Tickets are on sale now for the 12th annual CEAs at the historic Emery Theatre Nov. 23. Opening the show is Bootsy Collins, who will be heading up a band of King vets (including his brother Catfish) to pay tribute to the late, great James Brown. Grammy Award winning bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley closes the show. Current local acts also scheduled to appear are Jazz/Hip Hop/Jam band Eclipse, Roots/Blues/Indie trio The Sundresses and ElectroFolk duo The Seedy Seeds. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show begins at 7. $20.

This is neither the last nor the least of Arthur Miller's plays — although it arrived later (1968) and is certainly a lesser effort than the two seminal plays that elevate him to the very pinnacle of American playwriting. Now Blue Chips Players are airing out the piece in a sometimes rambling, mostly vigorous, ever contentious production that's not unlike beating the dust out of an old carpet. Through Nov. 23 at the Madisonville Arts Center.

This is a true classic of musical theater, which means it will be a lot of fun to watch when the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music brings its full forces to bear on a production of it at Corbett Auditorium this week. It’s being staged by Aubrey Berg, director of CCM’s acclaimed musical theater program for 22 years, a guy who knows what it takes to make a show look good and re-create what brought audiences to 1,417 performances over the course of four years. Unfortunately, you’ll only have four days to catch the show this week — so you’d best call right away for tickets. Through Sunday.

Don't mistake this production for "Wicked" (although surely the presenters hope that mega-hit show's magic rubs off on this one), but this has its own appeal, including dazzling sets and costumes by Tim McQuillen-Wright. His inspiration is the glamour and elegance of Art Deco Hollywood, in full bloom when the film was made in 1939, plus the stunning Technicolor hues that made the film a timeless visual hit. All of Harold Arlen's popular songs are used in the stage show (from "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead" to "If I Only Had a Brain"). Through Nov. 23 at the Aronoff Center.

The desire for love is a fundamental urge, but perhaps as basic is the drive to remake the object of your affection. That's the funny and poignant premise of Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts' off-Broadway musical, which Cincinnati Playhouse staged it successfully in 2000; it's back for a second run in the Shelterhouse through the holidays. It's a perfect date-night show but also one for mature audiences. Tuesday-Sunday through Dec. 31.

Anyone interested in quirky, surreal or cynical art should drop by Sandra Small Gallery before Nov. 7 to see "Insider/Outsider: Alternative Views of America." The show presents artists from as near as Cincinnati to as far away as Maine: Steve Geddes, Michael Ransdell, Matthew Egan, Scott Small, Richard Fruth, Aaron Kent, Sandra Small and the late Raymond Thunder-Sky. Noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

"China Design Now" is a comprehensive exhibition of hundreds of objects elaborates on the booming innovations presently taking place in the fields of design, fashion, and architecture throughout China. The exhibition is split into three sections, corresponding one of those design areas with an eastern coastal city: Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. The exhibition continues through Jan. 11, 2009. $8 for adults; $6 for seniors/college students; $4 for children ages 6-17; free for members and children under age 6.

The sheer beauty of the work is reason enough to pay a visit to "Illusion and Reality: Prints by Jiri Anderle," but the perceptive viewer will find much to think about beyond the skill of this Czechoslovakian artist. Turning adversity into a virtue is something artists are good at. The adversity of being an artist in a Communist society that forbade direct social criticism steered Anderle into a body of work well suited for comment on the human condition. So prints became Anderle’s dominant form of expression through much of his career. The exhibition continues Tuesday-Sunday through Jan. 3, 2009.

Ryan McGinness' exhibition of new paintings creates an optical second reality in the Vance-Waddell Gallery at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Lights are turned off; heavy, dark curtains hang in the doorway; black lights shine onto the wood panels and bring everything painted there to life. It's a little disconcerting, looking into a painting and feeling as though you might trip into some "Alice in Wonderland" alternative universe. Tuesday-Sunday through Feb. 15, 2009.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s delivering flowers to all the good little boys and girls. This year the Krohn Conservatory is celebrating 75 years of their Holiday Floral Show with An Old Fashioned Holiday. Designed by landscape-extraordinaire Tim Young, this season’s winter wonderland reflects the amazing history of Cincinnati through Young’s replications of neighborhood street parks, all decked out for the holidays. Visitors can spot new varieties of poinsettias on display along with traditional plants like pines, spruces, bayberry and boughs of holly … fa, la, la, la, la, la, la! In addition to the holiday foliage, mini Cincinnati landmarks and historic park architecture will be placed in and around the community square. Show is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Jan. 4.