Women’s issues will take the forefront at shows this week.
In Bethlehem, comedian Samantha Bee will appear at the Musikfest Cafe on Sunday with her one-woman show “How to Survive Menopause: Samantha Bee.”
Bee rose to fame as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” where she became the longest-serving regular correspondent.
Bee wants to talk about menopause. She actually doesn’t want to, but she must. In “How To Survive Menopause,” Bee comically shares everything she has learned through the process in an intimate show, because everyone needs that best friend who will keep it real for them. This is a show for anyone who is going through it, has gone through it, will be going through it, or knows someone currently going through it.
Doors will open for dinner at 5:30 p.m. There will be a $10 minimum in food and beverage for all reserved table/bar seating.
The show will start at 7 p.m.
Tickets cost $71 to $81.
This show will contain adult language and/or situations. Anyone between the ages of 13 and 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. No child 12 or under will be admitted.
‘Vagina Monologues’ at Genesius
Eve Ensler
Justin Hoch
Genesius Theatre, which is located at 153 N. 10th St. in Reading, will present Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues.”
Ensler’s play is based on interviews she did with women. She found that most of them had experienced violence against them and wrote her play to raise awareness about atrocities across the world and to end violence against women. This play is a testament to thousands of stories that never get voiced.
After a seven-year hiatus from Reading, “The Vagina Monologues” will return to Genesius Theatre. From Madison Square Garden, to college campuses across the country, to small theaters all over the world, this play has made an impact on the world through the V-Day Campaign. Now, volunteers from Berks County join together to raise money and awareness to end violence against women and children by making this a fundraiser for Berks Urgent Response Network. It is specifically for the Neighbor Fund which provides financial assistance to Berks County individuals and families experiencing urgent financial hardship due to immigration enforcement B.U.R.N. Mutual Aid.
An art auction before the show will raise funds. Doors will open at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
During the auction, audience members can enjoy drinks and snacks and bid on artwork and items donated for this cause.
Tickets cost $25.
Women’s rights
Lehigh University will present “The House That Will Not Stand” at the Diamond Theater in the Zoellner Arts Center, which is located at 420 E. Packer Ave. in Bethlehem.
Playwright Marcus Gardley layers family comedy with historical consequence in this lyrical, surprisingly funny drama inspired by Federico García Lorca’s “The House of Bernarda Alba.”
In New Orleans, 1813, as Louisiana passes from French to American rule, Beartrice Albans and the women in her household face a future that may strip away the freedom, wealth, and standing they have built. With Beatrice’s longtime partner dead and the ground beneath their world shifting, each woman must decide what she will protect, what she will risk, and what kind of life she will claim next.
These women are not symbols at the edge of someone else’s history. They are the center of it. Kashi Johnson directs.
Tickets cost $18.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and Nov. 11, 12, 13, and 14, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Organ concert
Paul Jacobs
The Allentown Symphony Orchestra will highlight the organ in “Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony” at Miller Symphony Hall, which is located at 23 N. Sixth St. in Allentown.
This special program will feature one of the most thrilling works in the orchestral repertoire: Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, “Organ Symphony.”
Internationally celebrated organist Paul Jacobs, who chairs the organ department at the Juilliard School, will join the orchestra in partnership with the Allen Organ Company of Macungie, Lehigh County.
The concert will begin with Richard Strauss’ vivid tone poem “Don Juan,” based on the famous story, followed by Steven Paulus’ “Grand Concerto No. 3 for Organ and Orchestra,” a powerful and contemporary showcase for the instrument’s dramatic range.
The concert will culminate in Saint-Saëns’ iconic symphony, where organ and orchestra combine to create a breathtaking sonic experience.
Paul Jacobs will perform on an Allen III-44 classical organ.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets cost $30 to $92.
Story cabaret
Touchstone Theatre will continue its UnBound Year-Round, a year-long reimagining of its Festival Unbound, with a “Fall Story Cabaret” at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Godfrey Daniels, which is located at 7 E. Fourth St. in Bethlehem.
Touchstone ensemble member and professional storyteller Mary Wright will host an evening of personal stories. Like the long-running New York City (and beyond) spoken-word event, “The Moth,” this live storytelling performance will feature local professionals and an open-mic portion. Story Cabaret will celebrate life the way we live it, in all of its complexity, and encourage us to speak from our hearts and to listen to each other.
The theme for the evening is three out of four, which can be interpreted in many ways, such as a waltz, measuring cups or spoons, an empty chair at the table, 75% on a test, or the chambers of the heart.
The featured tellers will be Khalid Taylor and Catherine Moore.
The program will run approximately two hours. The first hour will feature invited guest storytellers telling original, true, personal stories based on the theme, followed by a five-minute break, and then the open-mic portion of the evening will begin. There will be 10 slots available for sign-up in the open-mic portion. Open-mic stories should be five minutes or less in duration.
Tickets will be pay-what-you-will.
A-I play
Cedar Crest College will present “Anthropology” at its Samuels Theater, which is located at 100 College Dr. in Allentown.
This compelling play by Lauren Gunderson explores grief, family, and technology.
When a brilliant coder uses artificial intelligence to recreate her missing sister, she confronts the limits of technology and the meaning of human connection.
Merril has been spending more time with her sister, Angie, but she isn’t ready for anyone to know about it. At least, not until Merril has decided that Angie is ready to see other people. After Angie, without permission, arranges for Merril’s ex Raquel to come over, the truth comes out. Angie is an A.I. creation that Merril has developed to cope with her sister’s death. But as the virtual Angie begins to demand more presence in Merril and her mother’s lives, reality and consciousness blur, and new moral questions arise about the right, safe, and acceptable ways to grieve.
“Anthropology” had its world premiere in London in 2023. It is directed by Alana Rader.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students.
Fantasy musical
Lafayette College will premiere “Between the Lines” at Weiss Theater in Buck Hall, which is located at 219 N. Third St. in Easton.
“Between the Lines” is a musical based on the novel of the same name, written by Jodi Picoult, with music and lyrics by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald. The musical follows 17-year-old Delilah as she struggles to balance fitting in at her new school and a romance with a prince who is another world away.
Although scheduled to open off-Broadway in 2020, it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Between the Lines” is an empowering and enchanting story for anyone who has struggled to find his place in the world. An outsider in a new town and a new school, Delilah seeks comfort in the pages of her favorite book, where she feels heard and understood by the handsome Prince Oliver. But as the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur in extraordinary ways, Delilah realizes her dreams in the real world are worth fighting for.
The production is directed by professor Melissa Livingston
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for students.
New holiday musical
Pines Dinner Theatre, which is located at 315 S. Cedar Crest Blvd. in Allentown, will stage “Up on the Housetop” from Saturday through Dec. 27.
In an original story by Oliver Blatt, Pines’ artistic director, it’s Christmas Eve and everyone at the North Pole is busy with last-minute tasks to get ready for Santa’s flight around the world. Santa, however, unexpectedly comes down with the flu, and Mrs. Claus is not about to let him leave the house while he’s sick. Someone will have to stand in for Santa to deliver all those presents, but who will be able to fill Santa’s shoes? It will take a miracle for Christmas to be saved.
Food is not included in the ticket price of $42. It is available a la carte.
Performances will be Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays (noon, dinner; 1:30 p.m. show); Fridays (6 p.m., dinner; 7:30 p.m. show), and Saturdays (6 p.m., dinner; 7:30 p.m.).
There will be two special performances on Thanksgiving at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The $78 ticket price for those shows includes a plated Thanksgiving dinner of ham and turkey with all the trimmings.
A one-day-only performance of “Santa’s Christmas Sing Along Celebration” will be presented at noon on Nov. 27. Tickets cost $30.
Families will take a journey to the North Pole with Snickerdoodle and Jingle, two friendly elves that love to sing, With the audience’s help, everyone will visit the North Pole to meet the big man himself. After the show, everyone will have the opportunity to meet Santa, give him a gift list, and get photos. The ticket price include a buffet of kid-friendly foods.
Copyright 2026 Maranatha Broadcasting Co., Inc.. All Rights Reserved.