Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown invites people to beat the winter cold with a sultry night of unforgettable Latin sounds featuring Camille Zamora and the Mambo Kings, one of the hottest Latin jazz ensembles. The audience will be transported by the passionate rhythms and fiery energy of “Havana Nights” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The program will include Dave Brubeck’s “Rondo a la Turk,” the tango in “Scent of a Woman;” a sultry jazz arrangement of “Day Tripper” by The Beatles and Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va.”
This is Zamora’s second appearance at Miller Symphony Hall, which is located at 23 North Sixth St.
In collaboration with artists ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Sting, Zamora has garnered acclaim for her dramatic and nuanced interpretations of repertoire ranging from Mozart to tango. She is known for her dignity and glowing sound in luminous, lyrical performances that combine gentility and emotional fire.
Zamora has been hailed by NBC Latino and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as a leading interpreter of Spanish song. She has performed classic Spanish repertoire on five continents, in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to Zimbabwe’s Harare International Festival. “Havana Nights” is Zamora’s signature symphonic pops programs of Latin classics arranged for her by Grammy Award winner Jeff Tyzik, with whom she has performed with orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
The Mambo Kings, together since 1995, are enjoying great success as America’s foremost Latin jazz ensemble and have earned a national reputation for their explosive blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. Since their orchestral debut in 1997 with the Rochester Philharmonic, Mambo Kings have appeared at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and in pops concerts with orchestras in Baltimore, Vancouver, Detroit, and Dallas, performing original compositions and arrangements by pianist and Mambo Kings music director Richard DeLaney.
The Mambo Kings also include Wilfredo (Freddy) Colón on drums, timbales, and bongos; John Viavattine on saxophone; Tony Padilla on congas); and Hector Diaz on bass.
Conductor Ismael Sandoval has directed several ensembles across the East Coast and is currently the assistant conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, the music director of the CSO Youth Symphony, music director at First Christian Church of Chattanooga, orchestra director at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, and music director for the Chattanooga Women’s Chorus.
Tickets cost $30 to $81.
Burns’ birthday
Robert Burns is considered the national poet of Scotland, and once a year, he is celebrated on his birthday, which is Jan. 25. This year, Burns, who penned classic poems like “Auld Lang Syne” and “My Love is Like a Red Red Rose,” will be remembered with music and verse at the Scottish Festival Concert on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Muhlenberg High School, which is located at 400 Sharp Ave. in Muhlenberg Township.
A concert featuring bagpipes, poetry, and song will be under the direction of Reading Choral Society music director Graham Bier. A collection of choirs in Berks County will come together to sing music on Burns’ birthday, with appearances by Vox Philia, Berks Youth Chorus, Opus One Chamber Choir, and the Blue Mountain Heritage Chorus, as the Reading Choral Society hosts its 150th anniversary.
Tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for students and can be purchased online.
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Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem will host a spirited celebration of Burns’ birthday with Robbie Burns Night next Saturday, Jan. 31, dedicated the evening to his music, poetry, and traditions. Musicians from Celtic favorites Piper’s Request and the Gillespie Family Players (featuring members of Blackwater and The Chivalrous Crickets) will come together for a journey through classic Scottish songs and tunes. The evening also will feature authentic Burns orations by actor and WDIY radio host Kate Scuffle, alongside Equity actor, director, and playwright Richard Sautter, bringing Burns’ words to life.
New this year, guests can begin the celebration early with a scotch whisky tasting led by whisky ambassador Janet Brennan, exploring the history linking whisky and Burns while sampling three scotches in a proper nosing glass. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Godfrey Daniels.
Tickets cost $20.50 for the concert and $30 for the tasting.
‘The Lucky Star’
Joshua Steinhouse
A play that recreates devastating letters sent during the Holocaust will have its area premiere on Friday at The Pennsylvania Playhouse, which is located at 390 Illick’s Mill Rd. in Bethlehem.
“The Lucky Star” is a gripping true story of resilience and truth-tracking determination spanning Baltimore and beyond, based on Richard Hollander’s book “Every Day Lasts a Year: A Jewish Family’s Correspondence from Poland.”
It all begins in an attic with a dusty old suitcase and the discovery of more than 200 letters in three languages that opens clues to an untold history in a story of resilience and determination. In “The Lucky Star,” a family is torn apart by war and fighting to immigrate, escape, and survive.
After Hollander’s parents were killed in an automobile accident in 1986, he found letters in his parents’ attic that told a story of a family he never knew, which included his father’s mother, three sisters, and their husbands and children. The letters were written from Krakow, Poland, between 1939 and 1942. They document how his family was enduring progressively more devastating measures imposed by the Nazis.
At the same time, Richard’s father, Joseph Hollander, was fighting the United States government to avoid deportation which would mean certain death.
In 2007, Hollander published “Every Day Lasts a Year: A Jewish Family’s Correspondence from Poland.” A stage adaptation of his book, written by Karen Hartman, opened off-Broadway in 2022.
In the play, Richard, played by Brad Campbell, narrates as the scenes alternate between past and present, and his father Joseph, played by Joshua Steinhouse, struggles to save himself and his family.
The cast also features Kelly Herbert James, Amy Cramer, Jerry Brucker, Melissa Miller, Katie James, Cameron Kunsman, Amy Oselkin, and Ericka Csencsits.
The production is directed by Sarah Elizabeth Yorke.
“The Lucky Star” is the first show in The Pennsylvania Playhouse’s 2026 season.
According to the playhouse’s website, the season will shine a spotlight on “powerful voices, untold perspectives, and stories that remind us of the strength of theater as a place where everyone belongs.”
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Jan. 30 and 31 and Feb. 6 and 7; and at 3 p.m. on Sunday and Feb. 1 and 8.
Tickets cost $30 for adults, $26 for seniors, $18 for students. The Jan.31 performance is being offered as “pay what you are able.”
Taiko drums at Zoellner
Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University in Bethlehem will welcome the internationally acclaimed ensemble Drum Tao with its new show “The Best” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Baker Hall.
Renowned for powerful and athletic drumming, Drum Tao blends traditional “Wadaiko” (Japanese Drums) with modern energy and theatrical flair. Drun Tao shows feature vibrant costumes, dramatic synchronized drumming and movement with a variety of traditional Japanese instruments including flutes and harps alongside the massive taiko drums.
In 2016, Drum Tao’s off-Broadway debut in New York sold out, earning high praise. A year later, it launched its long-running Tokyo show Mangekyo, which went on to have more than 500 performances. In 2020, Drum Tao opened a permanent outdoor theater, Tao no Oka, in the Aso Kuju National Park. Continuing to innovate, it launched Club Tao in 2022, taking its high-energy performances to Tokyo and Osaka’s hottest nightclubs.
Its achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award, the Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner’s Award, the Outstanding Cultural Achievement Award from Oita Prefecture, and the Cultural Creation Award from Taketa City.
Tickets cost $49 and $39.
Well-being concert
Anat Cohen
Audiences are invited to an intimate and uplifting musical experience with Well-Being Concert: Anat Cohen Quartetinho at 4 and 7 p.m. on Saturday on Baker Stage at Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem.
This special on-stage concert features Grammy Award-nominated clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen alongside Vitor Gonçalves, Tal Mashiach, and James Shipp.
Renowned for her expressive virtuosity, warmth, and magnetic stage presence, Cohen brings audiences into a deeply personal musical space where artistry and well-being intersect. Performed in an on-stage setting with general-admission seating on cushioned mats or chairs, the concert encourages close listening and connection between musicians and audience members. The approximately 60-minute performance will be followed by an optional post-show reflection lasting up to 60 minutes, offering time to process, share, and reflect on the experience.
Cohen’s playing has been widely praised for its emotional range and technical brilliance. Whether navigating intricate bebop lines or lyrical melodies, Cohen’s music remains both intellectually rich and deeply accessible.
Cohen has been named clarinetist of the year by the Jazz Journalists Association every year since 2007 and has consistently topped both readers’ and critics’ polls in DownBeat. In addition to honors in soprano and tenor saxophone categories, Cohen has been recognized as jazz artist of the year and received ASCAP’s Wall of Fame Award for composition and musicianship.
Tickets cost $10.
Gabby’s Dollhouse
Based on the Netflix children’s show, “Gabby’s Dollhouse Live!” will appear at the State Theatre in Easton at 6 p.m. on Jan 27.
The new stage show is inspired by the magical world of the global preschool sensation from DreamWorks Animation.
Combining live-action and animation, Gabby and her cat friends (called the Gabby Cats) go on adventures inside the dollhouse.
In this musical show, Gabby unboxes a special acorn that needs the magical touch of a rainbow to grow. But when CatRat causes a color catastrophe and breaks the rainbow, Gabby and the Gabby Cats must find the colors again to set things right.
Gabby, Pandy Paws, and friends travel to the Cat-O-Sphere, Mermaid-Lantis and some favorite Dollhouse locations in search of the colors that will make rebuilding the rainbow, possible. Gabby’s Dollhouse Live! brings to life an exciting original story featuring puppets, dynamic staging, a talented live show cast of singer-actor-puppeteers and songs from the hit series, including “Hey Gabby”, “You Can’t Spell Meow Without Me” and “Sprinkle Party”.
Tickets start at $45.28.