Civic Theatre of Allentown presented \u201cEvita In Concert,\u201d a concert version of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice\u2019s hit musical about Argentinian first lady Eva Peron, Aug. 14 to Aug. 16, Nineteenth Street Theatre, Allentown.<\/p>\n
The performance had a 36-piece orchestra.<\/p>\n
According to Civic Theatre of Allentown Artistic Director William Sanders, who directed the concert, the performers brought \u201cthe story and music to life with scripts in hand, allowing the iconic score and sweeping orchestral arrangements to take center stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvita\u201d is a sung-through musical with music by Webber and lyrics by Rice that covers the early life, rise to power, charity work, controversies and death of Argentine political leader Eva Per\u00f3n (Jada Fontanez), second wife of Argentine president Juan Per\u00f3n (Marquett Ferrell).<\/p>\n
The musical began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London\u2019s West End in 1978, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and on Broadway on 1979, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvita\u201d is filled with unforgettable melodies, dramatic storytelling, and some of musical theater\u2019s most celebrated songs, including the hit song \u201cDon\u2019t Cry For Me Argentina.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Civic performance had music direction by Steve Reisteter and choreography By Mariel Letouneau.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvita in Concert,\u201d 7:30 p.m. Aug. 14, 15; 3 p.m. Aug. 16, Civic Theatre of Allentown, 527 N. 19th St., Allentown. 610-433-8903, https:\/\/civictheatre.com\/<\/p>\n
PA Shakespeare Festival has announced its 2027 season, May 26 to Aug. 8, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley.<\/p>\n
The season opens with Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cOthello\u201d in the Schubert Theatre.<\/p>\n
The musical on the Main Stage is \u201cHairspray,\u201d the 1960s-inspired musical based on John Waters\u2019s 1988 film of the same title with scenes filmed at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, South Whitehall Township.<\/p>\n
In repertory on the Main Stage is Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cKing Lear\u201d and the backstage comedy \u201cNoises Off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playwright James Ijames, who directed this year\u2019s \u201cThe Piano Lesson,\u201d will bring \u201cFat Ham,\u201d his Pulitzer-Prize-winning modern-day adaptation of \u201cHamlet,\u201d to Schubert Theatre.<\/p>\n
Finishing up the season is the \u201cExtreme Shakespeare\u201d production of \u201cThe Winter\u2019s Tale\u201d in Schubert Theatre.<\/p>\n
PA Shakespeare Festival ticket information: https:\/\/pashakespeare.org\/<\/p>\n
Between The Lines Studio Theatre has announced it will close its theater at 725 N. 15th St., Allentown, at the end of 2026.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s most recent performance was \u201cDead Man\u2019s Cell Phone\u201d in February and March.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am heartbroken,\u201d says Rachel Williams, theater company founder and producing artistic director.<\/p>\n
\u201cRunning and maintaining a theater is very expensive. The decision to close was purely a financial one that I fought so hard to not have to make. It simply became an impossible reality,\u201d Williams says.<\/p>\n
Williams says Between the Lines Studio Theatre will continue to produce theater in other locations.<\/p>\n
Between the Lines moved into the Allentown location in 2018 when members took an empty building with concrete floors and made it into a black box theater.<\/p>\n
The theater has been a venue for other theater troupes, including Crowded Kitchen Players and Star of the Day Event Productions.<\/p>\n
Williams says there will be performances at the theater by Between the Lines and other theaters through the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Upcoming Between the Lines performances at the theater include \u201cSecrets Told: A Storytelling Event,\u201d 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26, and Genia Miller\u2019s \u201cChristmas Eve in the Dunk Tank,\u201d Nov. 27 to Dec. 6.<\/p>\n
Between The Lines Studio Theatre information: https:\/\/betweenthelinestheatre.com\/<\/p>\n
\u201cCurtain Rises\u201d is a column about the theater, stage shows, the actors in them and the directors and artists who make them happen. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com<\/p>\n
CONTRIBUTED PHOTORachel Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Civic Theatre of Allentown presented \u201cEvita In Concert,\u201d a concert version of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269310,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-269309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}