1) If one sentence could sum up life in New York City — the excitement coupled with disconnection; the things we want, cannot have, yet aspire to against all odds; and the intrusive and the creepy attacking us at nearly every turn — that sentence just might be this: “It Was Wrong of Me: I Touched Your Butt on the L.”

This was, unsurprisingly, the subject line of a post on Craigslist’s Missed Connections, the Web page where New Yorkers reach out to those they’ve been attracted to on the street, in the subway or at their local vegan cupcakery — but didn’t have the nerve to approach.

Such is the intensity of desire on Missed Connections that the Ars Nova Play Group is turning these testaments to lust, love and longing into actual plays.

For five straight nights, from Wednesday through Sunday, Ars Nova presents “Missed Connections NYC,” a series of short plays based on subject lines from Missed Connections ads.

With titles like “Submit Party — From The Couple Having Sex Everywhere,” “Gina From Yoga Two, Is That Your Boyfriend,” and “You Were a Mexican with Friends,” the 13 eight-minute plays seek to capture all the desperation and despair that Craigslist evokes.

“The essence of each post is someone trying to connect with someone else, which is inherently dramatic. You can do so much with it,” says playwright Bekah Brunstetter, who constantly finds “creepy and/or beautiful” posts on Craigslist directed at friends.

“In a city of 8 million people, people have this craving to be noticed,” says Ars Nova’s Emily Shooltz. “The idea that you might find something special with that person who happens to be sitting across from you on the subway can be very seductive.”

For her play, titled “Cuddle,” Brunstetter took an ad that simply read, “anyone want to cuddle?” and turned it into a Missed Connection in the workplace.

“It’s about two co-workers in a large business who work on different floors and really don’t know each other. They’re both lonely and frustrated, and they start meeting in one of their offices every day to hug,” she says.

“People use the eight-minute form in very different ways,” Shooltz says. “Some of them craft these very compact emotional journeys, and some are more comedic.”

For “It Was Wrong of Me: I Touched Your Butt on the L,” playwright Zayd Dohrn crafted a comedy about not just inappropriate touching, but the social and class distinctions that arise when a person pines for someone out of his or her league.

“One of the themes of the evening is this idea of New York being this crowded urban environment where people are reaching out to strangers, trying to make a connection, and often failing,” Shooltz says. “So you feel, through the course of these plays, this poignant sense of strangers just passing by each other’s lives.”

2) Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival

North meets South on Saturday when the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival hits town, bringing with it tastings of more than 60 brews and 40 bourbons. Snack on barbecue fare from local joints like Hill Country. Tickets for the fest, Saturday noon to 9 p.m. at la.venue (608 W. 28th St.), are $75 at beerandbourbon.com.

Also to eat this week: NYC Restaurant Week kicks off tomorrow and continues through Feb. 7. Check out the complete list of restaurants and their menus at nycgo.com.

3) The Moth NY GrandSLAM

Talk is anything but cheap at The Moth’s GrandSLAM. This battle of words features local storytellers competing to see who can tell the best tale on the theme “Uncharted Territory” in five minutes flat. A limited number of standing-room-only tickets ($20) can be purchased at the door, Wednesday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Highline Ballroom. More details at themoth.org.

Also to see this week: Ozzy Osbourne presents his new book, “I Am Ozzy,” at Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue, Monday at 12:30 p.m.

4) “A View From the Bridge”

Scarlett Johansson makes her Broadway debut alongside Liev Schreiber in a revival of “A View From the Bridge,” a drama written by Arthur Miller opening tonight. If you only know Schreiber from the “Wolverine” movie, be prepared to be impressed by the stage veteran, who plays an Italian-American longshoreman who loses it when his 17-year-old niece (Johansson) falls for someone other than him. Tickets for the show at the Cort Theatre are $42.50 to $126.50 at telecharge.com.

Also onstage this week: Ethan Hawke directs a revival of Sam Shepard’s “A Lie of the Mind,” Friday through March 20 at the Acorn Theatre.