Two new stage adaptations of classic children’s stories and a Pultizer Prize-winning Paula Vogel play are on tap at area theaters.

Civic Theatre of Allentown presents the Tony Award-winning “Peter and the Starcatcher,” March 15-24, Theatre514, Allentown.

The musical is based on the best-selling 2004 novel, “Peter and the Starcatchers,” and its four sequels written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, about how a poor orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (Peter Pan). The play was adapted for the stage by directors Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, and with book by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker.

The adaptation provides a backstory for the characters of Peter Pan, Mrs Darling, Tinker Bell and Captain Hook.

A young orphan (Anthony Rizzuto) and his two mates (Nik Georgievski, Paul Reed) are sold to an evil captain (Nick Conti) and shipped off from Victorian England.

They don’t know about the mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which contains a magical cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl, Molly (Katherine Semon), a Starcatcher-in-training, who realizes that the trunk’s cargo is Starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands.

When the ship is taken over by pirates, led by the fearsome pirate Black Stache (Shaun Hayes), determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own, the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure.

The play opened on Broadway in 2012 and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning five Tony Awards.

The cast of 12 portrays more than 100 characters. Cast members include Will Windsor Erwin, Bill Hoblin, Mark Ingram and Mason McGowan. William Sanders, Managing Artistic Director of Civic Theatre, directs.

Civic Theatre offers a “Pay What You Can” performance March 21.

“Peter and the Starcatcher,” 7:30 p.m. March 15, 20, 21, 22, 23; 2, 7:30 p.m. March 16; 2 p.m. March 24. Civic Theatre of Allentown, Theatre514, 514 N. 19th St., Allentown. 610-432-8943, https://civictheatre.com/

DeSales University’s Act 3 Children’s Theatre presents “Pinocchio!,” March 14 - April 13, Schubert Theatre, DeSales University.

Adapted by DeSales graduate Megan Diehl, the one-hour children’s performance tells the story of Pinocchio (Jenny Ammon), the puppet who dreams of being a real boy; his father Geppetto (Christian Tuffy); his cricket friend (Ciara Kelley), and the magical blue fairy (Mary Cate Bruno).

The Act 3 production is the capstone project for the DeSales senior theater class. During their spring semester, the seniors take on the artistic and administrative roles of a professional theater company. In addition to performing in the show, the senior class handles production responsibilities.

“‘Pinocchio!’ presents to us a world that encourages kindness, that permits joy to be the primary motivator for action and change,” says Giovanni Marini, director.

“Our production is inspired by cultural markings and artistic history. Cultivated using the bold exuberance of commedia dell’arte, this adaptation of ‘Pinocchio!’ seeks to utilize vibrancy and boldness to stimulate the senses, to allow us the opportunity to follow and invest in a story of adventure and love,” Marini says.

Costume designer Gabrielle Moseley designed the colorful and grandiose costumes, pulling inspiration from the world of commedia dell’arte. Alicia Brogan, the lighting designer, and Connor Roberts, the scenic designer, transform the Schubert Theater into Geppetto’s workshop and the mouth of the whale.

Mike Russo, sound designer, created original compositions inspired by classical Italian music.

There will be a relaxed performance, a sensory-friendly show for patrons with sensory and communication differences, April 9.

An American Sign Language performance for patrons with hearing disabilities and audio descriptions for the visually impaired is April 6.

“Pinocchio,” 10 a.m. March 14, April 6, 9, 13; 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. March 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, April 2, 4. DeSales Act 1 Theatre, Schubert Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-3192, https://www.desales.edu

Between the Lines Studio Theater opens Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “How I Learned To Drive,” March 15-24.

“How I Learned to Drive” is a memory play about a woman coming to terms with a charismatic uncle who sexually abuses her, affecting her past, present and future.

In addition to winning the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the play also won The Lortel Prize, an OBIE Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Play.

The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1997. It opened on Broadway in 2022 and won three Tony Awards, including for Best Revival of a Play.

Eric D. Hersh directs the production. The story follows the strained relationship between Li’l Bit (Bekah Eichelberger) and her Uncle Peck (Robert Coll) from her pre-adolescence through her teenage years into college and beyond. Using the metaphor of driving an automobile for issues of pedophilia, incest and misogyny, the play explores the ideas of control and manipulation.

A three-person Greek Chorus (Dylan Rex, Laura Jones and Nicole Anderson) plays all of the other characters in Li’l Bit and Uncle Peck’s lives, including Li’l Bits’ alcoholic mother, her misogynistic grandfather, her submissive grandmother and her young cousin.

Because of language and themes, the play is recommended for mature audiences.

“How I Learned to Drive,” 7:30 p.m. March 15, 16, 22, 23; 2 p.m. March 17, 24, Between the Lines Studio Theatre, 725 N. 15th St., Allentown. https://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

This column is dedicated to Bill Mutimer, Chair, Northampton Community College Theatre; Artistic Director, Northampton Community College Summer Theatre; director, Northwestern Lehigh High School musicals for the Freddy Awards. Mutimer died March 6.