A play that recreates devastating letters sent during the Holocaust will have its Lehigh Valley premiere Jan. 23 to Feb. 8 at The Pennsylvania Playhouse, Bethlehem.

“The Lucky Star” is a gripping true story of resilience and truth-tracking determination spanning Baltimore and beyond based on Richard Hollander’s book “Every Day Lasts a Year: A Jewish Family’s Correspondence from Poland.”

“The Lucky Star” is the first show in Pennsylvania Playhouse’s 2026 season with the theme “Reclaiming the Narrative.”

According to the Playhouse website, the season will shine a spotlight on “powerful voices, untold perspectives, and stories that remind us of the strength of theater as a place where everyone belongs.”

The Playhouse season includes “La Gringa,” March 13-29; “Spring Awakening,” May 29-June 14; “Disney Frozen Kids,” performances TBA; “Legally Blonde The Musical,” July 31-Aug. 16; “Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express,” Oct. 8-25, and “Anastasia,” Dec. 4-20.

In “The Lucky Star,” it all begins in an attic with a dusty old suitcase and the discovery of more than 200 letters in three languages that opens clues to an untold history of a family torn apart by war and fighting to emigrate, escape and survive.

After Hollander’s parents died in an automobile accident in 1986, he found letters in his parents’ attic that told a story of a family he never knew, which included his father’s mother, three sisters and their husbands and children.

The letters, written from Krakow, Poland, between 1939 and 1942, document how his family was enduring progressively more devastating measures imposed by the Nazis.

At the same time, Richard’s father, Joseph Hollander, was fighting the United States government to avoid deportation which would mean certain death.

In 2007, Hollander published “Every Day Lasts a Year: A Jewish Family’s Correspondence from Poland.”

A stage adaptation of his book, written by Karen Hartman, opened Off-Broadway in 2022.

“The Lucky Star,” formerly titled “The Book of Joseph,” was commissioned by Chicago Shakespeare Theater for its world premiere in 2017.

In Playhouse production of “The Lucky Star,” Richard (Brad Campbell) narrates as the scenes alternate between past and present, and his father Joseph (Joshua Steinhouse) struggles to save himself and his family.

The cast includes Kelly Herbert James, Amy Cramer, Jerry Brucker, Melissa Miller, Katie James, Cameron Kunsman, Amy Oselkin and Ericka Csencsits.

The Playhouse production is directed by Sarah Elizabeth Yorke.

The Jan. 31 performance is offered as “Pay What You Are Able.”

“The Lucky Star,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23, 24, 30, 31, Feb. 6, 7; 3 p.m. Jan. 25, Feb. 1, 8, Pennsylvania Playhouse, 390 Illick’s Mill Road, Bethlehem. 610-865-6665, http://www.paplayhouse.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