ON STAGE

* The Flying Karamazov Brothers Do the Impossible - (Helen Hayes Theatre): This new vaudevillian troupe has transferred its latest show, a hit in London, to Broadway for a special holiday engagement (through Jan. 1). With musical accompaniment performed by the Kamikaze Ground Crew, these four madcap performers demonstrate the visual and verbal comedy that made them famous, with large doses of their specialty, juggling. If you've seen the Karamazovs before, there won't be any surprises, but their engaging high jinks are still entertaining, even if their puns seem to get cornier every year. Be sure to bring something for their signature piece ``The Gamble,'' in which the audience gets to decide what unusual objects they have to juggle.

* Durang Durang - (Manhattan Theatre Club at City Center): Comic playwright Christopher Durang makes a welcome return to New York with his first full-length evening since 1987. The highlights of the show, which consists of six short pieces, are the satires of Sam Shepard (``A Stye of the Eye'') and ``The Glass Men-agerie'' (``For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls''). Also amusing is a curtain speech by one ``Mrs. Sorken.'' The second half includes the hilarious ``Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room,'' in which a playwright finds himself being courted by a Hollywood exec. An expert comic cast, including Patricia Elliott, Lizbeth Mackay, and Keith Reddin, keeps the laughs coming.

* 3 Postcards - (Circle Repertory Company): A revival of the 1987 musical with a book by Craig Lucas (``Prelude to a Kiss'') and music and lyrics by Craig Carnelia. Three old friends (Johanna Day, Amy Kowallis, and Amanda Naugton) meet for dinner at a trendy Manhattan restaurant where, in a series of songs, they deal with their hopes, fears, and dreams. Their waiter (David Pittu) assumes the roles of the men in their lives and fantasies. Revised for this production, the show is a bit on the static side, but the songs are lovely and witty.