PEACH WEEKENDER

Theater: Fremont theater troupe goes to the beach

From left, Abby Havice, 15, of Fremont, and Kyleigh Harrison, 18, of Bettsville, Ohio, in the Fremont Community Theatre production of ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs.’

Santa, snowflakes, and dancing elves are fun, but they’re everywhere this time of year.

So if you're experiencing a bit of holiday fatigue, the Fremont Community Theatre has a different option: Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, the first part of the playwright’s funny but bittersweet semi-autobiographical trilogy.

The production this weekend is set in 1937 in a Brooklyn walk-up apartment, with 15-year-old Eugene Jerome, who dreams of baseball and girls, as its central character. His family includes his forceful mother, Kate; overworked father, Jack, and worldly older brother, Stanley, plus widowed Aunt Blanche and her daughters, Laurie and Nora.

Area residents are well-represented in this production, including Isaac Fraley, 13, of Fremont, as Eugene, Lukas Green, 18, also of Fremont, as Stanley, and Mike Fraley, Isaac’s father, as his stage dad, Jack. Laurie is played by Abby Havice, 15, of Fremont, and Kyleigh Harrison, 18, of Bettsville, plays Nora. Brittney Forster of Toledo appears as Kate and Cyndi Hineline of Fremont portrays Blanche. Jan Wilcox of Perrysburg is the director; assistant director is Pete Lowry, of Oak Harbor.

There are some mild adult themes and language in this “coming of age” story, so the theater group advises that parents consider this before taking children younger than 13.

Brighton Beach Memoirs will be presented Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the theater, 1551 Dickinson St., Fremont. Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for students in grades 12 and under and for seniors ages 55 and older, by calling 419-332-0695; information is at fremontcommunitytheatre.org.

For sale

Performance Network Theatre of Ann Arbor is having its second annual Backstage Sale of props and costumes from its productions at the theater, 120 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor, today and Friday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 7:30 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

Clothing, household items, furniture, kitchenware, and other goods will be included. The organization is cleaning out years of stored costumes, props, and set pieces while fund-raising and sharing a piece of the Network with patrons, Erin Sabo, managing director, said in press material. Information: 734-663-0681.

Founded in 1981, Performance Network Theatre is professional theater. The Network reaches 40,000 theater patrons and children each year through the Professional Series and the Children’s Theatre Network.

It also presents the Fireside Festival of New Works and a series of classes on theater-related topics.

Send theater items two weeks in advance to Sue Brickey at sbrickey@theblade.com.