The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

WINE & DINE
The Rake's World Flavors Tour Continues

Roasted zucchini, red pepper and onion tapanade with a tangerine-swirled Chardonnay/Colombard blend. A light salad in between. Gruyere fondue with apples and a medium-bodied Rhone. Bittersweet Callebaut chocolate fondue with an array of colorful companions, not the least of which is a Rosenblum Desiree chocolate Zinfandel port. Mouth watering yet? Bathe yourself in decadence tonight at our World Flavors Tour. Enjoy a multiple-course cheese and chocolate fondue tasting menu with our favorite wine pairings at The Times Bar & Cafe. Space is limited, and reservations are required, so secure your spot.

7-9 p.m., The Times Bar & Cafe, 201 E. Hennepin Ave., Northeast Minneapolis; 612-617-8098; $40.

BOOKS & AUTHORS
Alex Ross with the Turtle Island String Quartet

The New Yorker is forgiven the recent transgressions of its pop-music critic Sasha Frere-Jones, because it has a superb music critic in Alex Ross. With descriptive, often sonorific prose, Ross possesses the rare ability to make his classical music criticism sing. Fans will be delighted to know that he just wrote a book, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. Tonight, he discusses that book, a highly readable treatise on the bewildering sorts of classical music produced during the twentieth century (a body of work that triggers plenty of gag reflexes, but influenced a generation of jazz, pop, and rock musicians nonetheless). Ross is joined by Performance Today host Fred Child as well as the genre-defying band, Turtle Island String Quartet. —Christy DeSmith

7:30 p.m., Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul; 651-290-1221; $20, but see our Promotions page to get a deal.

THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Confront It with a Pen

While there are certainly several other great things to do tonight, I myself will be attending the opening of Pen, at the Guthrie. Written by David Marshall Grant, author of Snakebit, Pen tells the story of a 17-year-old boy struggling with his mother's illness and his father's abandon. It's a New Year's tale, actually, and while Thanksgiving still stands in the way of the approaching celebration, we might find ourselves inspired to confront our own demons and start clearing the path for the new year. After all, many of us will need the coming month to pick up the pieces. Fortunately, these family messes get resolved much faster on stage. If only life could be so perfectly scripted. Tonight's performance — starring Marc Halsey (a 2007 graduate of the UofM/Guthrie BFA program), Michelle Barber, and Philip Callen — is directed by Rob Melrose, artistic director of The Cutting Ball Theater in San Francisco.

7:30 p.m. (through Nov. 25), Guthrie Theater, Dowling Studio, 818 S. 2nd St., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224, $18 to $34.

Me Thinks the Lady Doth Not Protest

A wackier theatrical option for the evening would be the Commedia Beauregard production of The Young Lady's Consent. Translated by playwright Christopher Kidder from a Spanish comedy, The Young Lady's Consent tells a sorted tale about a beautiful (and dutiful) daughter, her greedy mother, her dashing lover, his idealistic uncle, and a supporting cast of wise-cracking servants. I think perhaps this qualifies as a "wild romp" — arranged marriages, mistaken identities, misplaced love notes, sideways parakeets, and all the typical old-school comedic fodder. The production features Jerome R. Marzullo, Jane Hammill, Matt Weng, Lauren B. Wills, Aaron Konigsmark, Jesse Dorst, and Melissa Bechthold, with new songs by Don Eitel, formerly of Starting Gate Productions. And it's one of those fair and lovely nights where you simply pay what you can. What you can, folks. Open up those wallets, or keep your last dollar for tomorrow's bus fare. Just be fair.

8 p.m., Lowry Lab Theater, 350 Saint Peter St., St. Paul; 651-209-6689; $15 - pay what you can.

MUSIC
Twenty Years Is a Mighty Long Time

Don't miss The Rippington's on their 20th anniversary tour. Fortunately you can catch them tonight or tomorrow night, so you have some options. Founded by Grammy-nominated guitarist Russ Freeman, the group has enjoyed its fair share of success. I heard their music described as soundtracks for the soul once — I can't remember by whom — but it was perfectly fitting. Get your groove on with the white-man's funk.

8 p.m., Rossi's Blue Star., 80 S. 9th St., Minneapolis; 612-312-2828; $35, with dinner $65.

Also playing this evening: Verona Grove with Shocks Stars at Winona State University — Lourdes Hall.