7:30 pm: Pop Music

Strings have often provided scenery for the drama of Ray Charles’ music, and the genre-crossing legend will have a full arsenal at his disposal after moving on from tonight’s club show to the Hollywood Bowl, where he’ll be joined by the L.A. Philharmonic, conducted by Victor Vanacore.* Ray Charles, House of Blues Anaheim, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, 7:30 p.m. $57.50. (714) 778-2583. Also Friday and Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, 8:30 p.m. $3 to $85. (323) 850-2000.

9 pm: Pop Music

In her several albums with the ever-shifting band the Spinanes, Rebecca Gates established herself as one of the distinctive voices of American indie rock. On her solo debut, “Ruby Series,” she collaborates with members of Chicago’s cutting-edge scene to bring electronic textures to her pop leanings. * Rebecca Gates, with Abby Travis and Cactus Automatic, Spaceland, 1717 Silver Lake Blvd., L.A., 9 p.m. $8. (213) 833-2843.

8 pm: Theater

“Lava/Breath,” a West Coast premiere double bill, presents experimental playwright Richard Foreman’s play “Lava,” about six lost souls, and Samuel Beckett’s “Breath,” an exploration of the complexity of a single breath.* “Lava/Breath,” Theatre/Theater, Pacific Theater Building, 4th Floor, 6425 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Thursdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Sept. 9. $20. (323) 860-9970.

8 pm: Theater

Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological chiller “Rope” will be seen on stage for the first time in PCPA Theaterfest’s world premiere stage adaptation of Arthur Laurents’ screenplay about two young men who set about committing the perfect murder. Jack Shouse, who wrote the adaptation, directs the play.* “Rope,” PCPA Theaterfest, Festival Theatre, 420 2nd St., Solvang, Wednesdays to Sundays, 8 p.m., through Sept. 9; beginning Sept. 14 at the Marian Theatre, 800 S. College, Santa Maria, Thursdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Also Sept. 19, 26, 2 p.m. Ends Sept. 30. $15.50 to $20.50. (805) 922-8313.

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Freebies

* The Best of Summer Film Series screens three movies with “family ties” outdoors at One Colorado, 24 W. Union St., Old Town Pasadena. “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?,” with Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier, plays tonight at 8, followed by “The Graduate” on Friday and “Steel Magnolias” on Saturday. (626) 564-1066.

* “A Night of Comedy” features a lineup of stand-up comics at the West Patio at Farmers Market, 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue, 7 to 9 p.m. (323) 933-2911.