Attending “Christmas City Follies XXII” at Touchstone Theatre, Bethlehem, is like visiting old friends.

You pay attention to the characters behind the big quilted curtain.

There’s Old Guy (Bill George), who muses about somebody upsetting his applecart, actually his shopping cart, as he redeploys the symbols of the season’s symbolism.

There’s Little Red (Mary Wright), who can’t hug in these coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic times that hits close to home.

There’s the BNSN (Better Not Shout Network) where Samantha Beedle and Robert Mills anchor the news desk while Abbie-Jean Litman is on the scene.

And there’s the Shopping Cart Ballet, this time in penguin costumes (Mary Wright, Jessica Boothe, Abbie-Jean Litman, Krystal Hall, Katie Phykitt).

Jp Jackson, Touchstone Theatre Artistic Director-Ensemble Member, directs the 12-member Ensemble, who wrote and perform 19 sketches and songs, with the finesse of a seasoned pro of the season, bringing much merriment to the Lehigh Valley when most we need it.

“There’s a lot that’s different and a lot is the same,” said Emma Ackerman, Ensemble member, in her introduction to the show.

Among new characters and sketches: “Lenny Spruce” (Sara Group), a clever send-up of the late stand-up comic Lenny Bruce; “People in Turtlenecks” (Samantha Beedle, Jessica Boothe, Krystal Hall, Robert Mills), a funny and rather “truth-some” sketch about “ladies in turtlenecks getting things done’; “Polarbearlesque” (Sam Thompson), in a chair dance; “Hanukkah Blockbuster” (Matt Prideaux as Dreidlebot and Gimmel the Hanukkah Goblin), and Tommy Apocalypse (Bill George), a superhero for the time to end all times.

Another aspect that was new is that there was no intermission in the fast-paced, approximate one-hour show.

Touchstone Theater always finds the sweet spot in the Christmas season amidst the “Follies.” It’s not candy canes and chocolates, but rather in the heart, where warmth and kindness dwells, as exemplified in the Ensemble’s concluding “To Be There.”

On Dec. 15, officials of Touchstone Theatre announced on its website and in a press release that Dec. 16-19 performances are canceled (after canceling Dec. 9-12 performances) “due to additional positive COVID tests.” Four of a planned 13 “Follies” performances were presented.

The 2020 “Follies” movie and archival footage of “Follies 2021” is on YouTube through Jan. 10, 2022.

The show is to be presented July 8 and 9, 2022, as “Christmas In July” on Touchstone’s outdoor Barrio Stage.

Information: www.touchstone.org; 610-867-1689