Crowded Kitchen Players explores an original story of an all-too-familiar dystopia.

The Pennsylvania Playhouse stages a monstrously funny musical comedy.

Desales University’s Act 1 takes on the theater world’s long-running show.

The fall season is underway on stages across the Lehigh Valley.

Crowded Kitchen premieres “The Watcher,” Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, Charles A. Brown Ice House, Bethlehem.

Pennsylvania Playhouse presents the stage adaptation of Mel Brooks’ classic horror film parody “Young Frankenstein,” Oct 10 to Oct. 26 in Bethlehem.

DeSales’ Act 1 presents “The Fantasticks,” Oct. 9 to Oct. 19 in Center Valley.

“The Watcher” opens Crowded Kitchen’s 25th anniversary season and marks the thespians’ 109th production.

“The Watcher,” written and directed by Ara Barlieb, imagines a not-too-distant future when performances and theater have been criminalized and artists have been deemed “enemies of the state.”

The show’s setting is the empty stage of the Ice House, a performing arts venue on Bethlehem’s Sand Island where hundreds of performances have been presented during nearly three decades.

Barlieb describes the darkened, empty stage as “a prison,” where “a ghost light is all that remains.”

The story takes place in a boarded-up playhouse, where masked officers, whose mission is to apprehend anyone suspected of being an actor or involved in the production of theatrical events, are questioning a woman (Sharon Ferry) in their custody.

The suspect maintains her innocence, claiming to be simply “a watcher,” but her interrogators are not convinced. As the level of violence against the prisoner escalates, a second group of masked officers storms the theater, and the two raiding parties struggle for control of the situation.

Barlieb says the play asks the question “In a future where art is silenced, what is left to fight for?”

The masked officers are played by Trish Cipoletti, Pamela Wallace, Sophie Wheeler, Tran Phuong and Dave Polgar.

“The Watcher,” 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25; 2 p.m. Oct. 12, 19, Crowded Kitchen Players, Charles A. Brown Ice House, 56 River St., Bethlehem. 610-704-6974, https://www.ckplayers.com/

Pennsylvania Playhouse’s production of “Young Frankenstein,” a musical comedy, is based on the hit 1974 film.

The story follows Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Andrew Galindez), who, after inheriting his family’s castle in Transylvania, tries to distance himself from his infamous grandfather.

With the help of his hunchbacked sidekick Igor (Joey Troiano), the alluring lab assistant Inga (Alyssa Steiner), and the mysterious housekeeper Frau Blücher (Tammy McKillip), Dr. Frankenstein soon finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors, attempting to create a creature (Andrew Maldonado) of his own.

The show has a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks.

Songs include “Transylvania Mania,” “He Vas My Boyfriend” and the classic “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” the latter written by Irving Berlin.

“We are incredibly excited to bring the hilarious genius of Mel Brooks to our stage,” says Mark A Stutz, director of “Young Frankenstein.” “This show is a love letter to the zany antics of the original film, with all the panache and flair of a classic Broadway musical. It’s the perfect recipe for a night of pure, unabashed musical comedy.”

The cast includes Rebecca McCall, Shelby Shaffer, Richard Director, Gary Boyer, Dale Beltzer, Jack Warnke, Jen Rarick, Alexandra Brito-Amador, Maricel Wheatley, Hannah Zarate, Caitlin McDermott, Cara Padilla Jensen, Evan Hegar, Jordan Joseph, Carter Sachse, Mya Detweiler, Sara Woodring and Stephen Simone.

Choreographer is Meg Pierre. Music director is Amanda Haag. Assistant director is Sarah J. Davis. Costume designer is Todd Burkel. Set and lighting designer is Brett Oliveira.

“Young Frankenstein,” 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25; 6 p.m. Oct. 12, 19, 26, Pennsylvania Playhouse, 390 Illick’s Mill Road, Bethlehem. 610-865-6665, http://www.paplayhouse.org/

“The Fantasticks,” premiering off-Broadway in 1960, ran for 42 years and 17,162 performances, making it the world’s longest-running musical. The show was revived off Broadway and ran another 11 years from 2006 to 2017.

Act 1’s production of “The Fantasticks” is directed by Jason King Jones, with musical direction by Vincent Trovato and choreography by Devon Sinclair.

The show tells an allegorical story about two neighboring fathers who trick their children into falling in love by pretending to feud.

Matt and Luisa live next door to each other and fall in love. Their fathers, Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Bellomy, say they are feuding and order the two young people not to speak to one another.

The “feud” is merely a way to manipulate the couple so that they fall in love. The fathers then conceive a plan where Luisa is kidnapped by a professional abductor, El Gallo, so Matt can rescue her and appear heroic.

With music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones, the musical’s numbers include “Try to Remember,” “The Plum is Too Ripe” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain.”

The show is recommended for ages 12 and older because of mature themes.

Attendees may register for “El Gallo’s Enchanted Evening After Party” following the Oct. 17 performance.

The Oct. 11 performance is audio-described for the hearing-impaired.

There’s a talk-back with the cast after the Oct. 12 performance.

“The Fantasticks,” 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9, 10, 15, 16, 17; 2 p.m. Oct. 11, 12, 19; 2 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18, DeSales Act 1 Theatre, Schubert Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-3192; https://

“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