"City Arts," the half-hour PBS arts roundup series, which airs periodically on New York's Channel 13, returns this fall with a trio of shows about Gotham's theatre world.

The first installment airs Oct. 30 with "The Return of Irma Vep." As the title would indicate, the segment takes a look at the current successful revival of Charles Ludlum's camp classic, The Mystery of Irma Vep . Vep star Everett Quinton, Ludlum biographer David Kaufman and writer-producer-actor Charles Busch discuss the play and Ludlum's legacy.

On Nov. 6, the tables are turned as critics are put under the microscope for a change. In "A Tale of Two Critics," "City Arts" trails a day in the lives of New York Time drama reviewer Ben Brantley and New York magazine art critic Mark Stevens. Director Jack O'Brien and actor Scott Glenn, meanwhile, discuss what it's like to be on the receiving end of a critique.

Finally, on "Adventures in Theatre," "City Arts" examines something it calls "ur-New Wave" and the "post-postmodern." In this case, the filmmakers mean New York's varied avant-garde theatre. Shows as diverse as Symphonie Fantastique, De La Guarda, the Andre Serban Taming of the Shrew and Elevator Repair Service's Total Fictional Lie are analyzed. An air date is yet to be announced.

All "City Arts" programs are shown at 10 PM. -- By Robert Simonson