The year 2024 was a moving year for Lehigh Valley theater.

The Lehigh Valley Press Focus “Curtain Rises” column reported Jan. 17, 2024, that The Pines Dinner Theatre was vacating the Allentown Fairgrounds’ MainGate complex.

The Pines theatrical diaspora in 2024 included presenting plays at Delta by Marriott, Breinigsville, and Christ Lutheran Church, Allentown.

The Pines expects to be in its new location, the Shops at Cedar Point, Jan. 18.

We know where The Pines is putting down its new roots.

The only thing that can be said about MunOpCo Music Theatre is: Whither MunOpCo?

As the year 2024 drew to a close, MunOpCo, which presents shows at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Allentown, announced it was postponing the February production for its 97th season and seeking input from the theater community and patrons on its future.

Pip the Mouse found a third home in 2023 at Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum after the holiday puppet show, which began at Hess’s downtown Allentown department store, had been presented since 2003 at the Liberty Bell Museum at Zion’s Church, Allentown.

Maybe Pip has a tip for MunOpCo.

We know where Civic Theatre of Allentown is at. So does the National Register of Historic Places, which in 2024 granted registry status to Civic’s art deco building, the Nineteenth Theatre, 527 N. 19th St., Allentown.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Youth Theatre made an inspired move from south side Bethlehem’s Banana Factory, which is being demolished to make way for a new ArtsQuest Cultural Center, to north side Bethlehem’s former Light of Christ Lutheran Church, where PYT will keep the lights on, as of Jan. 13.

The lingering impact of the Covid pandemic on Lehigh Valley theater attendance has not been quantified.

Peter Crimmins of WHYY reported in an August 2024 article on the radio station’s website that “the pandemic caused an existential crisis for many small theaters and theater companies in the Philadelphia area.”

A Philadelphia Magazine January 2024 article by Sarah Jordan stated, “Thirty-five major regional theaters and festivals around the country have already closed in the aftermath of Covid,” according to research compiled by Theater Communications Group.

A March 2024 article in The New York Times claimed, “On Broadway, overall attendance is still down about 17 percent.”

That said, audiences flock to Broadway show national tours at the State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton, and support high school musicals in the run-up to the annual Freddy Awards at the State Theatre.

It seems that theater is alive and well in the Lehigh Valley, or as we like to say, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, as in ABE.

Without further ado, here are the 19th annual ABEs:

COMMUNITY THEATER

Producer: Ara Barlieb, Pamela McLean Wallace, Crowded Kitchen Players. The Crowded Kitchen Players presented several world premieres, including “The Revolution: The Irish War of Independence 1919-1921,” second in a trilogy, and “Death by Lullaby,” each written and directed by Barlieb, producer, Crowded Kitchen Players Producer, along with McLean Wallace, co-producer, Crowded Kitchen Players, and plays by area playwrights such as “Twilight in the Park” by Paul Kodiak.

Musical: “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” Civic Theatre of Allentown. In the Fats Waller musical, “Every performer on the Civic stage, Veronica Cummings, Deborah D’Haiti, Juanita Renay Gray, Keith M. Miller Sr. and Andrew Stewart, gives a performance worthy of role origination.”

Director, Musical: Gabe Moses, “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” Civic Theatre of Allentown. “Equal parts celebration and social commentary, Director Gabe Moses appears to have understood this marriage of juxtaposition in this invigorating adaptation.”

Actress, Musical: Mariel Letourneau (Leading Player), “Pippin,” Civic Theatre of Allentown. Mariel Letourneau was “Radiating with energy reminiscent of pop performers of the past, they set the tone for the magic that was promised within the opening number, ‘Magic To Do.’”

Actor, Musical: Patrick Mertz (Pippin), “Pippin,” Civic Theatre of Allentown. Patrick Mertz is “a relatable portrait of the everyman trope.”

Ensemble, Musical: “Into The Woods,” MunOpCo Music Theatre. Director Daniel Petrovich and the actors and singers took the audience “on a rousing romp through the dark thickets of our imagination as a mash-up of familiar fairy-tale characters intertwine their stories and create a lush undergrowth of delicious plot twists” in the Stephen Sondheim musical.

Choreography: “West Side Story,” Northampton Community College Summer Theatre. “Christina Sohns Williams, understanding the pulse of the original, gave the production a lot of space to come alive.”

Original Musical: No ABE Award.

Original Play: “Death by Lullaby,” written and directed by Ara Barlieb, Crowded Kitchen Players. The sly romp turned quite serious in an extended-care facility, or as the late great Lehigh University professor of urban studies David C. Amidon called them, “an anteroom to eternity.”

Play: “Twilight in the Park,” by Paul Kodiak, Crowded Kitchen Players. “It chronicles the onset of how dementia and PTSD can upend lives, while point the way for help.”

The George B. Miller Memorial Director Award, Play: Mark Stutz, “Proof,” Pennsylvania Playhouse. Mark Stutz’s direction of the winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 2000 Tony Award for Best Play was nuanced, note-perfect and not formulaic.

Actress, Play: Katherine Semon (Molly Aster), “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Civic Theatre of Allentown. “Semon leads throughout with a light, yet multi-layered approach. Their comedic timing was apt, and their interweaving through made-up language inspired a night with Duolingo.”

Actor, Play: John Corl (Oscar), “Twilight in the Park,” Crowded Kitchen Players. “Corl brings to the play a great range of emotion, from tender and sweet to profane and dangerous.”

Ensemble, Play: Dale Beltzner (Robert), Gabrielle Hondorp (Catherine), Brooke Harrsch (Claire), Andrew Maldonado (Hal), “Proof,” Pennsylvania Playhouse. The ensemble was wonderfully understated in this gem of a production.

Costume Design: Brenda McGuire, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Northampton Community College Summer Theatre.

Scenic Design: Brett Oliveira, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Northampton Community College Summer Theatre.

Lighting Design: Brett Oliveira, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Northampton Community College Summer Theatre.

Sound Design: Lucas Campbell, “The Sound of Music,” Civic Theatre of Allentown.

PROFESSIONAL THEATER

Producer: Jp Jordan, Artistic Director; Lisa Jordan, Managing Director, Touchstone Theatre. From the sci-fi comedy of “HeadEye: The Musical,” to the homespun humor of “Christmas City Follies XXV,” to the annual “Fresh Voices” and 19th annual “Young Playwrights Festival,” to “Alice in Bethlehem,” to its sixth “Festival UnBound,” the Touchstone Theatre Ensemble produced, wrote, directed and performed a lifetime’s worth of original work in one year.

Musical: “The Last Five Years,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. “‘The Last Five Years’ is a chamber music musical that is charming, challenging and memorable.”

Director, Musical: Jason King Jones, “The Last Five Years,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. “Jones achieves the impression of two persons whirling through time.”

Original musical: “HeadEye: The Musical,” Touchstone Theatre. “At the heart of it all, this is a heartfelt musical with a lot of love songs and a happy ending.”

Actress, Musical: Chani Wereley (Catherine), “The Last Five Years,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. “Wereley establishes the play’s emotional core right fron the start with “Still Hurting” in a crystalline voice that is a sheer delight.”

Actor, Musical: Benjamin Lurye (Jamie), “The Last Five Years,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. “Lurye provides humorous moments with’ Shiksa Goddess’ and an ethnic remembrance with ‘The Schmuel Song.’”

Ensemble, Musical: “The Color Purple,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. “With the concluding ‘Amen,’ sung in splendid chorus by the incredible cast of PSF’s ‘The Color Purple,’ my sense is that the title speaks to God’s grace.” Director Amina Robinson “assembled a cast of extraordinary talents and abilities.”

Choreography, Devon Sinclair, “The Last Five Years,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. “The illusion of time past, time future, and time passing is unspoken, yet made apparent by Choreographer Devon Sinclair.”

Original play: No ABE Award.

Play, “Noises Off,” Bucks County Playhouse. “Noises Off” was “a resounding success to open the 10th season under new management at Bucks County Playhouse” in the “laugh de force” by playwright Michael Frayn.

Director, Play, Hunter Foster, “Noises Off,” Bucks County Playhouse. “Director Hunter Foster makes sure the play proceeds in a madcap manner while at the same time ensuring what is unfolding on stage appears to be perfectly normal in an abnormal way.”

Actress, Play, Marilu Henner (Belinda), “Noises Off,” Bucks County Playhouse. “Henner, who starred in the film version of ‘Noises Off’ (1992), directed by Peter Bogdanovich, reprises her role as Belinda.”

Actor, Play, John Bolton (Frederick), “Noises Off,” Bucks County Playhouse. Bolton, “who frequently gets his aplomb out of joint ... is not above the random stumble and roll to get a laugh, which he does.”

Ensemble, Play, “Noises Off,” Bucks County Playhouse. “The Playhouse is all in, totally committed to the play’s conceit, and so are the actors.”

Costume Design: Janus Stefanowicz, “The Play That Goes Wrong,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.

Scenic Design: Anna Louizos, “Noises Off,” Bucks County Playhouse. “The set becomes a character unto itself, rotating from backstage to front of set on the Bucks Playhouse’s revolving stage. It’s truly a sight to behold.”

Lighting Design: Matthew F. Lewandowski II, “The Last Five Years,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. “Shadow-box representations of picture frames, each with strips of color-changing hues: a portal to past, present and future.”

Sound Design, Jeff Sherwood, “Noises Off,” Bucks County Playhouse. “Sherwood makes real those noises off.”

Tim Roche Memorial “Meanwhile” Award: “Noises Off,” Bucks County Playhouse. “The production is pure enjoyment ... I was smiling, chuckling and laughing out loud.”