Get into the holiday season by taking part in the annual tradition of Christmas Vespers at Lehigh University in Bethlehem.
Lehigh University Choral Arts invites the community to its annual Christmas Vespers, at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Dec. 7 in Packer Memorial Church in Bethlehem.
This beloved holiday event, offered free of charge and open to all, brings together voices, candlelight, and seasonal reflection in one of Lehigh’s most iconic spaces.
Led by director Sarah Frook Gallo and assistant director Liz Olson, Christmas Vespers combines choral music, readings, and congregational singing to celebrate the spirit of the season. Each year, Lehigh University Choral Arts presents this program as a musical gift to the Lehigh Valley, sharing joyous carols, thoughtful selections, and moments of winter peace with audiences of all ages. With its soaring acoustics and warm atmosphere, Packer Memorial Church offers the perfect setting for this annual gathering.
Updated “Little Women”
Pennsylvania Playhouse is celebrating the holidays with Kate Hamill’s feminist-friendly adaptation of Alcott’s 19th century coming-of-age novel “Little Women.”
Pennsylvania Playhouse presents “Little Women” Dec. 5-21 at the Bethlehem playhouse, 390 Illick’s Mill Road, Bethlehem.
The story follows the lives of the four March sisters, Meg (Bryanna Pye), Jo (Mia Zappacosta), Beth (Emma Funderburk), and Amy (Angella Brown), and details their passage from childhood to womanhood.
The adaptation centers on the tomboyish Jo who isn’t a typical Victorian lady. She is headstrong, independent, and determined to become a great American novelist. As Christmas approaches in the midst of the Civil War, the March sisters come together to celebrate and support one another. Growing up in a world defined by gender, class, and personal tragedy, they strive to be brave, intelligent, and imaginative young women. But as adulthood looms, each sister must balance her private ambitions with society’s expectations.
The cast includes Alec Gould as Laurie; Krista Metter as Marmee; Charlie Dalrymple as Mr. Lawrence; Shawn McCoy as John Brooks; Daniel VanArsdale, Nana Abenaa Nyanor and Amy Oselkin.
The Dec. 12 performance will feature understudies Sarah Wright as Jo, Gianna Kegler as Beth and Seye Dada as Laurie.
Melissa Miller directs, Safran Astra is costume designer and Brett Oliveira is scenic designer.
Tickets are $25 for adults; $22 for seniors and $15 for students. The playhouse offers “pay what you are able” for the performance Dec. 13.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20; and 3 p.m. Dec. 7, 14 and 21.
For information, call 610-865-6665, or go to www.paplayhouse.org/.
“Wonderful Life” in Reading
Reading Community Players presents “It’s a Wonderful Life” Dec. 5 to 7 at WCR Center for the Arts, 140 N 5th St., Reading.
The play is inspired by the film by Frank Capra with a story by Philip Van Doren Stern, and adapted for the stage by James W. Rodgers .
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is based on the story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” has become almost as familiar as Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” during the holidays. The story is the saga of George Bailey, the Everyman from the small town of Bedford Falls, whose dreams of escape and adventure have been quashed by family obligation and civic duty, whose guardian angel has to descend on Christmas Eve to save him from despair and to remind him—by showing him what the world would have been like had he never been born—that his has been, after all, a wonderful life.
This fine dramatization not only celebrates the faith of the season, it also celebrates the American philosophy of life: hard work, fair play and the love and support of one’s family and community will be rewarded.
Tim Weiss plays George Bailey and Emily Hershey plays Mary Bailey.
Randy Miller directs.
Performances are 7 p.m. Dec. 5; 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 6 and 2 p.m. Dec. 7.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.
Hit musical “Annie”
Reading Civic Theatre will present the beloved musical “Annie” Dec. 5 to 14 at 4350 Perkiomen Ave., Reading, located next to Boscov’s East in Exeter Township.
Based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray, “Annie” has become a worldwide phenomenon and the Broadway production was the winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
With equal measures of pluck and positivity, Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years before on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the orphanage, Annie escapes to the wondrous world of New York City. In adventure after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations… and even befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She finds a new home and family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.
The cast features Gillian Roth as Annie; Jeff Yoder as Daddy Warbucks; Allison McMillan as Grace and Jessica Weidenhammer as Miss Hannigan.
The orphans are played by Brianna Roche, Aria Skelly, Catherine Weisman, Hayden Dietrich, Charlotte Meck, Vivian Brunner, Alexandra Tilley, Aria Krick, Lucy Bacharach and Mina Kulaga.
The cast also includes Alex Krick as Rooster; Carolyn Smith as Lily; Dan Hauk as Bert Healy; David Jones FDR; Mark Christy as Drake and Jessica Skelly as Mrs. Pugh.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5, 6 and 12; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13; and 2 p.m. Dec. 7 and 14.
Tickets are $35 for adults; $30 for seniors and $25 for students.
For information, call 610-375-7482 or go to www.tix.com/ticket-sales/readingcivic/6949.
“Rudolph” musical
Pennsylvania Youth Theatre presents “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Dec. 5 to 14 at the Charles A. Brown Ice House in Bethlehem.
This magical holiday musical features over 60 talented young performers, who bring the beloved characters of Christmastown to life.
In the wake of Rudolph’s 60th anniversary, classic favorites like “We are Santa’s Elves,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” will fill audiences with a newfound joy for the story.
“These kiddos have been hard at work since October, rehearsing and perfecting this timeless holiday classic,” says director Rachel Lutz.
Performances are 7 p.m. Dec. 5 and 12; and 2 p.m. Dec. 6, 7, 13 and 14.
Tickets are $24 for adults and $22 for seniors and students.
For information, call 610-332-1400, or go to 123pyt.org/.
“Addams Family” in Emmaus
Star of the Day event Productions presents “The Addams Family: Young@Part” Dec. 5 to 7 at St. John’s United Church of Christ, 139 N. Fourth St., Emmaus.
“The Addams Family” is a comical show that embraces the wackiness in every family, features an original story and a dilemma that’s every father’s nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family whom her parents have never met. And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before, keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.
Performances are 7 p.m. Dec. 5; 2 and, 7 p.m. Dec. 6; and 3 p.m. Dec. 7.
Tickets are $16.
For information, call 484-809-9228, or go to www.staroftheday.org/.
POTS to stage classic tale
Players of the Stage will stage Charles Dickens’ classic tale “A Christmas Carol” Dec. 4 to 13 at Citylight Bible Church, 1921 Union Blvd., Allentown.
It is a tradition for POTS to perform “A Christmas Carol” every five years and this production closes out its 25th year in operation.
“A Christmas Carol” recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. In the process, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
Tickets are free but must be reserved. At the end of the production, there will be a chance to make a donation.
Performances are 7 p.m. Dec. 4, 5 and 12; and 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 6 and 13.
For information, call 835-247-4463, or go to www.playersofthestage.org/.
KU Presents Lúnasa
Kutztown University is hosting traditional Irish band Lúnasa 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Kutztown’s Schaeffer Auditorium as part of the 2025-2026 KU Presents! series.
Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival honoring the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lúnasa is a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. They have recorded with Bruce Springsteen, toured with Riverdance, and members have formed the backbone of some of the greatest Irish groups of the decade, from the Waterboys to Moving Cloud. Hailed as “the new gods of Irish music” (Mojo UK) and “the new Celtic royalty” (Boston Herald), Folk Roots magazine has rightly termed Lúnasa an “Irish music dream team.”
Add on an Irish Christmas dinner at 6 p.m. in the Little Theatre for $30.
Tickets are $39 for adults; $37 for seniors and $19 for students.
For information, call 610-683-4092 or go to www.kutztownpresents.org.
Nutcracker in Allentown
Repertory Dance Theater will present its annual production of the Tchaikovsky ballet “The Nutcracker” at 1 and 5 p.m. Dec. 6 in Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown.
Excitement fills the air as Repertory Dance Theatre launches its 38th production of “The Nutcracker.” This enchanting holiday tradition is the perfect gift for families, bringing generations together in a celebration of joy and wonder. Under the artistic direction of Jennifer Haltzman Tracy and Trinette Singleton, a company of professional guest artists lead a cast of 100—featuring RDT’s pre‑professional performers alongside talented community members—in a spectacular display of dance and storytelling. Accompanied by the live sounds of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Diane Wittry, and enhanced by the voices of the El Sistema Lehigh Valley Chorus, directed by Amanda Haag, this production promises to be the definitive holiday experience.
Following the 1 p.m. performance of “The Nutcracker,” join Clara, The Sugarplum Fairy and other characters in the Land of the Sweets at 3 p.m. in the Third Floor Rodale Community Room. Enjoy treats, make holiday crafts, and join a meet and greet with the dancers of Repertory Dance Theatre.
Tickets for the party are $5. Ballet tickets are $29 to $59.
For information, call 610-432-6715 or go to millersymphonyhall.org/.
“1001 Nights”
The Lehigh University Music Department presents the Lehigh University Philharmonic in “1001 Nights,” an exciting season-opening program that brings powerful musical storytelling to Zoellner Auditorium 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 and 6.
The concert features two masterworks of dramatic orchestral literature — Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet: overture and Rimsky-Korsakov’s dazzling “Scheherazade.”
Under the direction of Kyle Wernke, the Lehigh University Philharmonic invites audiences into a world of romance, adventure, and imagination. The program opens with Tchaikovsky’s passionate “Romeo and Juliet” overture, a sweeping symphonic tale of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers. The evening continues with Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” a brilliant and colorful work inspired by the tales of “One Thousand and One Nights.” Its vivid orchestration, soaring solos, and rhythmic energy create an unforgettable musical journey led by the legendary storyteller Scheherazade herself.
Tickets are $18.
For information, go to www.zoellnerartscenter.org.