Theatre — Sand Lake Center for the Arts

UPCOMING THEATRE

Classic and contemporary works that entertain, engage and challenge.

2025 Season Passes Available

We’re excited to announce our 2025 theatre season!
• Brighton Beach Memoirs directed by Peter Quinones
• At the Wedding directed by Chris Foster
• Puffs directed by Eric Shovah
• The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee directed by Brian Avery
Get your season pass now, and see all SLCA shows for just $75!

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Brighton Beach Memoirs

Here is part one of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy: a portrait of the writer as a young teen in 1937 living with his family in a crowded, lower middle–class Brooklyn walk-up.
Eugene Jerome, standing in for the author, is the narrator and central character. Dreaming of baseball and girls, Eugene must cope with the mundane existence of his family life in Brooklyn: formidable mother, overworked father and his worldly older brother Stanley. Throw into the mix his widowed Aunt Blanche, her two young (but rapidly aging) daughters and you have a recipe for hilarity, served up Simon-style.
This bittersweet memoir evocatively captures the life of a struggling Jewish household where, as his father states, “If you didn’t have a problem, you wouldn’t be living here.”
April 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m.
April 6 and 13 at 2:30 p.m.

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A Fine Family

A Fine Family is the story of… well… a fine family, perhaps much like one you know. This particular family is gathering for a meeting the day before a memorial service. The most eccentric family member, who apparently is falling apart, is the only one who knows what the meeting is about, and she hasn’t arrived yet. The aggrieved hostess refuses to ask for help, despite her spouse’s pleas. Her know-it-all sister is convinced she can fix everything with exercise, another family member sidesteps responsibility with charm, and still another does his best to hide in plain sight. The whole family plays their “assigned” roles like only a family can.
This musical comedy provides an opportunity to laugh at yourself and people you know without pointing fingers. Fortunately for all of us, love wins in the end.
April 25, 26 and May 2, 3 at 7:30 p.m.
April 27 and May 4 at 2:30 p.m.

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At the Wedding

Carlo crashes her ex’s wedding with three simple goals: Don’t get drunk. Don’t make any kids cry. Don’t try to win back the bride, no matter how boring the groom is. A very, very funny play about loneliness and estrangement—and a slow-burn romance with being alive.
At the Wedding is a comedy for anyone who has ever watched their happy ending evaporate in a cloud of smoke and lived to tell the tale.
June 6, 7, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m.
June 8 and 15 at 2:30 p.m.

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Where Did the Van Gogh Go?

Sunflowers is the only famous painting of Small Lake Museum—and it’s been stolen! The townspeople are shocked, the curator and artists are worried and some not-so-clever detectives are looking in all the wrong places. Will the news media help or hurt the museum’s chances of survival?
Come out and see this year’s free musical theatre camp production by Youth Theatre Players. This musical is full of zany characters, comedic situations and surprising answers!
July 18 at 7:30 p.m. and July 19 at 2:30 p.m.

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Puffs

In this hilarious parody of a familiar story, three potential heroes are just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children. Alongside them are the Puffs, a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers.
Aug. 8, 9, 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 10 and 17 at 2:30 p.m.

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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

In this musical, six awkward spelling champions learn that winning (and losing) isn't everything.
Oct. 17, 18, 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19 and 26 at 2:30 p.m.

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A Raisin in the Sun

POSTPONED UNTIL 2026.
A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem “Harlem” (also known as “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family’s experiences in south Chicago as they attempt to improve their financial circumstances with an insurance payout following the death of the father. The play deals with matters of housing discrimination, racism and assimilation and is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential theatrical works of all time.

POSTPONED UNTIL 2026

OUR NEXT CAST (Brighton Beach Memoirs)

Lisa Bryk

BLANCHE
Lisa is thrilled to be back at Brighton Beach! Twenty-one years ago, when her daughter Rachel played Laurie, Brighton Beach Memoirs was Lisa’s first introduction to Capital District theatre. She’s tickled and so grateful to have had countless and wonderful theatre experiences since then, and she thanks everyone who trusted her to be stage manager (where she was most comfortable) and encouraged her and helped her to get on stage. Brighton Beach Memoirs brings her theatre world full circle!
Lisa was Daughter in Death Tax (Acting Class With Patrick White), Logan in The Thanksgiving Play (SLCA), Pam in Exit Strategy (Harbinger Theatre), Lela in The Agony and The Agony (Harbinger Theatre) and Mammalia in The Squirrels (Harbinger Theatre). She’s also been in Scene Nights with Acting Class With Patrick White and SLCA’s One-Act Festivals.
We hope you enjoy your time with us! “Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.”
—Anthony Brandt
Suzanne Rayome

KATE
Suzanne is delighted to be making her debut at SLCA. She has acted in or directed over 127 shows, including productions for schools and community, regional and professional theaters throughout the United States.
Favorite roles on stage include: Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan, Widow Paroo in The Music Man, Dolly in Hello Dolly!, Anna in The King and I, Maria, Sister Sophia and Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, Eliza in My Fair Lady, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Nellie in South Pacific, Sarah in Guys and Dolls and Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress.
Favorite directorial credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Producers, West Side Story, The Music Man, Mary Poppins and 42nd Street.
She recently retired as a K–12 director for Burnt Hills–Ballston Lake CSD and served as the drama club director for the O’Rourke Middle School for 22 years. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling with her leading man, John. A toi, mon chou!
Vivian Savage

NORA
Vivian Savage is excited for her first production with Sand Lake Center for the Arts! She is in 10th grade at Averill Park High School. Other credits include Bielke in Fiddler on the Roof (Proctors Broadway Camp) and Megoosa in The Witch’s Princess and Andie in Drama in the Den (Off-Broadway Players at APHS).
She enjoys singing, playing guitar and drawing. She has performed with Capital District Youth Chorale for seven years and taken guitar lessons at Troy Music Academy for four years. She would like to thank her family for their love and support!
Adam Erickson

STANLEY
Adam is 15 years old and a freshman at Averill Park High School. He has been acting for almost seven years. He is absolutely overjoyed to be a part of this amazing cast.
Adam’s SLCA debut was in A Christmas Carol in 2018. He participated in three of SLCA’s summer theatre camps and most recently was Hospital Patient and Waiter in Comic Potential. He has also performed in Christmas Quarrels, It Takes a Village, Kids & Adult One Act Shows and Miracle on 34th Street (Highlight Acting Troupe). Adam loves comedies and is delighted to be performing in this drama comedy by the legendary Neil Simon.
John Rayome

JACK
John Rayome is excited to make his SLCA debut while returning to Brighton Beach for a third time, having previously portrayed both Eugene and Stanley in separate productions in the U.K. and California.
Other appearances include: Mr. Darling/Captain Hook in Peter Pan and Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music (Home Made Theater); Mayor Shin in The Music Man (Spotlight Players); King Arthur in Spamalot and James in Shenandoah (SLOC); Pseudolous in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, King in The King and I, Harold Hill in The Music Man and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof (The Glove Theater); Frederic in Pirates of Penzance, Melvin P. Thorpe in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar (The Company, UK).
He also spent time as an on-air host for multiple regional radio stations as “Johnny Ray” after retiring from the U.S. Air Force. He’s thrilled to appear in this wonderful show alongside his “leading lady for life,” Suzanne! Je t’aime Mon Chou!!!