A Bethlehem theater group has presented a reading in Allentown of a play that takes place in Reading.

And a campy murder mystery musical is at an Allentown dinner theater.

Basement Poetry presented a staged reading of “Sweat,” Sept. 4 and Sept. 5, Between The Lines Studio Theatre, Allentown.

“Whodunit ... The Musical” is Sept. 5 to Oct. 24, Pines Dinner Theatre, Allentown.

Lynn Nottage’s “Sweat,” set in Reading, Berks County, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama that examines friendship, identity, economic hardship and deindustrialization in a working-class community.

New York City playwright Nottage set her play in Reading during the decline of factories from 2000 to 2008 after reading a New York Times article about the city.

Nottage began working on the play in 2011 by interviewing residents of Reading. She was reflected on the effects of job loss on the city and the economic struggles its residents were facing.

Despite the grim premise, the play is full of warmth, humor and heart. It tells the story of a group of friends who work together on the factory floor and have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets and laughs.

When the layoffs and picket lines start, it begins to chip away at their trust and they find themselves pitted against each other in a fight to stay afloat.

“Sweat” premiered on Broadway in 2017 and was nominated for three Tony Awards, including for best play. It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the second Pulitzer for Nottage. She is the only female playwright to have won the Pulitzer twice, having won for “Ruined” in 2009.

Deirdre Van Walters directed the staged reading by members of Basement Poetry, of which Van Walters is president.

“Sweat” contains strong language and mild violence.

“Sweat,” 7:30 p.m. Sept. 4, 5, Basement Poetry, Between The Lines Studio Theatre, 725 N. 15th St., Allentown. https://www.basementpoetry.org/

Pines Dinner Theatre kicks off the fall season with “Whodunit ... The Musical,” a farce written by Broadway veteran Ed Dixon, loosely inspired by Mary Roberts Rinehart’s classic 1908 mystery novel “The Circular Staircase.”

In the play, a wealthy American spinster and her Cockney maid arrive at their summer home in Connecticut, only to discover a dead body in the living room. Then another body turns up.

What did the strange butler and other house guests see? When the inspector calls searching for a clue, the knives come out and things get really strange.

Food and beverages are à la carte.

“Whodunit ... The Musical,” Noon, dinner; 1:30 p.m., show Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays; 6 p.m., dinner; 7:30 p.m., show Fridays; noon, dinner; 1:30 p.m., show; 6 p.m., dinner; 7:30 p.m., show Sept. 5 to Oct. 24, 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