Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Big To-Do: Short Cuts, our midweek round-up of what’s going on around Boston, as selected by Boston Globe critics and writers.

Thursday

• Richard Gadd, the Emmy winner behind “Baby Reindeer,” is back with the new series “Half Man‚” premiering on HBO and HBO Max.

• The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” moonwalks on the big screen this weekend.

• “Small Town Girls” author Jayne Anne Phillips speaks with writer Megan Marshall at Harvard Book Store.

Friday

• “Japanese Gothic” author Kylie Lee Baker chats with Eric LaRocca at Brookline Booksmith.

• Noah Kahan’s new album, “The Great Divide,” drops Friday. Check out his NPR Tiny Desk concert here.

• The musical “Swept Away,” featuring songs by the Avett Brothers, kicks off Friday at the Calderwood Pavilion.

Saturday & Sunday

• Wicked Queer Stand-Up Comedy brings headliners Micah Eames and Brieana Woodward to Somerville’s Portico Brewing on Saturday.

• Exceptional Dance Company and Collective Moments Dance Company team up for the contemporary dance production “Holding Space: for Then and Now” at Cambridge’s Dance Complex on Saturday and Sunday.

• Alabama soul group St. Paul & The Broken Bones performs at House of Blues on Sunday.

Ongoing

• The Independent Film Festival Boston continues through April 29.

• Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project, “Gem of the Ocean” takes over Hibernian Hall through May 17.

• The exhibition “Imagined Nation” continues at the Boston Athenaeum through Nov. 14.

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Thanks for reading our new Wednesday newsletter. Keep an eye out for Friday's regular Big To-Do email written by Marie Morris. Send comments to arts@globe.com.