Free Shakespeare will be coming to a locale near you, and Pennsylvania Playhouse is staging the beloved movie turned musical, “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s “Play On!” Community Tour brings free performances of William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” to libraries, parks and community centers in the region, May 30 to June 15.

Pennsylvania Playhouse’s production of “Singin’ in the Rain” runs May 30 to June 15 in the Bethlehem theater.

Based on the classic 1952 MGM film, “Singin’ in the Rain” is the story of a movie studio and its leading actors navigating the new talking-picture technology.

The stage musical features a story by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music by Nacio Herb Brown.

It takes place in 1920s’ Hollywood when the “Jazz Singer” and talking pictures became all the rage, and silent film actors and actresses suddenly found themselves learning to enunciate for the camera.

The story follows Don Lockwood (Matt Breiner), a silent film star, and his on-screen partner Lina Lamont (Zoe Mulzet), who has a less-than-perfect voice for the new era of sound films.

As the movie studio scrambles to adapt, Don meets and falls for the charming Kathy Selden (Lucy Moore), a talented young actress who becomes the secret voice behind Lina’s character.

With iconic songs like “Good Morning,” “Make ‘Em Laugh,” and, of course, “Singin’ in the Rain,” the musical celebrate the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The cast includes Joey Troiano, Charlie Dalrymple, Thomas McElhinny, Joseph Mowad, Melissa Dorflinger, Charlotte Korrapati, Kayli Silimperi, Zoli Heft, Meg Grogan, Andrew Maldonado, Hannah Zarate, Ashlee Wagner, Dominick Dinzey, Rebecca McCall, Johanna Snyder, Salem Perez Torres, Deanna Mogianesi, Cara Padilla Jensen, Mya Detweiler, Abbey Gildner, Maricel Wheatley and Elyn Millheim.

Rachel Lutz is director. Jessica Sturm is choreographer. Amanda Haag is music director. Brett Oliveira is set and lighting designer. Todd Burkel is costume designer. Braden Drake did the videography.

The June 7 performance is Pay-What-You-Are-Able.

“Singin’ in the Rain,” 7:30 p.m. May 30, 31, June 6, 7, 13, 14; 6 p.m. June 1, 8, 15, Pennsylvania Playhouse, 390 Illick’s Mill Road, Bethlehem. 610-865-6665, http://www.paplayhouse.org/

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s “Play On!” tour launched in 2023 with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which played to more than 1,100 at 13 locations in the Greater Lehigh Valley.

The tour, presented by PSF’s Young Company, furthers PSF’s goal of increasing accessibility to theater for under-resourced populations in the region. PSF Artistic Director Jason King Jones directs the show.

Shakespeare’s spirited comedy offers a tale of two courtships. Beatrice (India Proffit) and Benedick (Ryan Plunkett) elevate the art of the quarrel in their duel of glittering wordplay, while Claudio (Ian Higgins) and Hero (Sophia Twohig) have their true love put to the test by the villain Don John (Shawn Laub).

The cast includes Maya Jean Marino Cappello, Jamir Fisher, Relena Kiser, Teddy Novak and Isabella Stevens.

“Much Ado About Nothing,” Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival:

3 p.m. May 30, Emmaus Public Library, 11 E. Main St., Emmaus; 11 a.m. May 31, National Museum of Industrial History, 602 E. Second St., Bethlehem; 6 p.m. June 3, Emmaus Performing Arts Pavilion, Emmaus Community Park, 1356 Shimersville Road, Emmaus; 6 p.m. June 4, Saint James Lutheran Church, 333 Oxford St., Coopersburg; 6:30 p.m. June 5, Hills at Lockridge Park band shell, 7100 Scenic View Drive, Lower Macungie Township; 11 a.m. June 7, Easton Farmer’s Market, 128 Larry Holmes Drive, Easton; 6 p.m. June 11, Bethlehem Area Public Library, 11 W. Church St., Bethlehem; 6 p.m. June 12, Kutztown Public Library, 70 Bieber Alley, Kutztown; 7 p.m. June 13, Union United Church of Christ, 5550 Route 873, Neffs; 3 p.m. June 14, 15, Peddler’s Village, 100 Peddlers Village, Lahaska, 610-282-9455, https://pashakespeare.org/

“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