Monday

Stephen L. Carter reads from “Invisible” from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Free. Novelist, columnist and Yale law professor Carter has an extra stake in “Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster” – it’s about Eunice Hunton Carter (pictured), his grandmother, the granddaughter of slaves who joined the team taking down Mafia boss Lucky Luciano in New York in the 1930s. Information is here.

Blacksmith House Poetry Series from 8 to 9 p.m. at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, 56 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Admission is $3. Sophie Cabot Black reads from her book, “The Exchange,” in this month’s edition of a poetry and fiction series that began in 1973. Former California poet laureate Carol Muske-Dukes, who recently published the book “Blue Rose,” has been listed as reading tonight as well. Information is here.

Tuesday

“Butter, A Play About Food” with talkback led by Bethany Van Delft from 6 to 10 p.m. at The Burren, 247 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $15. A one-act comedy written and directed by Kimberly Rose shows the collapse of a girls’ night out in a Boston restaurant, with comedian Van Delft opening the show and leading a talkback afterward about food and the play. Information is here.

PowerPoint Party from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Noir at The Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square. Free, but you can register here. Each contestant gets three minutes to present on a topic of their choice – the Olympic sport of curling, perhaps, or “The Dress” and “Yanny vs. Laurel” – with audience members voting on which should win prizes. Information is here.

“Good and Mad: How Women’s Anger is Reshaping America” with Rebecca Traister from 7 to 10 p.m. at The First Parish Church, 3 Church St., Harvard Square. Free, with a book sale afterward. Journalist and author Traister, brought to town by the Cambridge Forum, discusses the history of feminism and the #MeToo movement. Information is here.

Wednesday

Play Night at CCTV from 6 to 8 p.m. at Cambridge Community Television, 438 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Free, with donations accepted. The studio brings out its cool new fancy and fun equipment, including a 360-degree camera, virtual reality headsets, drawing tablets, GoPros and Playtronica set, which turns any object into a musical instrument. Information is here.

Jamie Bernstein reads from “Famous Father Girl” from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. From free to a $20 donation ($22.03 with fees). A rare look into the private life of the famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, courtesy of his daughter. Information is here.

The “Eyeslicer” Halloween Special from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. General admission is $11.50. A deranged, proudly transgressive anthology, with segments ranging from an X-rated Halloween party hookup to a documentary about pumpkin carving and misogyny and a short about a woman trapped inside a Red Lobster commercial. Information is here.

Thursday

“GoreFest XVI: A Space Slaughterssey” from 8 to 9:15 p.m. at ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Central Square. A new original Halloween musical (and local tradition that plays through Oct. 31) with plenty of spurting blood. General admission is $25 (and ponchos are a separate $4 online or $5 at the door). Information is here.

Alginate demo and body-part casting workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Aidekman Arts Center at Tufts University, 40 Talbot Ave., Somerville. Free. Kid friendly, but an interesting first date. School of the Museum of Fine Arts metals faculty members introduce the 3D art-making potential of alginate, a molding material derived from alginic acid found in seaweed – often used to make dental impressions – that participants will use to create a cast of a body part in colored plastic. Information is here.

Friday

Animation Show of Shows from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square. Free, but seating is limited. Sixteen exceptional and inspiring animated shorts from around the world, recommended for ages 6 and up. Information is here.

“Chicago” from 7:30 to 10 p.m. (and continuing on weekend days through Oct. 27) at the Loeb Mainstage, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. The Kander/Ebb musical about greed, corruption, violence, jazz, fame and the American way in 1920s Chicago. Information is here.

Cirque of the Dead from 7 to 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square (with seven more performances through Oct. 31). Tickets are $30 to $50. This year the Cirque is a live choose-your-own-adventure with zombies, vampires and other creatures portrayed with aerial acts, acrobatics and other theatrical skills, made sexy, funny and gory – and for adults only. Come dressed for Halloween. Information is here.

Brahms, Haydn and Mussorgsky/Ravel works performed by the MIT Symphony Orchestra from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave. General admission is $5. Brahms’ “Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, Opus 56”; Haydn’s Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, “Farewell”; and Mussorgsky/Ravel’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” directed by Adam K. Boyles. Information is here.

“The Van Helsing Chronicles” radio-style play from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Boston Brunch Church, 204 Elm St., near Davis Square, Somerville (with five more performances through Oct 26). General admission is $15 (or $16.52 with fees). Monster hunter Professor Abra Van Helsing hosts, narrates and plays a role in the Post-Meridian Radio Players’ adaptations of tales of gothic horror: Richard Marsh’s “The Beetle” and Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Information is here.

Prom Do-Over from 8 p.m. to midnight at Once Lounge + Ballroom, 156 Highland Ave., Somerville. General admission is $15, with all proceeds going to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. What if you could do prom all over again the right way – with your real friends and no drama? Boston’s Future Teens plays 2004-08 hits, a mystery DJ spins tunes from the 1980s through today and you can retake your prom photos. (Organizers hope you’ll donate a gently used prom dress for Belle of the Ball, a program by Anton’s Cleaners that provides gowns to local kids who otherwise couldn’t attend prom.) Information is here.

GoreFest XVI at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Central Square (and playing through Oct. 31). General admission is $25 (and ponchos are a separate $4 online or $5 at the door). Information is here.

Saturday

Family art day from 10 a.m to noon at Gallery 344, on the second floor of the City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. Make a clay mosaic to explore patterns and calligraphy and get a guided tour of the exhibition “Infinite Present” (described by Boston Globe critic Cate McQuaid: “Curator Marie Costello brings together an international roster of contemporary artists who engage Islam’s traditionally non-representational approach to art-making, employing intricate Islamic patterns and calligraphy to grapple with history and the current moment”). Information is here.

Halloween costume swap from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St., Riverside. Free. Bring complete, gently worn costumes and look for a costume that’s new to you. Information is here.

Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Lesley University’s second floor University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square (and continuing Sunday). Free. The ninth annual all-ages showcase for artists and writers of comics, with an exhibition area; panel discussions; and workshops with techniques, tips and tricks for all skill levels. Special guests include Keith Knight, Tony Cliff, Tillie Walden, Jim Woodring and Vera Brosgol, with local spotlight guests including Rosemary Mosco, Andrew MacLean and Charles Forsman. Information is here.

Artist Takeover from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Spaceus, 20 Brattle St., Harvard Square (and continuing Sunday). Free. Five to seven artists get space each week to showcase their. This week it’s Rae Rimm, Julia Emiliani, Chris D’Amore, Bennett Henson, Jeff Bartell. Emmy Smella and Sophie Calhoun. Information is here.

Grown-Up Book Fair from 2 to 6 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. Porter Square Books powers this school-age event updated for adult tastes. Information is here.

18th Annual Comicazi Halloweeniversary Party from 6 p.m. to midnight at the George Dilboy VFW Post 529, 371 Summer St., Davis Square, Somerville. Free. There’s a costume contest, music and dancing, food and drinks, raffle and prizes and giveaways for all ages. Information is here.

Comedy Party at 730 Tavern from 8 to 10 p.m. Admission is $5 ($6.04 with fees). Laffs and/or yuks via Alex Giampapa (from “Funny or Die”), Liam McGurk (The Comedy Studio) and Rob Crean (of The Gas!, and fresh off opening for Joel McHale in Rhode Island). Information is here.

“Chicago” from 7:30 to 10 p.m. (and continuing on weekend days through Oct. 27) at the Loeb Mainstage, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. Information is here.

Cirque of the Dead from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square (with five more performances through Oct. 31). Tickets are $30 to $50. Information is here.

GoreFest XVI at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Central Square (and playing through Oct. 31). General admission is $25 (and ponchos are a separate $4 online or $5 at the door). Information is here.

Sunday

Tufts Sunday Concert Series: “Per due Viole da Gamba” from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Granoff Music Center at Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave., Somerville. Free. Featuring duos from the 17th century for bass violas da gamba from Marais, Lawes and Schenk, with chamber organ and harpsichord accompaniment and keyboard solos by Blow and Jacquet de la Guerre. Performers are Jane Hershey and Doug Kelley on violas da gamba and Frances Conover Fitch on harpsichord and organ. Information is here.

“The Phantom of the Opera” with live improvised score from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Tickets are $10 (or $12.24 with fees) The 1925 silent horror classic – so scary and successful it led Universal to film “Frankenstein,” “Dracula” and “The Mummy” – gets accompaniment by musician Jeff Rapsis. Information is here.

Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lesley University’s second floor University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square. Free. Information is here.

Artist Takeover from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Spaceus, 20 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Free. Information is here.

“Chicago” from 2 to 4:30 p.m. (and continuing on weekend days through Oct. 27) at the Loeb Mainstage, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. Information is here.

GoreFest XVI at 7:30 p.m. at ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Central Square (and playing through Oct. 31). General admission is $25 (and ponchos are a separate $4 online or $5 at the door). Information is here.