Going Out

David Sedaris: The writer-humorist-performer known for his commentary on NPR and best-selling books Me Talk Pretty One Day and Holidays on Ice is live at the Taft Theatre with a new batch of hilarious, thought-provoking stories, 8 p.m. today, Fifth and Sycamore streets, downtown. $18-$33. 562-4949.

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra: The spirited chamber group specializing in work for small orchestra offers a dramatic program featuring Schubert's Symphony No. 2 in B-flat Major and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth), 7:30 p.m. today, Greaves Concert Hall, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights. Guest artists include mezzo-soprano Megan Dey-TŪth and tenor Patrick Marques. $20-$25. 723-1182.

Play reading: Celebrated actress Amy Warner offers a staged-reading of her new one-woman play Brenda Ueland, based on the memoirs of the pioneering author and journalist, 7 p.m. today, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine. Part of ETC's Theatre of the Mind series. $6. 421-3555.

Rosenthal Center: Time is running out to see the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art's awe-inspiring inaugural exhibit Somewhere Better Than This Place: Alternative Social Experience in Spaces of Contemporary Art, which starts coming down Saturday. See it free during no-charge after-hours viewing, 5-9 p.m. today, Sixth and Walnut streets, downtown. 345-8400.

Jazz: The Dan Karlsberg Trio performs 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Mondays at the Greenwich Jazz Club, 2442 Gilbert Ave., Walnut Hills. 221-1151.

New in E-Games

Madden NFL 2004: Armchair quarterbacks have more options for game play than ever in this new release of Madden NFL. Players can choose to play their favorite NFL team from the player, coach or owner point-of-view. Between plays, the action is presented in a new split screen fashion, so gamers can review the playbook or watch instant replays while in play-calling mode. Coaches can review and edit playbooks and change plays on the fly. Owners can set the prices of hot dogs, foam fingers and even luxury boxes. Authentic commentary by John Madden and Al Michaels completes the most realistic football sim to date (EA Sports; Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, PC; $49.99; E for everyone)

- Chris Ainsworth

Planning Ahead

24 hours out: Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Jackson Browne is at the Taft Theatre for a solo acoustic evening, 8 p.m. Tuesday. $28-$39.50. 562-4949.

Also 24 hours out: Previews begin for the Playhouse in the Park production of Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, the Tony Award-winning fantasy-drama involving original retellings of Greek legends staged around a pool of water, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Robert S. Marx Theatre, Eden Park. $29.50. 421-3888.

48 hours out: England's premier cathedral choir, the St. Paul Cathedral Choir, London makes one of four U.S. stops at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral for the church's Great Music in a Great Space series, 8 p.m. Wednesday, 325 W. Eighth St., downtown. Program includes Baroque, Renaissance and modern hymns. $25-$28. 421-2222.

72 hours out: The Cincinnati Art Museum's Lightborne Photography Lecture Series offers a free slide lecture from the groundbreaking image maker Arthur Tress, known for his surrealistic, fantasy-driven photo montages, 7 p.m. Thursday, Greaves Concert Hall, Northern Kentucky University (moved off-site during the museum's auditorium renovation). Free and open to public. 639-2949.

E-mail jnebel@enquirer.com; fax 768-8016