with an American G.I. who is on a mission to rescue his daughter from hell. Nicolas Winding Refn’s science-fiction horror film stars Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Kristine Froseth and Havana Rose Liu.

• “Motor City” (July 24): A man (Alan Ritchson) in working-class Detroit is framed by a gangster (Ben Foster) who wants to steal his girlfriend (Shailene Woodley). After serving his time, the ex-convict returns to the city, hungry for revenge.

• “Pinocchio Unstrung” (July 24): Exposed to the world’s brutal realities, the anthropomorphic wooden doll goes on a violent spree to purge the world of evil and build himself a “real boy” body.

• “Sheep in the Box” (July 24): Directed by Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda, this film follows a couple who, after the death of their son, try to cope with their grief by welcoming a robot humanoid child into their home.

TV

• “Pompeii: Out of Time” (National Geographic, July 22): Tom Hiddleston leads this three-part documentary exploring the final hours before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the city in ash. The series focuses on a trio of inhabitants whom archaeologists have investigated—a teenager, a businesswoman, and a Roman guard—in episodes that will also be available on Disney+ and Hulu starting July 23.

• “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” (HBO Max, July 23): This “Big Bang Theory” spinoff sees Kevin Sussman returning as comic book store owner Stuart Bloom, who—after breaking a device built by Sheldon and Leonard—accidentally disturbs the space-time continuum and must embark on a journey to restore reality.

• “The Dink” (Apple TV, July 24): An injured tennis pro succumbs to the pressure to start playing pickleball in order to save his father’s struggling country club in this comedy film starring Jake Johnson, Chloe Fineman, Ed Harris and Ben Stiller.

• “72 Hours” (Netflix, July 24): Kevin Hart stars as a 40-year-old man who joins a group of guys in their 20s on a bachelor-party weekend after being accidentally added to their group chat. Marcello Hernández, Mason Gooding, Kam Patterson, Ben Marshall and Teyana Taylor are also part of the cast.

• “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender” (Paramount+, July 25): A continuation of the 2005 series, this animated movie picks up roughly a dozen years after the original’s end when Aang, thought to be the last Airbender, learns of a mysterious relic that can help restore his people, and sets out to find it with the help of his friends.

Theater

• “Common Knowledge” (Daryl Roth Theatre, New York, July 22-Aug. 8): After touring across Ireland, Scotland and Australia, Rosie O’Donnell’s one-woman show will make its North American debut off-Broadway. The performance will touch on the comedian’s experience moving to Ireland, the challenges of cultural differences and her relationship with her nonbinary child, all filtered through her characteristic humor.

• “Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular” (Radio City Music Hall, New York, July 23-Aug. 9): Producer Cameron Mackintosh brings a version of the beloved Victor Hugo-inspired musical to North America in the final engagement of its world tour.

Music

• The Strokes, “Reality Awaits” (July 24): The rock band’s first album since 2020 continues its partnership with producer Rick Rubin and features playful effects and auto-tuning that depart from the group’s original gritty sound.

• Charli XCX, “Music, Fashion, Film” (July 24): Following the success of her 2024 album “Brat” and her soundtrack for this year’s “Wuthering Heights,” the electropop phenomenon’s seventh studio album will be marked by provocative and playful songwriting that considers the tradeoffs of fame.

• Pete Yorn, “All The Beauty” (July 24): The indie artist best known for his early aughts alt-rock hits and musical collaborations with Scarlett Johansson will release his 11th solo album, which is a meditation on how love can deliver us from chaos.

• Tyla, “A*POP” (July 24): Known for her blend of pop and amapiano, a South African genre, the singer is set to return with her second studio album following the success of her self-titled debut in 2024.

• “The Ocean Etched in the Forest” (Alice Tully Hall, New York, July 24): As part of its Summer for the City Festival and Chinese Arts Week, Lincoln Center presents the North American premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and performer Du Yun’s latest work, which reimagines the ancient oral traditions of the Jino people.

• Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: “We the Dreamers” (Various locations, Santa Cruz, Calif., July 26-Aug. 9) ✪: This festival—now in its 64th season—uses America’s 250th birthday to examine the nation’s identity through a series of concerts that includes four world, two U.S. and eight West Coast premieres. Among the highlights: Vivian Fung’s new work that responds to the National Anthem; the first American presentation of Elena Kats-Chernin’s musical celebration of marriage equality; and the second-ever performance of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln.”

Dance

• Hugo Marchand, Artists at the Center (New York City Center, New York, July 23-26): The Paris Opera Étoile performs an ambitious program joined by Étoiles Dorothée Gilbert, Léonore Baulac and Germain Louvet as well as dancers from the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. The repertoire will include Angelin Preljocaj’s pas de deux from “Le Parc,” Maurice Béjart’s “The Firebird” and his choreography for Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero,” which is the centerpiece of the event.

Opera

• “The Egyptian Helen” (Fisher Center, Sosnoff Theater, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., July 24-Aug. 2): Bard SummerScape stages a new production, directed by Christian Räth, of Richard Strauss’s rarely performed work that reinvents the myth of Helen of Troy. In Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s libretto, a phantom of Helen returns to Troy after the war while the real Helen is whisked away to safety. Leon Botstein conducts the American Symphony Orchestra.

Art

• “Clay Has Memory: Creative Lineages From Africa” (Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, July 19-July 3, 2027): The continent’s sprawling creative legacy is the subject of this exhibition, which looks at historical, modern and contemporary artists from Africa and the diaspora who have used clay to engage with the complex and richly artistic history of the place.

• “A Collection Without Borders” (The Hispanic Society Museum & Library, New York, July 23-Nov. 1): This annual exhibition celebrates the museum’s holdings and the far-flung influence of Spanish culture through a show that features the institution’s masterpieces alongside lesser-known works. Reviewing the 2024 edition of the presentation, our critic praised the “deep-seated spirituality and humanity that have shaped much of Hispanic art in all periods, genres and media.”

• “Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985” (Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Miss., July 25-Nov. 8): Works by more than 100 artists tell the story of midcentury black photography and the ways the medium shaped the community’s cultural identity and push for equality. The show, which was first seen at Washington’s National Gallery of Art, includes pictures by Kwame Brathwaite, Gordon Parks, Barkley L. Hendricks, Dawoud Bey, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems and others.

• “Christian Marclay: The Clock” (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, July 26-Aug. 23): The artist’s 24-hour-long masterpiece—a montage of film and television clips that include clocks that tell the precise time at the moment they are on screen—returns to L.A. for the first time in more than a decade. In addition to segments being shown during the museum’s regular hours, the movie will be presented in its entirety at two special screenings that begin on the nights of July 25 and Aug. 22.

Last Call

• “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York, through July 26): August Wilson’s drama about a Pittsburgh boarding house comes to Broadway in a revival starring Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer. Read our critic’s review here.

• “Paul Klee: Other Possible Worlds” (Jewish Museum, New York, through July 26): A wide-ranging survey of some 100 paintings, drawings and prints explores the artist’s mystical side. Our critic said that “Klee’s mysterious, poetic range comes vividly to life.”

• “Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes” (Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., through July 26): The artist’s ceramic works, highly attuned to form and most just a few inches tall, are the focus of this retrospective. Our critic noted that the show is “joyful proof that diminutive sculpture can be intimate, funny and even moving.”

Write to [email protected] and [email protected]. For events celebrating America’s 250th birthday, visit our America 250 Calendar, which is updated weekly. Events included there are indicated with a ✪.