Live theater returns to the Palmerton Area School District this weekend for the first time in almost two years as “Aladdin Jr.” takes the stage.

Shows are scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. with doors opening an hour prior each day.

Tickets, which can be purchased online at https://PHSDramaClub.ludus.com/11882, cost $5 for students and $10 for adults.

“Our audience has not seen a show in our auditorium since the end of 2019. ‘A Christmas Story’ and our first alumni concert were held that December and our seats have been empty since,” Drama Club Director Brent Harris said. “We were on the verge of a wonderful production with ‘Big Fish’ in the spring of ’20 but were unfortunately shut down by the pandemic. I hope that the audience members here in Palmerton are just as excited as we are to get back to the stage.”

Last year, Palmerton Drama Club did hold a spring performance, ‘Radium Girls,’ but it was only available to watch online.

“I think that the students who were involved in the drama club and stage crew last year did a phenomenal job,” Harris said. “Who would have ever thought that they would have needed to learn how to perform for the camera, film and record, and then edit video sources to put ‘Radium Girls’ together. This year, we are able to set those extra tasks behind us and just get back to doing what we do.”

Palmerton began rehearsals earlier this year in a fairly “back to normal” fashion, but Harris said the group quickly learned that the pandemic was not in the rearview mirror.

“It became evident that we weren’t necessarily out of the woods just yet, so we returned to distancing and masks,” he said. “This was a minor inconvenience, but being able to rehearse and ultimately perform in the auditorium for an audience again outweighs the negatives by far.”

The drama club lost many familiar faces to graduation and has a youthful contingent ready to show that they can do this weekend. Nearly half of the cast of “Aladdin Jr.” is working on a musical for their first time.

“So for those of us in adviser and director positions, this was very much a rebuilding show,” Harris said. “We have a tremendous amount of young talent and are excited to see what they do over the next several years.”

In previous years, the drama club has done junior shows such as the “Lion King” and “Little Mermaid.” Any student entering grades 6-9 in the district was able to audition.

“The junior productions have been absolutely essential in how the drama club has been successful over the past several years,” Harris said. “The extra time that students get to spend on stage really builds their skill set and comfort level, which only makes their performances better. I also believe that having them perform together for so many years as they move through the various buildings creates greater chemistry on stage and allows for more convincing performances at the high school level.”

The cast includes Zane Himmelwright as Aladdin, Freya Marks as Jasmine, Serenity Hamilton as the Genie, Jacob Walkowiak as the Sultan and Joshua Rehatchek as Jafar.

“This weekend is a great opportunity to see a wonderful show, get familiar with some young talented actors who are sure to light up our stage for years to come, and to get lost in the magic of theater again,” Harris said. “When the lights go down and the curtain opens this weekend, we hope that for a few moments our audience can forget the frustrations of the pandemic and let us take them to a “whole new world” that they haven’t been able to visit in over a year.”

Audience members are reminded that masks are required inside the school building. Harris said each group is asked to sit at a distance from the next and ushers will be available to assist.