Two Allentown colleges continue their 2023-24 theater season with Lehigh Valley premieres that each take another look at history, while a community theater stages a reading that revisits a recent production.

Muhlenberg College’s Theatre & Dance Department presents “ … And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi,” which ties together mythology and the Civil War, Oct. 26-29.

Cedar Crest College Performing Arts stages “The Revolutionists,” which is about four women who lived during the French Revolution, Oct. 26-29.

Civic Theatre of Allentown presents a staged reading of “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,” Oct. 28, Civic Theatre 514, as a follow up to its September production of “The Laramie Project.”

Muhlenberg presents the Lehigh Valley premiere of Marcus Gardley’s “ … And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi” in the college’s Studio Theater, directed by guest artist Christopher Burris.

Gardley writes that “The world is a quilt and each story a thread” in the play’s introduction. The imagery resonated with Burris, who sees it as an apt metaphor for the play.

“A quilt is something we make from the scraps,” Burris says. “I think that speaks to a lot of the things we’ve had to do to become our best selves culturally as black Americans.”

The quilt motif inspires design elements of the production, including You-Shin Chen’s scenic design, with its patchwork aesthetic, and the music, selected for the play by music consultant Amanda Davis, a tapestry of Black spirituals, hymns and gospel songs. Samuel Antonio Reyes is choreographer.

“ … And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi” is a poetic retelling of the myth of Demeter and Persephone set during the Civil War and “narrated” by the Mississippi River.

After running away from a plantation, a father searching for his daughter is lynched and resurrected in the war-torn landscape of Louisiana. The play combines traditional storytelling and music with a sense of humor to create a world that allows trees to preach, rivers to waltz, and Jesus to moonwalk. An ensemble of Union and Confederate soldiers serves as a Greek chorus.

Burris says the play stitches together a powerful story of spirituality and blackness.

The play was written in 2004 by Gardley, an Obie Award-winning playwright who is the screenwriter for the movie version of the musical, “The Color Purple,” scheduled for release Dec. 25.

Gardley says that “ … And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi” is based on a story his great-grandmother told about her father, who fled slavery and traveled America in search of his family.

“ … And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi,” 8 p.m. Oct. 26, 27; 2, 8 p.m. Oct. 28; 2 p.m. Oct. 29, Studio Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre and Dance, Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew St., Allentown. 484-664-3333, https://muhlenberg.edu

Feminist comedy at Crest:

Cedar Crest presents the Lehigh Valley premiere of “The Revolutionists,” a new feminist comedy by playwright Lauren Gunderson about four women who lived in France during the French Revolution’s “Reign of Terror.”

Gunderson, whose work focuses on female figures in history, science and literature, is said to be the United States’ most produced living playwright since 2016.

“The Revolutionists,” written in 2017, brings together playwright Olympe De Gouge (Ashley Rodriguez-Ascencio), assassin Charlotte Corday (Lizbeth Parra), former queen Marie Antoinette (Sofia Barbour) and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle (Zaria Berry).

The play is directed by Clair M Freeman, adjunct professor at Cedar Crest College.

“The Revolutionists,” 7 p.m. Oct. 26, 27, 28; 2 p.m. Oct. 29, Samuels Theater, Cedar Crest College 100 College Drive, Allentown. 610-740-3780, https://www.cedarcrest.edu

“Laramie” redux:

Civic Theatre of Allentown presents a free staged reading of “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,” 8 p.m. Oct. 28, Civic Theatre 514.

Civic Theatre produced “The Laramie Project,” a play that examines the response of the residents of Laramie, Wyo., to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a 22-year-old gay man.

The play was written by New York City’s The Tectonic Theater Project, led by its founder Moisés Kaufman.

“The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later” was written by members of Tectonic, who wanted to understand the long-term effects of the murder on the community.

“The Tectonic Theater Project returned to Laramie and did interviews, and the results were extraordinary,” says Williams Sanders, Civic Theater Managing Artistic Director.

“I am fascinated by this excellent and, in some ways, shocking sequel, which includes interviews with Matthew’s mother, Judy; most of the people portrayed in ‘The Laramie Project,’ and the murderers. If you’ve seen ‘The Laramie Project,’ you will be amazed.”

“The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,” 8 p.m. Oct. 28, Civic Theatre 514, 514 N. 19th St., Allentown. 610-432-8943; https://civictheatre.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