Welcome to the Big To-Do Short Cuts, our guide highlighting the top things to do in and around Boston each weekend, as curated by Globe critics, editors, and writers.

On tap this weekend: Fan Expo Boston is back, plus CatVideoFest returns. — Matt Juul

Things to do in and around Boston this weekend

CHICKEN RUN Bring your blanket or lawn chair out to the Kendall/MIT Open Space for a free screening of “Chicken Run,” part of the “Animated Animals” series curated by the Brattle. Starring Mel Gibson, this G-rated movie follows the story of chickens trying to flee their evil owners. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. Aug. 7. 6:30 p.m. Free. Kendall/MIT Open Space, 292 Main St., Cambridge. openspace.mit.edu/calendar/outdoor-movie-chicken-run  — Daisy Levine

FIRST FRIDAYS Check out the MFA’s “Counter History: Contemporary Art from the Collection” while enjoying music from Rayvino and KIEH. Visitors can also reserve a timed slot to make their own art at the event, with tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. Aug. 7, 6-9 p.m. Tickets for nonmembers are $30. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. mfa.org — Janira Skrbkova

J. COLE In a stop along the rapper’s first full global run in nearly a decade, Cole’s “The Fall-Off Tour” comes to Boston for two nights this weekend. Read more about upcoming concerts in this week’s “Sound Check” column. Aug. 7-8. 8 p.m. Tickets start at $73.90. 100 Legends Way, TD Garden.  tdgarden.com/events/detail/j-cole — JS

OLIVIA CARTER “One time I asked out my personal trainer,” says the recent “Funny AF” contestant. “And he said, ‘Sorry, I’m not attracted to you.’ And I was like, ‘Well, whose fault is that?” Aug. 7-8 at 7 p.m., 9 p.m., and 11 p.m. $30. Goof’s Comedy Club, 432 McGrath Highway, Somerville. goofscomedy.com — Nick A. Zaino III

FAN EXPO BOSTON Itching to meet some of Hollywood’s biggest names? Fan Expo Boston is back this weekend with featured guests like Sudbury’s Chris Evans and a 25th anniversary celebration featuring stars from “The Lord of the Rings.” Pop over for Q&As with stars, autograph sessions, photo-ops, or browse the limited-edition collectibles. Aug. 7-9. Adult tickets start at $45. Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St. fanexpohq.com/fanexpoboston  — DL

DANIEL SLOSS: BITTER The Scottish comic is prolific (“Bitter” is his 13th solo show), bold (check out his special “X” on toxic masculinity and sexual assault), and sometimes profane. And he is always funny, even when taking on the most uncomfortable premises. Aug. 7 at 7:30 p.m. (sold out), Aug. 8 at 8 p.m., and Aug. 9 at 3 p.m. $70. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. thewilbur.com — NZ

CHARLES RIVER JAZZ FESTIVAL Presented by the Boston Jazz Foundation, the annual fest returns for its sixth year on Saturday. This summer’s lineup includes Ghost-Note, Tyreek McDole, Seba Molnar, and BT ALC Big Band. The festival will also feature food trucks, local vendors, a beer garden, and family-friendly activities. Aug. 8, noon-8:30 p.m. General admission is free, with VIP packages also available. Hatch Memorial Shell, 47 David G. Mugar Way.  bostonjazzfoundation.org/crjf — JS

HEN HOUSE’S SUMMER SHOW Improv Asylum’s all-female developmental cast presents a brand new 90-minute revue, with some new cast members, featuring music, improv, and sketch comedy. And a reminder — the Wednesday night Main Stage shows are free through the rest of the month. Aug. 8, 4:30 p.m. $17.50. Improv Asylum, 216 Hanover St. 617-263-6887, improvasylum.com — NZ

CHINATOWN AUGUST MOON FESTIVAL This annual celebration of Chinese culture takes over Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood for the 56th year on Sunday. Visitors can enjoy street vendors, Asian folk dance, lion dance, and Chinese opera. Aug. 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. Harrison Avenue and Beach, Tyler, Hudson, and Oxford streets, Chinatown. ccbaboston.org — JS

WATERTOWN ARTS MARKET Presented by the Watertown Business Coalition, the Watertown Arts Market is a day of activities, art, food, and performance. Now in its sixth year, the event was originally held to strengthen the local creative economy in Watertown. Today, the Arts Market is a landmark of Watertown’s summer season. Aug. 8, noon-5 p.m. Rain date is Aug. 9. Arsenal Park, 485 Arsenal St., Watertown. watertownartsmarket.com — DL

Critics’ and editors’ picks

A.Z. Madonna's picks

TANGLEWOOD Plan for maximum traffic this weekend at Tanglewood as cellist Yo-Yo Ma curates a weekend of concerts with the BSO; an evening of musical gratitude on Friday with the Berkshire Lyric Chorus, violinist Renaud Capuçon, and pianist Emanuel Ax, an all-American celebration on Saturday of short pieces featuring a parade of guests including James Taylor (of course), Aoife O’Donovan, Jon Batiste, and Heather Cox Richardson; and a celebration of the cello on Sunday afternoon with BSO cellist Christine Lee and cellist/composer Karen Ouzounian trading off the solo spotlight with Ma in a program of John Tavener, Kayhan Kalhor, and Osvaldo Golijov.  Aug. 7-9. Tanglewood, Lenox. 617-266-1200, bso.org

ROCKPORT MUSIC The bulk of the Rockport Chamber Music Festival is over, but this weekend brings two acclaimed performers to the concert hall by the sea. Saturday, Jean-Yves Thibaudet performs Debussy’s complete Preludes, and Sunday, violinist and popular YouTuber Ray Chen takes the stage with pianist Chelsea Wang for a recital program. Aug. 8-9, 5 p.m. Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main St., Rockport. 978-546-7391, rockportmusic.org

Murray Whyte’s picks

THE BOOK OF ESTHER IN THE AGE OF REMBRANDT  Opening this week: It’s a classic hero’s tale — an orphan rises to become queen, just in time to save her people. That’s the story of the biblical heroine Esther, whose beauty led to her being chosen from the masses as the bride of the Persian monarch Ahasuerus, giving her the power to keep the Jewish people from destruction. That ancient story has always been central to the Jewish faith, celebrated on the annual holiday of Purim; but in 17th-century Netherlands, it was a pop-culture phenomenon, celebrated far and wide and taken up by none other than Rembrandt and his peers as a tale worth painting over and over again. Why is a worthy guess: The Netherlands, under oppressive Spanish rule, might have felt some affinity for a heroic tale of liberation, and as a commercial crossroads of an expanding world, keen interest in faraway cultures, too. This show takes up the story’s mass appeal in that era, presenting works by Rembrandt, Jan Lievens, Jan Steen, and others, all of them rallying around the rebel courage of an ancient heroine. Through Jan. 18. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 25 Evans Way. 617-566-1401, isgm.org

PICASSO, MIRO, DALI: UNBOUND Just opened: Three artists who shared an era and a passport (all three were Spanish) make up this exhibition, despite their otherwise wildly divergent styles and interests. They come together here in the pages of vibrant livres d’artiste, or artists books, a form to which all three applied their creative energies full force. Through Jan. 24. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, mfa.org

JEFFREY GIBSON: POWER FULL BECAUSE WE’RE DIFFERENT  Gibson, who is Choctaw-Cherokee, made history in 2024 as the first Native American artist to be named the United States’ official representative at the Venice Biennale of Art. From that really big show, Gibson has gone even bigger at Mass MoCA’s voluminous Buiding Five, an indoor football-field-size gallery that he’ll fill with seven brand-new oversize garment works — Gibson works frequently with textiles — that evoke performances integral to an array of Native American faiths. Among them, the Ghost Dance, born from a pacifist movement from the Northern Paiute people in the late 19th century, offers a key to the tenor of the show: Hope.  Through Sept. 7. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams. 413-662-2111, massmoca.org

Don Aucoin’s picks

HAMLET In its first summer of programming after the January death of legendary cofounder Tina Packer,  Shakespeare & Company presents the towering tragedy by its namesake playwright in the theater named after Packer. (She played Gertrude in the company’s production of “Hamlet” two decades ago, with her son, Jason Asprey, in the title role, and Dennis Krausnick, her husband and Asprey’s stepfather, as Polonius.) Featuring David Gow as Hamlet, Yaala Muller as Ophelia, “ranney” as the usurping Claudius, Kristin Wold as Gertrude, Jonathan Epstein as Polonius, and  Boston favorite Eddie Shields as Laertes. Directed by Ariel Bock. Aug. 13-30. Shakespeare & Company, Tina Packer Playhouse, 70 Kemble St., Lenox. 413-637-3353, shakespeare.org

DALLOWAY: FIRST LOVE Crafted as a prequel to Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway,” this new play by Lindsay Joelle – whose “The Garbologists” was presented at Gloucester Stage last summer — stars Josephine Moshiri Elwood  as Victorian-era teenager Clarissa Parry, later to be Clarissa Dalloway. Clarissa is unenthralled by the male suitors who seek her hand, encouraged by her impecunious father, who hopes a propitious marriage will save the family estate. The person who does draw Clarissa’s attention is Sally Seton (Haley Dyana Schwartz), an independent-minded suffragist who leads Clarissa to rethink the possibilities of her life. Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw, with Shobhit Piasa and Jesse Garlick also in the cast. Aug. 13-29. Gloucester Stage Company, Natti-Willsky Performance Center, 267 East Main St., Gloucester. 978-281-4433,  gloucesterstage.com

Odie Henderson’s pick

CATVIDEOFEST Boston cat lovers, this one’s for you! The annual CatVideoFest is back, featuring 70 minutes of nonstop cat chaos and cuteness. Now in its 10th year, CatVideoFest brings unbridled joy to cat fans young and old. More importantly, a portion of the ticket proceeds go to helping local cats in need. The Coolidge, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, Capitol Theater, and Dedham Community Theatre have screenings this weekend. So go! I promise that you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll purr! Ongoing. Various locations.  catvideofest.com

Victoria Wasylak’s pick

4EVERFAB When explaining the history of Suffolk Downs, one event at the former racetrack always makes the highlight reel: the Beatles’ 1966 performance. In honor of the historic concert’s 60th anniversary, the Amp — a new 600-person outdoor amphitheater at Suffolk Downs — welcomes Beatles tribute act 4EverFab. Aug. 7. 6 p.m. Free. The Amp at Suffolk Downs, 125 Salt St., Revere. atsuffolkdowns.com

Last chance

SHAKESPEARE ON THE COMMON It’s your last weekend for the 30th anniversary celebration of Shakespeare on the Common. This year’s free show is “ A Midsummer Night’s Dream ” (the same show that launched the annual event back in 1996). The classic comedy gets a contemporary twist in a neon-lit festival escape, as Puck and his fairy band are “remixing hearts” like DJs of fate. Performances are free to watch, but chairs can be rented. Through Aug. 9. Free. Boston Common (Parkman Bandstand), 139 Tremont St. commshakes.org  — DL

A CHORUS LINE  If you believe that musical theater is one of the things that make life worth living — and you should, because it is — check out this poignant, funny, wrenching, dynamic, exhilarating, and altogether terrific production. “A Chorus Line” turns a crowded audition for a Broadway show into an exploration of the hopes, fears, and lives of professional but largely anonymous dancers and what they did for love, to borrow a phrase. Performers whose livelihoods entirely depend on their bodies face a very particular form of career mortality, and that’s one of many aspects beautifully captured by this “Chorus Line,” under the direction of Alan Paul. The outstanding cast includes Scarlett Walker, the very picture of cocked-hip defiance as the jaundiced, seen-it-all Sheila; Deanna Cudjoe as the veteran Cassie, a former lead dancer desperate to rekindle her career, even if it means returning to the chorus; and Danny Binstock as Zach, the director-choreographer-martinet determined to get under the skin of the fiercely striving aspirants. With music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, Through Aug. 8. Barrington Stage Company, Boyd-Quinson Theater, 30 Union St., Pittsfield. 413-242-6411,  barringtonstageco.org — DA

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