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Review: ‘Fremont Ave.’ seeks a route out of family dysfunction in Costa Mesa

May 6, 2026

Intergenerational dramas often deal out a tough hand of cards from fathers to those who come next.

In “Fremont Ave.,” an engaging new work at South Coast Repertory about three generations of Black men by playwright Reggie D. White, when those generations sit down at the table to start dealing hands for games of Spades — look out!

From ancient Greek family tragedies through Shakespeare — “The Merchant of Venice” declares “the sins of the father are to be laid upon the children” — and to the hard-bitten patriarchies in Arthur Miller titles, White’s contemporary realism stands in this company.

But his well-structured saga is not solely about inherited dysfunction in its setting of modern era, middle-class Southern California males.

A significant theme is rooted in exploring queer identity. There is a strong matriarchal figure whose presence dictates the course of action. And this action can periodically include scalding, raucous and party-hearty language.

Music, both as one character’s defining trait and as a story-telling device — snippets of pop tunes across decades swiftly drive time shifts in the play’s first two acts — is a major aspect. (And that family-fixture piano stage left might as well be the show’s ninth character).

“Fremont Ave.” proves to be about finding answers and then seeking both reconciliation as well as a way forward.

One of the play’s strengths is that the youngest generation is not incurably defined by passed-down legacies. Instead, there is coping and emotional growth for these figures, who, in the third act, provide their elders with an opportunity to come to terms with their own preoccupations and pasts.

“Fremont Ave.” is enjoying an engaging, supportive presentation at South Coast Repertory.

Part of the theater’s annual Pacific Playwright’s Festival, this is an SCR co-production with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., where the work was unveiled in October. An early draft of the play received a reading at SCR’s 2024 festival.

Both director Lili-Anne Brown and the show’s principal actors were part of the creation of the initial mounting, and it shows here in this polished 2 ½-hour staging, which is both engrossing and entertaining.

Among its strong company, two performances in particular stand out.

Actor Bradley Gibson works triple time in separate eras, taking on a triad of multigenerational roles in the Pique family tale. Gibson’s wigs may change along the way, but his considerable capabilities at conveying a range of personalities stay the course.

First, Gibson is a self-confident if nerdy music therapist — and a wannabe pop composer — as George. He hires a house cleaner but finds that courtship might lead to a tidier and richer future.

Next, as George’s stepson Robert, he is a bundle of frustration while trying to pass the California bar exam and get a professional identity unstuck while pals and peers move on.

And, finally, in the role of agitated grandson Joseph, he is returning to a grief-stricken family home, needing to resolve a personal relationship as well as square his gay existence within a family environment where he feels religious doctrine squelched his true self.

The other key role, Audrey, is warmly and expressively delivered with a heartfelt fullness by Jerrika Hinton.

Emerging from a bruised background as a nursing-school dropout with limited possibilities and resources, speech cascades from Hinton in a series of scenes as she warily weighs the emotional dangers versus possibilities in front of her that might lie in a home on Fremont Ave.

Ultimately, as the play proceeds, Hinton’s creation of a formidable presence is felt even when she’s not in the scene.

Director Brown marshals a satisfying male ensemble to surround the central figures — additional actors play older George and older Robert — and though these generally upbeat personas don’t stick around long, they are buoyant performances.

Especially notable are Galen J. Williams’ fleet and vinegary knowing turn as Damon, Joseph’s extremely significant other, and Doug Brown as older George articulating sage counsel.

Scenic designer Tim Mackabee has fashioned a comfortable A-frame house interior with living room dominated by the piano, a central couch, a card table and a kitchen off to the side.

Perhaps most impactful of all these touches is a brief glimpse through a half-opened door into another room’s design which provides the play’s most explosive laugh.

Also key to the production is Andre Pluess’ sound design, which delivers sustaining ambience through original music he has fashioned that helps establish and then sustain emotional moods at key points in the narrative.

Late in the play, after rough shots of Cutty Sark have been downed, and now richer, mellower sips of Johnnie Walker Blue Label are taking hold, the combative card game mellows and expands into life lessons.

Patriarch George confides to his descendants in a personal realization about his lengthy time on Fremont Ave. and what that has come to mean to him.

“Home isn’t even really a place at all. Home is who you heal with when your dreams don’t turn out the way you wanted them.”

Ultimately, for at least one address on Fremont Avenue, it’s the people, not the place, who turn out to matter most.

‘Fremont Ave.’

Ratings: 3 ½ stars (of a possible 4)

Where: Segerstrom Stage, South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: Through May 23. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m., Sunday

Tickets: $36-128

Information: 714-708-5555; scr.org

Orange County Register

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Review: ‘Fremont Ave.’ seeks a route out of family dysfunction in Costa Mesa

‘Fremont Ave.’

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