GO LA: Lewis Black, German Cinema, Sheryl Crow for the Congo, and more

EVENTS

Collage Dance Theatre go undercover. (See Dance, Wednesday.)

Expecting a funny caption here, think again. (See Events, Wednesday.)

Wonder Woman, funny lady (See Museums, Thursday.)

Carol Lay

A gal can dream, can’t she? (See Books, Thursday.)

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More About

• Lewis Black
• Jacques Demy
• Gerard Grisey
• Cherbourg
• Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Ladies and Gentlemen — the Longest Event Title in the History of L.A. Weekly!
Not everyone is broke, right? (Please, someone stand up and say, “I have cash to spare.”) Do you see that little cutie in the photo around here somewhere? He and his country need our help. The death toll in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is estimated at 5.4 million. This God-awful situation must be stopped. A small step toward that is Children Mending Hearts Help International Medical Corps Provide Emergency Health Care to Women & Children Victimized by the War. There will be celebs a-poppin’ and photographs for sale, plus performances by Sheryl Crow, Vusi Mahlasela, Timothy Mitchum and Carol Woods (from Across the Universe), among others, but surprisingly, not Jackson Browne. House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; Wed., Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m.; $300-$10,000; imcworldwide.org.  —L.M.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19

MUSEUMS

Name That Cartoon!
The Skirball chronicles “the quintessential American art form” in its latest exhibit, ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950, guest-curated by Jerry Robinson, a cartoonist who’s worked with Batman co-curators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, and who co-created the Joker. The display features never-before-seen artwork and books, as well as interactive areas, including a drawing studio, newsstand, Batmobile ride and costume stations for kids. The museum has also organized a companion exhibit that explores the relationship between superheroes and film, with objects on view such as the 1966 Batcycle. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Brentwood; opens Thurs., Feb. 19; through Aug. 9. Tues.-Fri., noon-5 p.m. (till 9 p.m. Thurs.); Sat.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; $10 general, $7 seniors & students; $5 children 2-12; free under age 2. (310) 440-4500. —Siran Babayan

CLASSICAL

Zarzuela of a Time
An ebullient combination of musical theater and light opera in which various elements — all the way from refined classical arias to spoken dialogue and lowbrow slapstick — intermingle with wit and zest, zarzuela is probably the only musical genre to be named after a bramble bush. The first zarzuela was written for King Philip IV of Spain in 1657 and performed at his hunting lodge, La Zarzuela, which was surrounded by zarzas, or brambles. A couple of years back, L.A. Opera took the plunge into this colorful, flamboyant realm with Federico Moreno Torroba’s 1932 zarzuela, Luisa Fernanda, a love triangle set in 1868, in revolutionary Spain. This week, Pacific Lyric Association presents its own production of the passionate story of love, death and the fight for political freedom during Spain’s Glorious Revolution (“La Gloriosa”), in which Queen Isabella II was deposed. Federico Moreno-Torroba Larregla, the son of the composer, has flown in especially for the occasion to conduct his father’s famous score, and recalls, “My father was close friends with the librettists Federico Romero and Guillermo Fernandez Shaw. They met at the café every day to drink, eat and talk about art and politics. When Romero and Shaw showed him their libretto for Luisa Fernanda and asked him to compose the music, he was struck by the parallels between the Spanish political climate of 1868 and the current one in 1932.” Gabriel Oliva directs; choreographed by Lindsay Martin; cast includes Teresa Hughes-Oliva in the title role; Gabriel Reoyo-Pazos and Vincent Solbes alternating as Javier; Renée Rulon Cortez as Duchess Carolina; and Carlos Oliva as Don Vidal Hernando. Ricardo Montalban Theatre, 1615 Vine St., Hollywood; Thurs.-Fri., Feb. 19-20, 8 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 21, 3 & 8 p.m.; $20-$75. (323) 960-1057.  —MBC

BOOKS

Who’s Skinny Now?
If Carol Lay’s Web site is to be believed, her worst job was “helping to make copper-enamel pins of Jonathan Livingston Seagull.” Hey — I LOVED that book. Anyway, Lay is a longtime comics contributor to this here paper (sadly, on forced hiatus because of Village Voice Media budget-cutting, grrrrr). Her new book, The Big Skinny, tackles her personal journey to thinness, one panel at a time, with lots of helpful recipes and even George Clooney thrown in. For this appearance, she says, “I will be yakking through 45 minutes of cartoon PowerPoint presentation and maybe 15 minutes of Q&A, then signing some books.” Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz; Thurs., Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m.; free, book is $18. (323) 660-1175.  —L.M.