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: “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” are in town, plus Shakespeare on the Common returns. — Matt Juul

Things to do in and around Boston this weekend

CODA As part of Boston Public Library’s free film screening series, the Parker Hill branch screens “CODA” on Friday. The Academy Award-winning film follows a teen in Gloucester named Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones), an aspiring singer and “child of deaf adults,” who’s the only hearing person in her family. The acclaimed movie also stars Eugenio Derbez, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Troy Kotsur, and Marlee Matlin. July 24, 2 p.m. Free. BPL Parker Hill, 1497 Tremont St.  bpl.bibliocommons.com — Daisy Levine

LENNY CLARKE AND DON GAVIN Gavin, one of Boston’s original Boom comics, comes back to town for a double-headlining show with fellow Boston legend Clarke. With Jason Merrill and Bill Farrell. July 24 at 8 p.m. and July 25 at 7:30 p.m. $39.19. Giggles Comedy Club, 517 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus. 978-395-9060, princerestaurant.com/giggles-events — Nick A. Zaino III

NICE, A FEST Enjoy indie tunes by more than 80 artists from all six New England states with the return of Get To The Gig Boston’s annual festival. The performances will take over venues in Davis Square, including the Rockwell, Crystal Ballroom, and the Dragon’s Lair. Visitors can also check out an outdoor vinyl, art, and vintage market in partnership with Small Mart, and festival after parties. July 24-26. Tickets start at $50. Davis Square, Somerville.  niceafest.com — Janira Skrbkova

LOWELL FOLK FESTIVAL The annual event returns to downtown Lowell with three days of music, activities, art, and food. Read more about the fest in this week’s Sound Check column. July 24-26. Free. Various locations, downtown Lowell. lowellfolkfestival.org — DL

BOSTON FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the annual film fest kicks off at the MFA this weekend. Across several weeks, watch a selection of contemporary French cinema exploring themes of art, identity, and cultural memory. July 24-Aug. 23. Tickets range from $14 to $30 and include all-day access to open galleries and exhibitions. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. mfa.org — JS

SUDDEN JEST Shawn Carter, who moved to Bristol, Tenn., from Boston a few years ago and started his own club there, is back in town and dropping in on a few shows. He’ll host this game show/stand-up mashup with trivia, debates, and even a spelling bee. Early show at the Comedy Studio. July 25, 4:30 p.m. $18.95. The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge. thecomedystudio.com — NZ

DRUNK BOLLYWOOD We’ve had “Drunk History,” we’ve had drunken Shakespeare, now a troupe from NYC that spoofs Bollywood musicals, with the help of a little liquid courage. The film sent up for the Boston edition will be Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. July 25, 7:30 p.m. $42-$60. City Winery Boston, 80 Beverly St. citywinery.com — NZ

BOSTON PUERTO RICAN FESTIVAL Partake in a celebration of Puerto Rican heritage with plenty of food, carnival rides, and entertainment on hand. Sunday will feature the annual parade, kicking off at noon from 1318 Columbus Ave. and ending at the fest in Franklin Park. July 25-26, noon to 9 p.m. Pierpont Road. puertoricanfestivalofma.org — JS

CAMBRIDGE JAZZ FESTIVAL This year’s fest features two days of free jazz performances. The event also includes an exhibit on jazz history, multiple vendors, music therapy, a children’s area, and a beer garden. July 25-26, 12-6 p.m. General admission tickets are free, with reserved seating options available for purchase. Danehy Park, 99 Sherman St., Cambridge. cambridgejazzfoundation.org — DL

RHORI WRAP PARTY Celebrate the recent end of season 1 with some of the cast from “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.” This wrap party features stars Ashley Iaconetti Haibon, Rosie Woods DiMare, and Jo-Ellen Tiberi, plus their husbands, as they chat about behind-the-scenes stories, gossip, and moments from the show. July 26, 7 p.m. Tickets start at $55. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St.  thewilbur.com — DL

Critics’ and editors’ picks

Don Aucoin's picks

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Its foundational origins in a multi-part film franchise notwithstanding, Levi Holloway’s drama is very much a work of the stage, and at times it virtually threatens to freeze the marrow in your bones. To those chills is added the thrill of experiencing a tale from a familiar genre – the ghost story – told with an exhilarating freshness of invention and psychological depth. Starring Cher Álvarez, who  delivers an electric charge to nearly every scene she’s in, and Travis A. Knight as a married couple in a London house bedeviled by supernatural goings-on. Directed by Felix Barrett. Through July 30. Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St. emersoncolonialtheatre.com

BETRAYAL  The three lead performances are as exquisitely controlled as Shana Gozansky’s direction in this fine production of Harold Pinter’s 1978 drama of infidelity, which famously unspools in reverse chronology. In tracing the entwined lives of lovers Jerry (Michael Underhill) and Emma (Liza Giangrande, remarkable once again) and Emma’s husband, Robert (Tanner Efinger), Gozansky does not overdo the famed “Pinter pause.” But she does allow space within Pinter’s characteristically spare dialogue for meaning to take shape between the words as “Betrayal” winds its way backwards from 1977 to 1968 in London and Venice. The production reminds us that there’s seldom anything small about Pinter’s small talk. Also featuring invaluable contributions from composer and sound designer Julian Crocamo. Through Aug. 1. Gloucester Stage Company. Natti-Willsky Performance Center, 267 East Main St., Gloucester. 978-281-4433. gloucesterstage.com

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM  Shakespeare’s comedy of enchantment, transformation, and revelation kicked off Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Free Shakespeare on the Common series three decades ago. Now founding artistic director Steven Maler is at the helm for an anniversary production that will include choreography by John Lam and a blue-chip cast: De’Lon Grant as Theseus/Oberon, Nora Eschenheimer as Hippolyta/Titania, Nick Cearley as Puck, Meghan Carey as Hermia, Jaime José Hernández as Lysander, Jack Greenberg as Demetrius, Annika Burley as Helena, Karen MacDonald as Quince, John Kuntz as Snout, Paul Melendy as Bottom, and Brooks Reeves as Egeus/Starveling.  Through Aug. 9. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Parkman Bandstand, Boston Common. commshakes.org

Odie Henderson’s pick

CHANG On Sunday, the “Silents, Please!” series at the Somerville Theatre is showing the rare 1927 film, “Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness.” Made by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, the folks who made 1933’s “King Kong,” this film excited early film audiences with footage of wildlife filmed in Thailand. That footage alone makes it an intriguing cinematic time capsule, a hybrid of documentary footage and fiction. July 26, 2 p.m. Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. somervilletheatre.com

A.Z. Madonna’s picks

BOSTON FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA In partnership with Morningside Music Bridge, the Boston-based summer program for elite high school-aged musicians, the Boston Festival Orchestra presents its final program of its Summer Stage series: Mozart’s “Sinfonia concertante” for violin, viola and orchestra, featuring Morningside alumni-faculty Agata Szymczewska and Teng Li, and Bruckner’s towering cathedral-esque Symphony No. 6. July 26, 3 p.m. New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. 30 Gainsborough St. bforchestra.org

TANGLEWOOD  Mozart concertos and Tchaikovsky symphonies are the focuses of this weekend at the Koussevitzky Music Shed with the BSO and music director Andris Nelsons; Friday brings Augustin Hadelich onstage for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 before Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3; Saturday’s program features Paul Lewis and Piano Concerto No. 27 opposite Symphony No. 4, and Sunday features an appetizer piece from Esa-Pekka Salonen before teenage violinist Himari takes center stage for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and the BSO finishes things out with Symphony No. 5. Speaking of the Finnish maestro: all weekend and into Monday, Ozawa Hall and the Linde Center light up with the Tanglewood Music Center’s annual Festival of Contemporary Music, with Salonen curating themed programs including “Those We Have Lost Too Soon,” “Meta Music: Music About Other Music,” and the orchestral finale, “Nordic Boomers.” Through July 27. Tanglewood, Lenox. 617-266-1200, bso.org

Kate Tuttle’s pick

A CONVERSATION ABOUT SECRETS, SEX, AND DANGER Boston’s own Christopher Castellani, whose most recent novel, “Last Seen,” was praised in these pages by critic Olivia Kate Cerrone, who called the book “mesmerizing and luminous,” will be reading alongside Jessica Handler, an Emerson alum and noted writing teacher, whose second novel, “The World to See,” explores female friendships amid 1970s second-wave feminism. These are two powerhouse authors, thinkers, and speakers – you won’t want to miss their joint appearance at Newtonville Books.  July 28, 7 p.m. Newtonville Books 10 Langley Rd., Newton. newtonvillebooks.com

Victoria Wasylak’s pick

KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS If you missed Kurt Vile and the Violators at Green River Festival last month, it’s not too late to catch the group in the Theater District this weekend. And while Bostonians are typically averse to hearing praise about other major cities, trust me when I say you’re going to want to hear selections from Vile’s new album, “Philadelphia’s been good to me,” live. July 24, 7 p.m. Royale, 279 Tremont St. axs.com

Murray Whyte’s picks

DANNY LYON: THE BIKERIDERS Closing soon: One of the definitive documentary photography projects of the 1960s, Danny Lyons joined the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club while still an undergraduate at the University of Chicago to capture his subjects from the inside. The result, a raw portrait of a subculture that helped define a generation of America, is now a totem of the form. Through Aug. 16. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester, N.H. 603-669-6144, currier.org

DERRICK ADAMS: VIEW MASTER Adams is a jubilant polymath with a very specific mission: “What can I reveal that has not been shown?” he told the ICA. “Black people — not entertaining, just being, living. Letting people deal with that as reality.” This show, his first-ever career survey, spans more than 20 years of painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and collage, all of it with a signature ebullience that celebrates the lives of his subjects and captures the joy of the everyday. Through Sept. 7. Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100,  icaboston.org

JIMENA SARNO: RHAPSODY Argentine-born, Los Angeles-based artist Jimena Sarno collaborated with a gamut of artists, teachers, and makers for this exhibition, which weaves filmmaking, sound, and poetry into the tactile experience of traditional craft across the global south. The ravages of colonialism are never far from mind for Sarno, but here, she focuses on repair — what broken cultures need to move forward, and reclaim what’s theirs. Ongoing. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams. 413-662-2111, massmoca.org

Last chance

ARIANA GRANDE Grammy-winning pop star and Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated actress Ariana Grande performs in Boston as her “The Eternal Sunshine Tour” wraps up its run in the Hub this weekend. While the shows are sold out, fans still have a chance to purchase verified resale tickets. July 25 and 26, 8 p.m. TD Garden, 100 Legends Way. tdgarden.com — JS

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