Williams Center for the Arts in Easton will open its performance series for the season with ballet reimagined when BalletX takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
With a versatile ensemble of 16 dancers, BalletX brings fresh energy to contemporary ballet, pushing the form forward with passion, creativity, and exuberance. Hailed as “among America’s best” by The New York Times, the company is known for work that is bold, accessible, and deeply connected to the present. Founded in 2005 and led by artistic and executive director Christine Cox, BalletX has commissioned more than 80 choreographers and produced 150 world premieres, establishing itself as a vibrant incubator for artistic talent and one of today’s most inviting voices in dance.
Through performances, international touring, and meaningful community outreach, BalletX creates extraordinary dance experiences that inspire human connection.
The program features “Scales on the Wings of a Butterfly,” which premiered July 16, 2025, at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia; “Become a Mountain,” which was commissioned by Juilliard Dance for New Dances 2021, and “Big Wig,” which premiered November 13, 2024, at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre.
Tickets cost $33 for adults and $6 for age 17 and younger.
Williams Center for the Art, which is located at 317 Hamilton St., also will begin its National Theatre Live presentations in which the best of British theater is shown on screen.
“The Audience” will screen at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Landis Cinema in Buck Hall.
One of the most-watched NT Live productions of all time, “The Audience” stars Academy Award winner Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in the Olivier- and Tony Award-winning production that helped inspire Netflix’s “The Crown.” Directed by Stephen Daldry, the play imagines the queen’s private weekly meetings with her prime ministers over the course of 60 years. From Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron, these audiences offer a revealing look at public duty, private counsel, and the woman behind the crown.
Tickets cost $15 for adults and $6 for ages 17 and younger.
Inspired by Flint
Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem will open its season with “The Poisoner,” a touring production inspired by the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
Lee Sunday Evans
“The Poisoner” is a neo-noir thriller about the deception, abuse of power, and negligence of Midwestern water politics in the 2000s. The original production, written by first-time playwright M.M. Haney, was developed by two-time Obie Award-winning director Lee Sunday Evans, who also directs.
The play premiered in 2024 at New York’s La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. The Bethlehem stop is the first in a limited run tour that will conclude in Detroit.
The Flint water crisis was a public health emergency that began in April 2014, when the city switched its drinking water source to the Flint River to save money, leading to severe lead and bacterial contamination. The play is set in the fictional Mack City, Michigan.
In “The Poisoner,” hardened Chicago Tribune journalist Ron Finder (Aaron Morton) reluctantly agrees to return to his hometown, Mack City, to cover an announcement on new economic policy that’s about to be unveiled by the state’s businessman governor. As Finder gathers materials, he not only reveals unsettling problems in the city’s water supply but painful strains in his relationship with his father.
The story explores how seemingly mundane economic ideas can drastically alter the course of people’s lives and our cities.
The cast features Haskell King, Brett Diggs, and Maude Mitchell.
“Across America, communities continue to confront contaminated drinking water, aging infrastructure, and increasingly contentious battles over who controls scarce water resources,” Haney said. “At the same time, towns are grappling with the enormous water demands of new industrial development, including AI data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities, raising the same enduring questions. Who bears the costs? Who receives the benefits? And ultimately, who gets to decide?”
“The Poisoner” explores governance, power, and the quiet machinery of institutional failure. It aims to increase awareness about the challenges faced in Flint, Jackson, Newark, and other communities grappling with similar crises.
Evans said the play is designed to be a launching point for the creators to connect with organizers, advocates, and residents fighting for clean air, safe water, and community control of local natural resources. Through post-performance discussions, they hope to bring together residents with differing perspectives to examine these issues.
“If theater can create a space where people listen as carefully as they argue, then perhaps it can help strengthen the civic trust on which democracy ultimately depends,” Evans said. “The goal of ‘The Poisoner’ is to ask not just how a crisis happened, but who benefits when nothing is done to prevent the next one.”
The play, which runs 90 minutes without an intermission, will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
There will be a talkback after Thursday’s performance with Touchstone ensemble members and “The Poisoner’s” creative team about the social impact of theater.
After Friday’s performance, there will be a talkback with Greg Sussman, president of the Whitehall Civic Alliance, about political activism.
Tickets cost $35 for adults and $25 for seniors and students. Thursday’s performance will be pay-what-you-will.
Touchstone is located at 321 E. Fourth St.
West Reading Fall Fest
The West Reading Community Revitalization Foundation will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Fall Fest when the popular event returns on Saturday. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the 400 to 700 blocks of Penn Avenue will be closed for more than 200 craft and retail vendors, including a wide array of food and beverage choices and music on three stages.
On the main stage at Sixth Avenue, there will be Dance Your Dreams at 11:45 a.m., Lovelace at 12:05 p.m., Mike & The Y-Tones at 1:20 p.m., Pseudo Seal at 2:15 p.m., Easy Brother at 3:10 p.m., Gleasons Drift at 4:05 p.m., Soraia at 5:05 p.m., and Dylan Zangwill Band at 6:10 p.m.
On the American Diner stage at Fourth Avenue, there will be Post Boredom at 12:30 p.m., Vinyl Rush at 1:25 p.m., Company Car Band at 2:20 p.m., Stateside at 3:15 p.m., The Midnight Antics at 4:10p.m., and Milen at 5:15 p.m.
On the Acoustic Tent stage on Seventh Avenue, there will be Duane Muncy at 12:15 p.m., Jackson Nicholas at 1:10 p.m., Bryan Betts at 2:05 p.m., Tom Flott at 3 p.m., Laila Mack at 4 p.m., and Circle Of Sanity / Josh Sapna at 5 p.m.
Street and lot parking will be available throughout the borough. Limited handicap parking will be available at Kuhn Funeral Home at Eighth and Penn avenues.
The festival will be followed by an after-party featuring Therapy Barn at West Reading Motor Club, which is located at 416 Penn Ave.
Demon barber
1st Street Players will present “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: School Edition” at Birdsboro Community Theater, which is located at 301 E. First St. in Birdsboro, Berks County.
“Sweeney Todd” is a dark 1979 musical thriller with a book by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The musical opened on Broadway in 1979 and in the West End in 1980. It won the Tony Award for best musical and the Olivier Award for best new musical.
In the story, Sweeney Todd is the pseudonym for Benjamin Barker, a barber who was falsely accused and sent to prison. Todd is released and returns to London to get revenge on Judge Turpin, who destroyed his family. He joins forces with Mrs. Lovett, who makes meat pies, and Anthony, a young sailor in love with Turpin’s ward, Johanna.
The cast features Grayson Naftal as Sweeney Todd, Leah Price as Mrs. Lovett, Adam Crotty as Anthony, Shannon Tilley as Johanna, Landon Conrad as Judge Turpin, Josue Tinoco as Beadle, Angela Guiguema as the beggar woman, Ollie Tranquillo as Toby, and Harrison Murray as Pirelli.
The musical will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Sept. 25 and 26 and at 2 p.m. Sunday and Sept. 27.
Tickets cost $25 for adults and $15 for students.
Orchestra colors
Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra will present its season opener “Fall Colors” at 3 p.m. on Oct. 18 at Foy Concert Hall, which is located at 342 Main St., on the campus of Moravian University in Bethlehem.
The orchestra will welcome Michael Avagliano as its new music director for this concert. Avagliano will become the PSO’s third music director, succeeding Paul Chou and Allan Birney.
The program, highlighting all the colors of the orchestra, will include Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite #1;” Fauré’s “Pelleas et Melisande Suite;” and Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 3, ‘Scottish.’”
Tickets cost $30 and $40 for adults and $25 and $35 for seniors. Students are free. No online student tickets required. Students can request a ticket at the door.
Liberty Bell Festival
The Allentown Area Chamber of Commerce will present the inaugural Liberty Bell Festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday to honor the city’s unique place in American history and the spirit that continues to make the city thrive.
Hamilton Street, from Fourth to Seventh streets, will feature live entertainment, food and beverage vendors, artisan and craft vendors, community organizations, family-friendly activities, historical tributes, and patriotic fun throughout the day.
As part of the America 250 celebration, the festival will highlight the story of how Allentown helped to protect the Liberty Bell during the American Revolution while showcasing the businesses, organizations, and people who make our community strong today.
Admission is free and open to the public.
Coopersburg Community Day
Coopersburg Community Day will return for its 34th year on Saturday at Southern Lehigh Living Memorial Park, which is located at East Fairmount Street and Route 309 in Coopersburg, Lehigh County.
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitors can enjoy the borough’s free tradition with live music and entertainment, more than 60 nonprofit organizations, more than 75 craft vendors, food trucks, community food favorites, a classic and antique car show, kids’ activities, strolling performers, and more.
Free parking will be available at Landis and Fairmount streets with a free shuttle from overflow lot.