31 THINGS TO DO IN may

1

MINCE your words, for the Royale Theatre will not. David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning, brutal drama, Glengarry Glen Ross, opens tonight for its first Broadway revival.

2

RISE to the occasion. Cream's Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Eric Clapton cross roads in concert at the Royal Albert Hall tonight.

3

TUNE OUT everything except Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's voice. The acclaimed mezzo-soprano sings tonight at Washington, D.C.'s John F. Kennedy Center.

4

BID high. The not-so-silent auction for Kageno Kenya and Kageno Rwanda, programs designed to improve health standards and the quality of life in African communities, kicks off in N.Y.C.

5

SPLURGE on a bottle of Patron. Cinco de Mayo happens only once a year.

6

TAKE your loved one by the hand as you listen to the legendary Al Green bring down the House of Blues, in Chicago.

7

RUN for the roses at the Kentucky Derby, in Louisville. Ladies, don't forget your large hats.

8

ADMIT, finally, that she knows what's best. It's Mother's Dayl

9

BEFRIEND the best-dressed at N.Y.C.'s Parsons School of Design's Annual Benefit and Fashion Show, this year honoring Saks Fifth Avenue's Fred Wilson.

10

LIVE well. Kevin Spacey stars in Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story, a tale of aristocratic love and lust, at London's Old Vic theater.

11

GET coiffed. The new Blow styling salon, in N.Y.C.'s Meatpacking District, specializes in speedy, glam blow-outs that start at $35. It's a dream come true. And no appointments necessary.

12

WITNESS photography at its best. World Press Photo celebrates its 50th anniversary at London's Royal Festival Hall as part of a global exhibition.

13

PIG OUT and swap hickory-smoked-rib recipes at the World Championship Barbecue-Cooking Contest, in Memphis, May 12-14.

14

BE BOWLED OVER as some 250 motorized works of art take to the streets in Houston's wacky Art Car Parade.

15

GET primitive at the groundbreaking exhibition "Dinosaurs Alive: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas," at New York's American Museum of Natural History.

16

LISTEN to Renee Fleming, Liz Smith, and other well-versed wordsmiths as they help Literacy Partners mark its annual reading, in New York.

17

SCOPE OUT modern furniture, textiles, and lighting at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, in New York City, which hosts 500 exhibitors from as far away as Peru and New Zealand.

18

DECANT AND SWISH some of the world's best reds and whites while learning from award-winning sommeliers, vintners, and chefs at the 2005 Nantucket Wine Festival, which begins today.

19

RECALL. Echoing the W.P.A.'s Federal Writers Project, Dave Isay's StoryCorps launches two Airstream trailers, with audio, from Washington, D.C., to record oral histories of everyday people.

20

SHOVEL carbs. Spain's Ironman Lanzarote Triathlon—dubbed the toughest Ironman competition in the world—takes place tomorrow.

21

CELEBRATE all walks of life. The Life Ball 2005 benefit, a spectacular society event and one of Europe's largest AIDS fundraisers, takes place tonight at Vienna's City Hall.

22

FLOCK to London's National Gallery to catch the last day of the dramatic painting exhibition "Caravaggio: The Final Years."

23

PIROUETTE. The American Ballet Theatre's Spring Gala, a dazzling showcase of the world's best ballet talent, takes place this evening in N.Y.C.

24

HOP AND BOP to the "Crocodile Rock." Elton John performs at the Palais Omnisports, in Paris, tonight as part of his world tour.

25

FOLLOW your crew to the finish! Eights Week, a series of rowing races among the colleges of Oxford University, begins today on the Isis.

26

FOCUS on the contemporary visual arts at the Reykjavik Arts Festival, which celebrates both Icelandic and international culture.

27

DAB ON No. 5 and visit "Chanel," an exhibition honoring the career of fashion's most revered designer, at New York's Met.

28

DANCE where the streets have no name. Don't miss the last U.S. date of U2's Vertigo Tour, at the FleetCenter, in Boston.

29

ACT on your aesthetic desires and observe "Under One Sky: Photographs by Margo Davis" at the Monterey Museum, in Monterey, California.

30

SALUTE the "Faces of the Fallen" exhibition, at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, in Washington, D.C., honoring over 1,000 American military members.

31

LOOK again. As part of its "Independent Lens" series, PBS airs Amanda Micheli's Double Dare, a documentary examining the lives of stuntwomen.