Northampton Community College Theatre Department starts the new year with a political satire featuring an all-female cast, and The Pines Dinner Theatre says it is ready to open its new location in Allentown.

“POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumb - - - are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” runs Jan. 23 to 26 in the NCC Bethlehem Township campus Lipkin Theater.

The play, written by Selina Fillinger, is a feminist farce about a president who turns a public relations nightmare into a global crisis. Seven brilliant and beleaguered women must risk life, liberty and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.

The play is set in the present day and features contemporary costumes and physical comedy. It’s intended for mature audiences and contains strong language and adult themes.

“POTUS” has been described as a cross between “Saturday Night Live” and “Veep.” Fillinger says the play is “a critique of complicity in white patriarchy.”

“POTUS” opened on Broadway in 2022 and was nominated for three Tony Awards.

The show is directed by Darah Donaher, an adjunct professor of theater at NCC. She calls “POTUS” a “hilariously, important work” and says she “is honored to work with the smartest, funniest, boldest and most fearless humans to bring this story to life.”

The cast includes Brooke Harrsch, Rachel Williams, Kayla Rosado, Azelia Dos Santos, Tiah Fontno, Bryanna Pye and Megan Wolfe.

Shannon Callaghan and Mackenzie Alexander Hall are assistant directors.

“POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumb - - - are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23, 24, 25; 2 p.m. Jan. 26, Lipkin Theater, Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township. 484-484-3412, https://www.ncctix.org/

The Pines Dinner Theatre will present its original musical comedy “Married, Engaged & Suzanne,” Jan. 18 to Feb. 22, in its new location at Allentown’s Shops at Cedar Point.

“After having a year of delays, setbacks and hurdles to clear, we are so excited to finally have the opening of our new home in our sights,” says Pines’ musical director Stacy Bechtel. “It is our anticipation to open ‘Married, Engaged and Suzanne’ in our new theater space.”

The dinner theater, which had been at 448 N. 17th St., Allentown, for 14 years, had to move when its lease of the former location was not renewed in 2023.

“Married, Engaged & Suzanne” is billed as a hilarious but touching look at three different stages of a relationship. The story is told through the eyes of Darlene, who is married; Melissa, who is engaged, and Suzanne, who is looking for love. Through their ups and downs, and trials and tribulations of sticking it out with Mr. Right, or, in Suzanne’s case, just finding him, they discover that no matter what, they are stronger than they ever anticipated. The show was previously produced at Pines in 2021.

“Married, Engaged and Suzanne” is written and directed by Oliver Blatt with orchestrations by Stacy Bechtel and an original score with songs such as “He Ain’t No Romeo, But He’s Mine,” “A Night of Romance,” “I Caught a Keeper ”and “That Was a Choice.”

This show is recommend for ages 13 and over.

Food is available for purchase a la carte.

“Married, Engaged & Suzanne,” 12:30 p.m. dinner, 1:30 p.m. show Thursdays, Sundays; 6:30 p.m. dinner, 7:30 p.m. show Fridays; 12:30 p.m. dinner, 1:30 p.m. show, 6:30 p.m. dinner, 7:30 p.m. show Saturdays, Jan. 18 - Feb. 22, Pines Dinner Theatre, 315 S. Cedar Crest Boulevard, Allentown. 610-433-2333, https://www.pinesdinnertheatre.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