Going out

Previews: Belly up: It's last call for dress rehearsals of Playhouse in the Park's An Infinite Ache, the intense and complex drama that zeroes in on a lifelong marriage's myriad dimensions. 9 p.m. today, Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre, Eden Park, $30. 421-3888.

Bicentennial exhibit: The Cincinnati Art Museum opens the wide-eyed Panoramic Ohio: Photographs by Thomas R. Schiff, all full of ultra-wide, non-traditional photos shot in 36 cities and towns. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today, free with museum admission (by donation only on Saturdays). 721-2787.

Costume character: The Barnes & Noble at Newport on the Levee clears the decks for an appearance by Miffy of children's book fame at morning storytime, 11 a.m. today. (859) 581-2000.

Neo-bluegrass: The Colorado-based Yonder Monder String Band rolls into the refurbished Madison Theater after an opening set from Larry Keel and his flat-pick guitar. 9 p.m. today, 730 Madison Ave., Covington, $15. (859) 655-4807.

On TV

Top pick: No need to rent a movie tonight, because WBQC-TV has a real blockbuster: Farrah Fawcett's Emmy-nominated 1984 performance, based on a true story, as an abused housewife in The Burning Bed (8 p.m., Channel 25; Time Warner Cable Channel 20; Insight Channel 25).

TV critic John Kiesewetter also says a man with Lou Gehrig's disease contemplating suicide is Touched by an Angel (8 p.m., Channels 12, 7).

On shelves

Celebrating the big 150: The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County is unveiling its handsome new book: Free & Public: One Hundred and Fifty Years at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County 1853-2003. The 160-page book with 200 photos was written by local author John Fleischman and is full of everything you ever wanted to know about the place. Release party is 2 p.m. today at the Main Public Library, 800 Vine St., downtown. The book is $34.95 in the Friends Shop. On Wednesday it will be available at all 41 branches.

Planning ahead

24 hours out: The Fisk Jubilee Singers raise with roof with their acclaimed program of historic Negro spirituals. 4 p.m. Sunday, Schiff Family Conference Center, Cintas Center, Xavier University, $5-$10. 794-0074.

48 hours out: The Theater of the Mind series at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati dims the lights for a reading of Brooks Appelbaum's family drama If You Don't Know Now. 7 p.m. Monday, 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, $5. 421-3555.

A week away: All the latest innovations in the home and garden universe are lined up at the Fifth Third Bank Cincinnati Home and Garden Show opening 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. next Saturday at the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center, downtown. $3-$10. 281-0022.

Jim Knippenberg

E-mail jknippenberg@enquirer.com