Wow! It's a lot to take in for a Wednesday!

THEATER AND PERFORMANCE
Talk about Dark Humor

Tonight is the opening — or rather, re-opening — of Jeune Lune’s Figaro. If you didn’t see it last time around, don’t miss it. And if you did see it last time around, you already know — don’t miss it. First presented in 2003, Jeune Lune’s Figaro is a unique blend of all three of Beaumarchais’s plays about Figaro, set to Mozart’s sublime music. The story begins at the end and incorporates Mozart’s adaptation of Beaumarchais’s second play as a flashback, thereby giving Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro historical context.

8 p.m., Theatre de la Jeune Lune, 105 North First St., Minneapolis, 612-333-6200; $30.

FASHION AND MUSIC
Rocking down the Catwalk

After so much hype, the Voltage: Fashion Amplified has finally arrived.
Bands and designers unite tonight for an incredible runway rock show at First Avenue. Come feast your eyes on new designs by Katherine Gerdes (of Project Runway), Laura Fulk, Anne Seldon, Red Shoe Clothing, and many other designers, as they send their models down the catwalk to the music of The God Damn Doo Wop Band, The Plastic Constellations, The Alarmists, and others. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Springboard for the Arts Artist’s Access to Healthcare program, as well as Mnfashion. And it doesn’t stop there. If you like what you see, be sure to stop by our local boutiques this weekend for Voltage Fashion Weekend. You’ll be able to pick up your favorite collections from the show at Cliche, Design Collective, and Robot Love.

8 p.m. (7 p.m. doors), First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Mpls., 612-338-8388; $15($12 advance).

MUSIC
Ahhh, Bliss…

Without a doubt, the best concert I’ve seen in the past decade was last year’s Lucinda Williams concert at the O’Shaughnessy. So perfect was the sound that Lucinda actually stopped midway through the show to comment on it. And, yes, it was perfect indeed. Tonight she’s back — this time at the Historic State Theater — but it promises to be a great show, especially now that Lucinda is no longer happy and in love. Come on — we all know she’s best when she’s downtrodden.

7.30 p.m., Historic State Theater, 805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612-673-0404; $31.50-$36.50.

Watch and listen to Lucinda Williams.

More Female Songstresses

Also performing tonight are Raining Jane and Emilia Dahlin. California’s Raining Jane and Maine’s Emilia Dahlin will share the stage in an eclectic acoustic performance. Composed of four songwriters, three of whom are vocalists, Raining Jane offers a unique interpretation of rock-folk and an unusual array of instrumentation including cello, cajon and sitar. Emilia Dahlin, voted Best Singer/Songwriter of 2006 and Best Female Vocalist of 2005/2006 in Portland, Maine, weaves tales of Greek mythology, robotic messiahs, epic floods, and tax evaders, with raw, rootsy folk and jazz vocals.

7:30 p.m., Gingko Coffeehouse, 721 N. Snelling Ave., St. Paul, 651-645-2647; donations encouraged.

Listen to Raining Jane.
Listen to Emilia Dahlin.

READINGS
150 Years of Minnesota Poetry

If you’re big on local poetry, you really can’t miss this one. Celebrate the publication of a new collection of poetry from the Minnesota Historical Society Press, Where One Voice Ends Another Begins: 150 Years of Minnesota Poetry, with readings and book signings by many of the featured poets. Robert Bly, Bill Holm, Michael Dennis Browne, Deborah Keenan, Heid Erdrich, Wang Ping, and Angela Shannon will read from their work, and many of the other participating poets will attend and sign copies of the new book.

7 p.m., Mill City Museum, 704 South Second St., Minneapolis, 612-341-7555; free.

A Low-Profile Literary Lion Steps into the Limelight

It’s not often we get a chance to see E.L. Doctorow in person, so you might not want to miss this. “And judging from the man’s eclectic body of work, distinguished by its broad historical sweep and social criticism, it’s likely that Doctorow will have something of substance to say. Over a career that’s now spanned almost fifty years, Doctorow’s writing has consistently garnered critical hosannas and literary honors alike: He’s got a National Book Award, a PEN/Faulkner Award, and a couple of National Book Critics Circle Awards under his belt. His last novel, 2005’s ambitious The March, offered plenty of evidence that he’s still got stories he wants to tell.”

7:30 p.m., Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 Fourth St. S., Minneapolis, 612-626-1528; free.

Learn from a Master of Comics

Today’s readings don’t leave anyone out of the mix. Are you a comic book fan? Do you long to make your own? Come out and meet Scott McCloud, author/artist of Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics. Currently on a 50-state tour of the United States, he’ll be in Minneapolis tonight talking about his work and signing books.

7:30 p.m., DreamHaven Books, 912 W Lake St., Minneapolis, 612-823-6161; free.

FILM
Stories from All over the World

As if there weren’t enough to choose from already, there are a few great films to see tonight.

The documentary Darfur Diaries: Message from Home chronicles the history, hopes, and fears of the people of Darfur since the Sudanese Liberation Army in Darfur (the western region of Sudan) responded to decades of oppression by taking up arms against the Sudanese government. Up to 400,000 civilians have died since the beginning of the conflict and over 2 million people have been displaced. And if you’re interested, check out Darfur on Google Earth. Google Earth maps atrocities in Darfur.

6 p.m., Coffman Memorial Union Theater, 300 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, 612-624-INFO; free.

A cross-generational story of ostracism, love and legacy of the past, Dam Street (directed by Li Yu) chronicles the life of a Chinese woman whose teenage indiscretion continues to haunt her years after the event.

7 p.m. (other showings this week), Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612-375-7600; $8 ($6 members).

Set in war-torn Algeria in the 1990s, Barakat! (directed by Djamila Sahraoui), follows two women on the dangerous search for the younger woman’s husband, a journalist whose writings resulted in his disappearance. Ignoring curfews and the constant threat of ambush by armed militias, the two women journey across the picturesque landscapes of Algeria, to a deeper understanding of how their lives were shaped by their country’s history.

9 p.m. (2 p.m. on April 22), Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612-375-7600; $8 ($6 members).

Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film (Germany), The Lives of Others chronicles the disillusionment of Captain Gird Wiesler, of the secret police, from 1984, five years before the fall fo the Berlin Wall, to 1991, in what is now reunited Germany.

4 and 7:05 p.m. (today and tomorrow), Heights Theater, 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights, 763-788-9079; $5.