Strip away the tinsel, the feasts, and the presents, and the holidays are about one simple thing: family.

"Whether it's the one you're related to by blood or the one you choose, it's about recognizing the people we cherish,"said Ted deChatelet, the sole performer in Salem Repertory Theatre's dramatic reading of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory."

"During the holiday the local theaters seek out different ways to hold those bonds up to the light."

The Christmas play recalls events around young Capote's bond with an elderly, developmentally disabled cousin in Alabama and their adventures baking a truckload of fruitcakes for friends and family.

deChatelet performed the piece with another actor when he was younger, but he's been performing it solo for about 20 years.

"It's a simple, powerful memory of their friendship, exquisitely written by Capote and age-appropriate with simple storytelling," he said.

Some live music underscores the performance, which runs from Dec. 10 to 20.

Other options for holiday theater include Pentacle Theatre's run of "Reckless," by Craig Lucas, which runs through December 5.

The play follows the misadventures of Rachel, who is on the run after her husband confesses to taking a contract out on her life on Christmas day. By the final curtain, Rachel must come to terms with what her life, and Christmas, really mean.

For those whose theatrical tastes run to comedy (and fishnet leg lamps), The Newport Performing Arts Center hosts performances of "A Christmas Story," based on the book by Jean Shepherd, each weekend through Dec. 20. The story follows 9-year-old Ralphie's quest for a Red Ryder BB gun under his Christmas tree. Curtain time is 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays.

Director Mat Genuser aims to keep audiences roaring with "A Tuna Christmas" at Albany Civic Theater in December.

"It's absolutely, hysterically funny," Genuser said.

The play, written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard, is a snapshot of the holiday season in Tuna, the third smallest town in Texas. Two actors, Chuck Skinner and Gary Burris, tackle 12 roles each as the residents of Tuna cope with the town's disaster-prone production of "A Christmas Carol," and a yard decorating contest that is being sabotaged by a mysterious Christmas phantom.

The play, which is a sequel to "Greater Tuna," runs Dec. 4-5, 11-13 and 17-19.

Genuser said the play presented the typical problems designing sets and costuming, but on a heightened scale.

"There's only two people and they're shuffling through roles on high speed. It's been a real challenge to find the minimal props that will set each scene apart," he said.

The trick to scheduling holiday theater runs, Genuser said is finding the right play that theatergoers are going to want to drag their friends and family out to see.

"The Tuna, Texas plays have a great following and they aren't performed all that often," Genuser said. "People are going to want to see this one."