Brookhaven Little Theatre’s Christmas production of “Fruitcakes” opens Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. The holiday play is a comedy with a cast of characters that are “nuttier than fruitcakes” and promises to hit close to home, said the play’s director James Minter.

“It’s really a dramedy about a runaway girl who ends up in a small town, how that town affects her and how the girl affects the town,” Minter said. “People will identify with these characters – you will recognize them as people you know in Brookhaven. It has a poignant ending.”

The play runs Dec. 7, 8, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings and 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays.

Minter said additional incentives to come out and see the show are discounts with a few local restaurants and a silent auction called “Wreath for the Stars.”

Local restaurants Magnolia Blues, Pasta Junction, Broma’s, Los Parrilleros, Poppa’s Fish House and Little Tokyo are participating and offer 10 to 20 percent discounts off of some menu items to season ticket holders.

Minter said season tickets are still available and can be prorated for the “Fruitcakes” production.

The “Wreath for the Stars” silent auction features decorated Christmas wreaths donated by local businesses that will be displayed in the lobby for the run of the show, Minter said.

“There are some pretty cool wreaths there,” he said. “Each business decorated their own and they have some elaborate wreaths on display.”

Bids will be accepted until after the last show. The wreath that raises the most money will win a prize. All proceeds from the auction go toward the Save the Haven fund, Minter explained.

The play – described as “heart-warming,” mixes together a batch of fruitcakes, three dozen Christmas trees, 10,000 outdoor Christmas lights, a chicken pox epidemic, two southern spinsters, an estranged old man, a lost cat named Tutti Frutti and a Christmas hog named Buster for a fun-filled and touching evening of holiday cheer.

Into this world comes Jamie, a kid who has run away from home and has come as far as her money could take her. At first she thinks this town’s inhabitants are “nuttier than fruitcakes,” but soon she comes to admire, appreciate and adore this nutty little town.

Minter said the BLT’s next production is Dixie Swim Club about a group of women from a college swim team who have a reunion every year. The play spans 40 years in the women’s lives. Minter said it is a “laugh your head off comedy” and shouldn’t be missed. It is scheduled for a time to be announced in the spring of 2014.

The Haven Theatre is located at 126 W. Cherokee St., downtown Brookhaven. Tickets for “Fruitcakes” are $10. For more information call, (601) 669-1878.