MUSIC: Four-time Tony and two-time Grammy Award winning soprano, Audra McDonald, whom SFist Brock endorses as having "THE best voice in the industry," will sing standards, favorite showtunes, classic songs from the movies, and original pieces. (You might also recognize McDonald from ABC's Private Practice.)

8 p.m. // Davies Symphony Hall (201 Van Ness Ave) // $15-105

PANEL: The Commonwealth Club's Inforum will explore the Rise of the Graphic Novel with panelists Gene Yang (American Born Chinese), Andy Hartzell (Fox Bunny Funny), Lark Pien (Long Tail Kitty, American Born Chinese), Dash Shaw (Body World, Bottomless Belly Button), and Summerlea Kashar (Cartoon Art Museum).

6 p.m. // The Commonwealth Club (595 Market St, 2nd fl) // $7-20

SCIENCE: At this month's Ask a Scientist discussion, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, science writer Rebecca Skloot will tell the fascinating and dramatic story of Henrietta Lacks, which is covered in her new book of the same name. After her death in 1951, Lacks' cells, "HeLa cells," were the first human cells to live indefinitely outside the body, helped eradicate polio and develop AIDS treatments, and were vital to advances such as in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping. They've been subjected to nuclear testing, shot into space, and have helped scientists win Nobel prizes — all without the knowledge of Henrietta Lacks or her family.

7 p.m. // Horatius (350 Kansas) // $3 venue donation