PBS 45/49 chief to retire

PBS 45/49 chief to retire

KENT — Don Freeman, chief operating officer of PBS 45/49, will retire March 28. Freeman joined PBS 45/49 in 1988 as director of programming. His duties expanded over the years to include broadcast operations. He was named chief operating officer in 2006, taking on management of administration, accounting and personnel. Freeman, who has more than 40 years of experience in public broadcasting, implemented scheduling strategies that doubled 45/49’s viewing audience since the late ’80s. He has won two National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Cleveland chapter) Emmy Awards, and was nominated 10 times. He received the 1990 Ohio Program of the Year Award from Ohio Educational Broadcasting.

‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’
at New Castle playhouse

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — The comedy “Brighton Beach Memoirs” will open Jan. 18 at the New Castle Playhouse Annex Theater, 202 E. Long Ave. Paul Angelucci of Lawrence County will direct the play. The play will run for nine performances on three consecutive weekends. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday performances are 2 p.m. Opening night will feature a free wine and cheese party for all ticket holders beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Annex Theater. Reservations can be made by calling (724) 654-3437 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $10. The Tony Award-winning play, written by Neil Simon, looks at the trials and tribulations of growing up in a crowded Jewish household.

Butler’s Salem branch
reveals 2008 exhibitions

SALEM — The Butler Institute of American Art’s Salem branch has several exhibitions scheduled this year. Realist paintings by Edward Charney will be on display from Saturday through Feb. 16. Charney is an art professor at Wittenberg University in Springfield.

The annual Salem YWCA show will run from March 1 through April 5. For information or to enter this show, call Patty Baker at (330) 332-2836. Works in all media by artists from Salem and surrounding communities are featured in this event. A selection of works by Gregory Perillo, drawn from the Butler permanent collection, will be on display from April 9 through May 24. This show, titled “Visions of the American West,” features landscapes, portraits and genre paintings that relate to Native American history and culture.

Realist paintings by American master artist Timothy Clark will be on exhibit from June 7 through Aug. 2. This retrospective show will mark the artist’s midcareer accomplishments. The human figure with vast landscapes, cityscapes, interior subjects and portraits are parts of Clark’s presentation. The Salem branch is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For further information about the Butler Salem branch and its programs, go to butlerart.com.