When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit in March, Civic Theatre of Allentown, as with many indoor live theater venues in the Lehigh Valley and across the United States, was forced to cancel its season and furlough its staff.

After the success of its virtual fundraiser, “No Tonys & No Tapas,” the beloved community theater is taking a look back and a look ahead as it joins other groups in exploring new ways to move forward with presenting live entertainment.

On the third Thursday of October, Civic will present a virtual cabaret, “What Could Have Been & What’s to Come.”

The live concert will be streamed on Civic’s YouTtube channel at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22.

It’s a cabaret of the theater’s intentions for its 2020 season and a look at what the future may bring, says the show’s director Will Morris.

It’s also the first ticketed concert being produced with the artistic staff back from furlough and will have full production values that patrons would expect to see at any of Civic’s live concerts.

The first half will be a retrospective of songs from productions that were canceled because of the pandemic, including “Spamalot,” “Something Rotten” and “Blood Brothers.”

The concept is to demonstrate to the audience what Civic had already begun to prepare and hopefully provide a cathartic moment for cast and audience who were looking forward to the shows, says Morris, Associate Artistic Director for Civic Theatre.

The second half of the concert will be about moving forward and examining what Civic can become in the future, influenced by racial injustice, political and economic upheaval, and perspectives gained from isolation because of COVID-19.

“Much of our cast are stepping onto the Civic stage for the first time, although all of them are very active in the Lehigh Valley theater scene,” Morris says.

“I was so moved when I met these performers. They spoke of how the Black Lives Matter Movement changed the conversation and is shining a light on black, indigenous and people of color in theater, something they have tried to do their entire lives as artists.

“I am proud to say the performers are authors of the concert, as well. I personally feel extremely lucky and blessed to work with such extraordinary talent,” says Morris.

The cast includes Tracy Ceschin, who was cast as Mrs. Johnstone in Civic’;s canceled production of “Blood Brothers;” and Rowan Huggins, who will sing “The Lady of the Lake” from the canceled production of “Spamalot.”

Other performers are Ali Santos, Andrew Mark-Schaffer, Andrew Stewart, Carter Reichard, Jalon Mathis and Tatiana Torres.

In addition to songs from canceled productions, the show will have songs from other musicals, including “The Color Purple,” “Waitress,” “Catch Me if You Can” and “Nine.”

Civic is putting safety and support of its cast first. Performers will be onstage together for the first time since the theater closed and that is why the cast is small. Everyone will wear face masks for most of the concert unless they are singing a solo, and will be socially distanced from other cast members when the ensemble is included.

“Community is at the heart of this piece,” Morris says. “As a community, we will walk forward into whatever the future holds.”

Tickets: www.civictheatre.com

New Civic board president:

JoAnn Wilcheck Basist recently was named Civic Theatre of Allentown board president.

Basist is a 1973 graduate of the Civic Theatre School program and started her tenure as a drama teacher at the theater school in 1981. She has been the administrator of the theater school for 27 years, through which she says she has had the honor of mentoring some of the Lehigh Valley’s finest young actors, including those who’ve gone on to success on TV and in movies, notably Christine Taylor and Amanda Seyfried.

Basist works closely with Civic Artistic Director William Sanders and co-directs the theater school productions with him. She has served on the executive board as first vice-president, as well as developed the “Cat in the Hat” Literacy Program that tours schools in the Allentown School District and several other districts.

Basist, who has been an arts educator for 43 years, has taught at The City Arts Cultural Camp, in collaboration with Civic.

She is an adjunct professor at Cedar Crest College where she teaches acting and public speaking. She frequently directs student productions at Northampton Community College and Cedar Crest College.

Basist is a veteran of area stages with almost 50f years of acting experience and is the recipient of a 2003 Allentown Arts Ovation Award for Excellence in Performance, a 2018 Allentown Arts Ovation Award for Excellence in Arts Education and Civic’s first recipient of The Harry Award for embodying the spirit of Civic Theatre.

Virtual dance on tap at DeSales:

Continuing its first-ever virtual season, DeSales University is next showcasing its talented dance students with the “Emerging Choreographers Concert,” Oct. 24 and 25.

“They are doing some fascinating work and it is not to be missed,” says Anne Lewis, head of the DeSales Division of Performing Arts. “This is choreographed and danced entirely by our dance majors.”

Angela Sigley Grossman is artistic director of the virtual concert, which celebrates the beauty of human movement through a select group of student choreographers premiering new works that have been filmed in the college’s intimate Schubert Theatre.

Lewis says she is proud of how the students choreographed and performed the pieces under social distancing guidelines.

Madeline Rasbold’s piece is about the Enneagram, a nine-pointed star-like figure. It is a system that represents the spectrum of basic personality types. The dance choreography explores the system, as well as personal growth.

Faith Nikolaus says her piece is inspired by what she describes as radical individualism and moral relativism that permeates contemporary culture and has a negative impact on the individual.

Ashley Beyer’s dance program is based on her experiences in several hurricanes and draws a parallel between natural disasters and humans.

Emma Maurer says she was inspired by the strange dreams she has had since the rise of the pandemic and the stress that comes with it. She was intrigued by the connection between the waking world and what our bodies go through while in a sleeping and dreaming state.

Dreams also inspired Danielle Curtin, who says the idea for her piece came from lucid dreams she had as a child and how she took control over them.

Ashley Teter’s piece is based on nature and areas where she hiked while working at a summer camp the last three summers.

Tickets: desales.edu/act1; 610-282-3192

“Curtain Rises” 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