6/18/15: Today’s Top Tips: Thursday

MUSIC: Alan Cumming @ Universal Preservation Hall, Saratoga Springs. Produced by the Orchard Project, it’s an evening of stories and songs from the singer-actor of Broadway, movies and television. Cumming will be joined onstage by his Emmy-winning musical director Lance Horne and cellist Eleanor Norton. 7:30pm. $100 & $200. GO HERE for more info…

MUSIC: Random Acts of Kindness @ the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. Trumpeter Chris Pasin leads the band in celebration of the release of their self-titled debut album on the Planet Arts Label. 8pm. $20. GO HERE for more info…

MUSIC/ART: Michael Eck @ Albany Center Gallery, Albany. The roots scholar, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter will perform selections from his own four solo albums, as well as music based on his artwork currently on view in the group show “Edge.” 6:30pm.

MUSIC: Rachel Grimes & Ensemble @ Club Helsinki, Hudson. The Kentucky pianist, composer and arranger straddles numerous musical worlds. She plays in rock groups, indie-rock chamber ensembles, improvisational outfits and tours the world as a pianist playing classical and art repertoire. She channels all these various influences into her solo piano compositions, which are lush and dynamic, evocative of mood, landscape, colors and emotion. With guitarist Alexander Turnquist. 8pm.

MUSIC: Chrisette Michele @ Jennings Landing, Albany. Alive at Five continues with the Grammy-winning contemporary soul singer who has hit No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B charts and collaborated with hip-hop royalty like Jay Z, Nas and the Roots. Her latest album, Better, was nominated for the 2014 Best R&B Album Grammy. With Bell’s Roar. 5pm. FREE. GO HERE for more info and a complete schedule…

MUSIC: Glass Animals @ Vapor, Saratoga Springs. Fresh from their performance at Bonnaroo last week, the UK indie-psychedelic quartet rolls into town in support of their critically acclaimed debut album ZABA and their breakout hit “Gooey.” Doors open at 8pm. $18.

MUSIC: Cuddle Magic @ Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls. Led by Saratoga native Ben Davis, the marvelous, Brooklyn-band based performs lush, playful songs with wide-ranging instrumentation. 7pm. FREE.

THEATER: “Kinky Boots” @ Proctors, Schenectady. The six-time Tony Award-winning musical by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein musical follows a struggling shoe factory owner who works to turn his business around with help from Lola, a fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos. Together, the unlikely pair discovers that when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world. 1:30 & 8pm. $25-$90. Through Sunday.

MUSIC: Three Quarter North @ LT’s Grill, Niskayuna. 6:15pm.

MUSIC: Berkshire Jazz Collective @ the Spectrum Playhouse, Lee. Anchored by Andy Wrba, Benny Kohn and Bill Chapman, as they kick off the Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend. 7:30pm. $20: $10 students.

MUSIC: Nat Phipps Trio with Antonia Brown @ Jay Street, Schenectady. The Jazz On Jay concert series continues with pianist Nat Phipps, who is joined by bassist Pete Toigo and drummer Pete Sweeney, along with a new voice to Jazz on Jay, Antonia Brown. 12noon. FREE. GO HERE for more info and a complete schedule…

THEATER: “Thoreau or, Return to Walden” @ the Unicorn Theatre, Stockbridge. New England Transcendentalist, poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau built his life around the idea of simplicity and love. The enlightened thinker’s reflections come to life in the world premiere of David Adkins’ one-man play, directed by Eric Hill. 7pm. $42. Through July 11. GO HERE for more info…

MUSIC: Erin Harkes @ Bobby T’s Sports Grill, Albany. 5pm.

THEATER: “The Epic of Gligamesh” @ Bridge Street Theatre, Catskill. Kaliyuga Arts presents a contemporary re-telling of the first great work of world literature, the ancient Babylonian poem. Directed and designed by John Sowle, the production features actor Steven Patterson in a virtuoso solo performance. 7:30pm. $15; $10 students & seniors. Through Sunday, June 21.

MUSIC: Innocent Bystanders @ McGeary’s Pub, Albany. 5:45pm.

READING: Third Thursday Poetry Reading @ the Social Justice Center, Albany. Dan Wilcox hosts the open mic for poetry with featured poet Mike Jurkovic, who will read from his work, including his most recent collection of poems, “Eve’s Venom.” 7pm sign-up; 7:30pm reading. $3.

THEATER: “Time Stands Still” @ Oldcastle Theatre Company, Bennington. Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Donald Margulies’ searing story of an heroic female journalist wounded covering the war in Iraq. Can you be a dispassionate, uninvolved observer of horrific events, recording them for posterity and still keep a sense of right and wrong? 2 & 7:30pm. $37; $10 students. GO HERE to read review…

MUSIC: Hill Haints @ the Low Beat, Albany. With Eternal Crimes and Caswell. 8pm.

THEATER: “Man of La Mancha” @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield. Director Julianne Boyd puts a fresh spin of the musical tale about tilting at windmills and dreaming the impossible dream, starring Jeff McCarthy. 8pm. Through Saturday, July 11. GO HERE to read review…

THEATER: “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” @ Curtain Call Theatre, Latham. Christopher Durang’s smash-hit Broadway comedy and winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play is a wacky nod to Chekhov. Directed by Chris Foster, the Nippertown premiere production stars Kris Anderson, Roseann Cane, Ryan Davis, Mary Darcy, Cori Irwin and Christina Reeves. 7:30pm. $24. Through Saturday, June 27. GO HERE for more info…

MUSIC: Phil Drum @ Saratoga Springs Public Library, Saratoga Springs. A program of old school acoustic blues – 10 tunes by 10 blues greats, including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leadbelly, Robert Johnson and more. 7:30pm. FREE.

FILM: “Videodrome” @ Basilica Hudson, Hudson. James Woods and Deborah Harry star in David Cronenberg’s 1983 gem. First 10 guests get a free TV dinner! 8pm. $5-$15 sliding scale.

MUSIC: Colleen Pratt & Friends @ the Stockade Inn, Schenectady. 7pm. FREE.

FILM: “Big Men” @ The Linda, Albany. The documentary film is a fast-paced tour through the high-powered world of African oil deals – a quest for money and power and influence that affects us all. Eavesdrop on meetings about oil deals worth billions of dollars and watch heavily armed militants preparing to strike. 7pm. $8.