Nov. 11 - 17 - NYTimes.com I HAVE argued that the plays of Anton Chekhov are not the wistful, static, tasteful affairs that many modern productions would lead you to believe. Along with being a perceptive observer of the human condition, he was a theatrical showman. Still, I confess that I never imagined a circus about the author of "The Seagull." Yet "DONKA: A LETTER TO CHEKHOV," which opens Wednesday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, features acrobatics, jugglers, clowning and ribbons falling from the sky. A scene from the circus inspired "Donka: A Letter to Chekhov," coming to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. "Wherever You Go" is among the movies in the Other Israel Film Festival. Tim Mapp Juliette Mapp, right, is one of three artists exploring on the impact of Judson Dance Theater at Danspace Project. National Geographic Channels The Southwick family in West Jordan, Utah, preparing for a biological attack. Gino Severini/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and Adagp, Paris As the Industrial Age bore down like a locomotive homing in on a heroine bound to the tracks, the 20th century arrived with the jitters. But that case of cultural nerves wasn't necessarily bad. With language and image fracturing, the time was ripe for the abstract. "Inventing Abstraction, 1910-1925" opens at the Modern on Dec. 23 and details the birth of doodling with intent. Artists include Hartley, Mondrian and the Futurist Gino Severini, whose"Mare = Ballerina" is above (moma.org). Judging by the show's online trailer Daniele Finzi Pasca, who directed Cirque du Soleil's "Corteo" (and was one of its creators) aims for a mix of rollicking Russian celebration and ethereal mumbo jumbo. This illustrates two theatrical trends: the Cirque-influenced rise of the arty circus and the enduring popularity of Chekhov. This summer saw two high-profile versions of "Uncle Vanya" in New York (Soho Rep and Lincoln Center Festival). Now we have Ethan Hawke starring in "Ivanov" at Classic Stage Company as well as a Chekhov-inspired comedy by Christopher Durang, "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," at Lincoln Center. No word yet on whether Spike will be on a tightrope. Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Fort Greene; (718) 636-4100, bam.org. LYDIA LUNCH was the purest apotheosis of the late-"70s No Wave moment in New York. She came here from Rochester at 16 and, like a lot of other No Wavers, had a kind of literary-theatrical idea about how to make music but not much traditional talent. As the singer of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, she was on the "No New York" compilation produced by Brian Eno. She spread into film, poetry, spoken word and photography, never softening her abrasive attitudes. But her new tour, "Retro/Virus," looks like a partial capitulation. She'll revisit her past work, which is still being analyzed in documentaries, books and dissertations. Her band includes Algis Kizys, from Swans, on bass; Weasel Walter, of the Flying Luttenbachers, on guitar; and Bob Bert, of the Chrome Cranks and once of Sonic Youth, on drums. They'll be playing songs from her various past bands: Teenage Jesus, 8 Eyed Spy, 13:13 and others. Thursday, Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Avenue, at Havemeyer Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; (347) 529-6696, bk.knittingfactory.com. ARE we in danger of burning out on Judson Dance Theater? Maybe - but not quite yet. As part of Judson Now, a platform focusing on this revolutionary movement that ushered in postmodern dance in 1962, Danspace Project hosts "THE ART OF INFLUENCE," in which three dance artists explore Judson's impact. On Thursday, Juliette Mapp focuses on the natural world's place in the works of Judson choreographers by presenting a new generation of artists in "Nature and Its Discontents." Lance Gries, Jen Rosenblit, and Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith show choreography that explores the natural or unconscious world. On Friday, Melinda Ring offers "Dance by Default," with performances by visual artists, including Martin Kersels. And next Saturday, Patricia Hoffbauer organizes "Lineage, Legacy, Leitmotif," dance and discussion in which the participants, including Sara Rudner, Arthur Aviles and Jennifer Monson, consider how Judson stretched the meaning of dance. In the true Judson spirit, anything is possible. Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church, 131 East 10th Street, East Village; (866) 811-4111, danspaceproject.org. A LOT of preconceptions have been busted over the years by the OTHER ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL, an eight-day event devoted to movies that explore the lives and challenges of the various minority populations living in Israel. Those populations include Arabs and foreign workers, and their roles in Israeli society can be surprising. The sixth installment of the festival concludes on Thursday, and the remaining New York premieres include the documentary "Ameer Got His Gun" (Sunday, 3 and 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday, 7 p.m.), which follows a young Arab Muslim as he enlists in the Israeli military. His is certainly a counterintuitive career choice. The film, by Naomi Levari, notes that Arab citizens of Israel are exempt from the country's mandatory-service rule. "It's my country, and I'll defend it, more than I'd defend myself," the young man, Ameer Abu Ria, explains. It gives me the feeling that I'm part of the country, that I'm one of its people. Closing night pairs "Wherever You Go," about two very different women confronting tradition, and "Eye Drops," a short about a Palestinian father, his sons and their neighbor, a Holocaust survivor. Events are held at various locations in Manhattan. Tickets and details: otherisrael.org. A YOUNG woman embarking on an art career now has a better chance of succeeding than her grandmother did. But the day that any woman earns the big bucks that men like Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst rake in is still a long way off. Sexism is probably a good enough explanation for inequities in the market. But might it also have something to do with the nature of the art that women tend to make? Anyone with a theory about that will have a good opportunity to test it at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where "THE FEMALE GAZE: WOMEN ARTISTS MAKING THEIR WORLD," a show of works by about 150 women, opens on Saturday. Drawn from a collection of almost 500 pieces by female artists donated to the academy by the Philadelphia collector, philanthropist and artist Linda Lee Alter, the exhibition will feature pieces by most of the 20th century's best-known artists who happen to be women, including Louise Bourgeois, Sue Coe, Janet Fish, Alice Neel, Louise Nevelson, Gladys Nilsson and Kiki Smith, as well as Ms. Alter herself. Through April 7, Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building, 128 North Broad Street, Philadelphia; (215) 972-7600, pafa.org. LONG gone are the days when "period instrument" performances meant sour woodwinds, scratchy strings and unsteady brass. The movement of playing classical music from centuries past on instruments of the day has reached an expert level, with few better proponents than John Eliot Gardiner and his ORCHESTRE RÉVOLUTIONNAIRE ET ROMANTIQUE. Their renditions of Beethoven's works have come to sound downright mainstream. My colleague Steve Smith used these words to describe one such performance: "granitic solidity and feline insinuation, with springy rhythms and undulant sway." Mr. Gardiner and his band, along with the Monteverdi Choir he founded, are scheduled to present two concerts of Beethoven monuments at Carnegie Hall in the week ahead. The first, on Friday at 7 p.m., consists of the Symphony No. 9 and a short cantata set to the words of Goethe, "Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt," Op. 112. The second, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., is the "Missa Solemnis." (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org. Friday, $18 to $110; Saturday, $15.50 to $93.