Pencil This In

MUSIC: The music of R.E.M. will fill Carnegie Hall tonight, but don't expect to hear Michael Stipe's voice! The tribute will include performances by Kimya Dawson, Glenn Hansard, The Apples In Stereo, Guster, Patti Smith, Bob Mould and Rachael Yamagata. Calexico is the house band, and who knows, maybe Stipe & Co. will show up—at least one of them is in town.

8 p.m. // Carnegie Hall [57th St at 7th Ave] // $38-$125

COMEDY: The one and only Todd Barry will headline Caroline's tonight, and we higly recommend paying the 9 bucks to get in on that action (use the promo code TODDB for the specially priced tickets). Incase you forgot, Todd Barry is f*cking hilarious, and maybe his Wrestler colleague Mickey Rourke will even show up.

7:30 p.m. // Caroline's [1626 Broadway] // $9 + two drink minimum

Another comedy-based event worth mentioning is going on downtown. Comedy 2.0 brings the web to the stage for the night. A panel discussion led by Gabe Delahaye (of Gabe & Max and Videogum) will include the folks from The Burg, Barely Politcal, College Humor, BestWeekEver.tv and Cat News. We really just wanted to mention Cat News—if you have a few minutes to spare, we suggest watching it.

8 p.m. // 92YTribeca [200 Hudson St] // $10

EVENT: Tonight powerHouse Arena hosts a reading and talk with author Jennifer 8. Lee and food writer Sarah Murray. Both will regale you with tales of their "adventures in the world of Chinese food." The evening will also include a raffle, Chinese goodies, and other surprises. More details here.

7 to 9 p.m. // powerHouse Arena [37 Main St, DUMBO] // Free

THEATER: In the new Broadway play 33 Variations, musicologist Katherine Brandt (Jane Fonda) becomes obsessed with figuring out Beethoven's peculiar fascination with a waltz by Anton Diabelli. Moisés Kaufman's play concerns not only Beethoven's dark spiral into complete deafness, but Dr. Brandt's own struggle with a fatal illness, as both geniuses come to terms with the final phases of their lives. Ben Brantley's review in the Times is somewhat mixed, but he says he's "willing to forgive a fair amount in a production that returns Ms. Fonda with such gallantry to the Broadway stage after an absence of 46 years... And Kaufman’s script impressively and unobtrusively makes musicology accessible to the uninitiated without professorial condescension." (Read our interview with Kaufman here.) — John Del Signore

8 p.m. // Eugene O'Neill Theatre [230 W 49th St] // Tickets