Two classic dramas of the American stage are being presented in the Lehigh Valley.

The Northampton Community College Theatre Department will stage Tennessee Williams’ drama, “The Glass Menagerie,” March 2-6, Norman R. Roberts Lab Theater, Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township.

Between The Lines Studio Theatre presents Edward Albee’s drama, “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?,” 7:30 p.m. March 3 - 4, 10 - 11; 2 p.m. March 6, in the troupe’s theater, 725 N. 15th St., Allentown.

“The Glass Menagerie,” written by Tennessee Williams in 1944, is autobiographical with its characters based on the author, his histrionic mother and his fragile sister.

After a shaky start, the play was championed by Chicago critics, helping the producers move the play to Broadway where it received the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award in 1945.

“The Glass Menagerie” was Williams’ first successful play. He became one of America’s most highly-regarded playwrights.

The play was revived on Broadway seven times, most recently in 2017, and was made into movie four times, most recently in 1987, directed by Paul Newman and staring his wife, Joanne Woodward, as Amanda.

The play follows the Wingfield family of frustrated writer Tom; his nagging mother, Amanda, who is often lost in memories of her Southern-belle past, and his painfully shy sister, Laura. Their lives are impacted by the visit of a “gentleman caller” for Laura.

The NCC production, directed by Clair M. Freeman, includes Laura Sweeney Riker (Amanda Wingfield), Cade Kocher (Tom Wingfield), Shannon Callaghan (Laura Wingfield) and Aidan King (Jim O’Connor).

Riker is a community actress who teaches eighth grade English and is in charge of the improv program at Moravian Academy Middle School, Bethlehem. She last appeared as Abigail Adams in the Northampton Community College Summer Theater production of “1776” in 2018.

The other cast members are Northampton Community College theater students.

Kocher appeared as Lee Harvey Oswald in the NCC production of “Assassins.” King was Ford in “The Food Chain.” Callaghan is making her NCC stage debut.

“The Glass Menagerie,” 7:30 p.m. March 2 - 4, 6; 2 p.m. March 5, Norman R. Roberts Lab Theater, Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township. Tickets: 484-484-3412; ncc.tix.org

“The Goat”:

Between The Lines Studio Theatre presents Edward Albee’s drama “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?” at the troupe’s theater, 725 N. 15th St., Allentown.

“The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?,” written in 2000 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, opened on Broadway in 2002 and received a Tony Award for Best Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

In the play, Martin is a successful architect who has just turned 50 and is at the peak of his game. His life is thrown into turmoil when he reveals to his best friend that he has fallen in love with a goat named Sylvia. The shocking revelation leaves Martin’s perfect family life in tatters as his loving wife Stevie and gay teenage son Billy struggle to come to term with his actions.

“The Goat” is said to be Albee’s most provocative, daring and controversial play since “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

The play’s title refers to the song, “Who Is Silvia?,” from Shakespeare’s play, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” when Proteus sings the song, hoping to woo Silvia.

The Between the Lines production, directed by Jason Roth, includes Eric D. Hersh (Martin), Rachel Williams (Stevie), Joshua Schwirtz (Billy) and Justin Larson (Ross).

“The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?,” 7:30 p.m. March 3 - 4, 10 - 11; 2 p.m. March 6, 725 N. 15th St., Allentown. Tickets: betweenthelinestheatre.com

“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