Going out

`Nutcracker': Cincinnati Ballet hits the tutus and toe shoes for its holiday run of Tchaikovsky's beloved Christmas classic The Nutcracker. 7:30 p.m. today, Music Hall, $11-$55. 621-5282.

Country: Southern rock legend David Allan Coe works his countrified musical magic after opening act Dallas Moore gets the crowd warmed up. 8 p.m. today (doors open 7 p.m.), Annie's, 4343 Kellogg Ave., Columbia Tusculum, $12. 562-4949.

New exhibits: The Hiestand Galleries at Miami University has all kinds of art hanging around: Passage, an exhibit of paintings by Jared Joslin and works by finalists in the Fourth Annual Young Painters' Competition. 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. today, Hiestand Hall, Oxford. (513) 529-1883.

Nick Clooney: The esteemed broadcaster and journalist discusses his new book The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen. 6 p.m. today, Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., downtown, $5. 621-0717.

Staying in

TV pick: Barbara Walters profiles news-makers and celebrities - everyone from Halle Berry and Ozzy Osbourne to Dr. Phil and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes - for ABC's annual Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2002 (9 p.m., Channels 9, 2).

Critic John Kiesewetter also says PBS taks a look at Islam in Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet (9-11 p.m., Channels 48, 16).

Planning ahead

24 hours out: Children's theater group Theatre IV begins a two-day run of the original holiday show One Appalachian Christmas. 1 and 7 p.m. today, Calico Theatre, Clermont College, Batavia, $3-$5. 732-5281.

48 hours out: Photographer Alice Weston and historian Walter E. Langsam are at Barnes & Noble Kenwood to sign and discuss their popular coffee-table book Great Houses of the Queen City and its look-see at some of Cincinnati's magnificent homes. 7 p.m. Friday, Sycamore Plaza, Kenwood and Montgomery Roads. 794-9440.

72 hours 'til Saturday: It's goth heaven at Bogart's as Bottom Line, Dandelion Death, East Arcadia and Skin Curtain start rocking at 8 p.m., 2621 Vine St., Corryville, $7-$9. 562-4949.

Jim Knippenberg

E-mail jknippenberg@enquirer.com