Fastball were among the breakthrough stars of 1998, thanks to a ubiquitous single, “The Way,” that nicely dovetailed with adult-contemporary radio’s renewed interest in Heartland-tinted rock. A couple of likeable follow-up singles, “Fire Escape” and “Out Of My Head,” suggested the group might avoid the one-hit wonder kiss of death, but ultimately they didn’t, and to the public they seemed to go the way of the mysteriously vanished couple detailed in their signature hit. Despite strong reviews, their last album, 2004’s Keep Your Wig On, arrived quitely...

If this week’s cold snap didn’t make it official that winter is nearly here, the city of Milwaukee makes it official tonight when it flips the switch on its grand holiday lights display in Pere Marquette Park this evening with a 5:30 p.m. program. There will be dancers, fireworks, free hot cocoa, coffee and cookies and, of course, Santa Claus. You’ll be seeing a lot of that dude in the coming weeks.

If the recent election taught us anything, it’s that Alaska is a weird, weird place. Jon Krakauer didn’t fully understand that, though, when he left his family to go live in the wild there in the 1990s. In his 2007 film, Into The Wild, which screens tonight for free at 7 p.m. in the UWM Union Theatre, Sean Penn tells the story of how Krakauer left it all for a two year voyage into the depths of Alaska. Eddie Vedder did the soundtrack.

Veils, both physical and metaphorical, can conceal individuals, places and communities. This highly recognizable, emotionally charged garment provides the theme for the latest exhibition at the UW-Milwaukee Union Art Gallery, "The Veil: Visible and Invisible Spaces.” This timely exhibit unmasks the controversy of the veil within a cross-cultural context, and the artwork uncovers the concept of veiled communities in society...

Next Act continues its season with Jeffrey Hatcher’s Murderers, three monologues set in and around the fictitious Riddle Key Luxury Senior Center and Golf Course in Florida. Next Act has put together a trio of seasoned actors to bring Hatcher’s comedy to the Off-Broadway Theatre, and though it might seem a tad dull to sit through a full play of monologues, the actors craft interesting performances out of a truly brilliant script. The production continues its run...