Two Lehigh Valley stage premieres, a ghostly one-person play and a science-based mystery, will be at Allentown theaters.

The area premiere of “Ghosted” is Nov. 8 to 10 at Civic Theatre514.

Cedar Crest College is opening the children’s show “Mesmerized,” Nov. 7 to 10 in Samuels Theatre.

“Ghosted” has several Allentown connections. It is written and performed by former Allentown resident Celeste Walker and takes place in Allentown’s Americus Hotel.

Walker, an actor, director and educator with the former Theatre Outlet, Allentown, who taught theater at Muhlenberg College in the 1990s and 2000s, now lives in Delaware.

She says she was inspired to write “Ghosted” about a love affair that took place at the Americus Hotel in the late 1980s.

“Solo performance is both terrifying and liberating,” Walker says.

“’Ghosted’ is my third solo show, and the second that I’ve written and performed.

“I wrote this solo performance, as a way to dig deep into my own story of love, loss, shame and redemption. This is a story about reconciliation with past ghosts, reclaiming my authentic self, and finding empowerment through healing and resiliency.”

Walker portrays 10 characters in the story inspired by the lyrics of the Bruce Springsteen song “With Every Wish,” in which the protagonist meets her soulmate in a haunted hotel. With the help of a few ghosts, she is able to recover from loss and create a fulfilling third act.

“Ghosted” was developed through Walker’s partnership with the show’s director, Jessica Lynn Johnson, founder and a master teacher at Soaring Solo Studios.

The first draft of the play was presented in an online reading as part of Soaring Solo’s Revealed reading series in August 2023.

The show had its world premiere in April at the United Solo Festival, New York City, and completed a run at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in September.

Walker is taking the show to the Binge Fringe Festival at the Santa Monica Playhouse in California In November.

Original music for the production was composed by Dan Shore of Allentown.

“Ghosted,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8, 9, 10, Soaring Solo Studios, Civic Theatre514, 514 N. 19th St., Allentown. 610-442-0661, https://civictheatre.com/special-events-rentals/

Cedar Crest College is hoping to educate and entertain youths with “Mesmerized,” a science mystery about founding father Benjamin Franklin.

The hour-long play, adapted for the stage by Suzanne Maynard Miller, is based on the book “Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France” by Mara Rockliff, which is inspired by an actual event in history. It was originally produced by Chicago Children’s Theatre for the 2023-2024 season.

The story follows Franklin (Graham Redman) and his smart, outspoken young niece, Sarah (Katie Moyer), as they travel to France, where they discover that people are magically being cured by a mysterious man, Dr. Mesmer (Megan Wolfe).

Franklin and Sarah use the Scientific Method to test Mesmer’s magical cure-all. The play is fueled by stories about Franklin’s scientific discoveries and inventions.

The cast includes AJ Grieco, Sofia Barbour, Olivia Giangrande and Jayden Dhawan.

The show’s director Kirsten Almeida calls the script “adorable and funny.”

“Mesmerized,” 7 p.m. Nov. 7, 8, 9; 2 p.m. Nov. 10, Samuels Theater, Cedar Crest College, 100 College Drive, Allentown. 610-740-3780, https://www.cedarcrest.edu

“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