Staged Readings of Capote's Holiday Stories: An Enthralling Experience

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — A holiday experience is set to unfold this weekend in Southampton that is truly an emotional, life-changing tour not to be missed — as a beloved local director breathes new life, for the first time on Long Island, into one of the author's iconic holiday stories.

Michael Disher brought staged readings of Truman Capote's collection of vacation stories to a Hamptons stage — especially fitting, since the East End is a place where Capote spent many years and where, in fact, he found a final resting place.

This weekend, Center Stage at the Southampton Center for the Arts presents the Long Island premiere of staged readings of Truman Capote's holiday collection of short stories “One Christmas” and “A Christmas Memory.”

The stories speak of family, of childhood memories, of home — and where better to see new life breathed into his rich words than in a place that called to him and held such deep meaning?

Performances of “One Christmas” and “A Christmas Memory” will take place on Friday 30th November at 2pm, Saturday 30th November at 2pm and 7pm and Sunday 1st December at 2pm.

The Southampton Arts Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane in the Village of Southampton, New York 11968.

Created through special arrangements and permission granted by The Truman Capote Literary Trust, Center Stage brings to life the bittersweet, moving and thought-provoking prose written by one of the greatest and most celebrated American writers of the 20th century, Capote.

Set during the Great Depression of the early 1930s, the stories are heavily based on Capote's youth in rural Alabama and focus on young Buddy and his beloved cousin, Sook. Together, over the course of two Christmases, Buddy and Shook learn a lot about honesty, love, loss, and the enduring bond that no amount of time or distance can break or change.

The audience is left breathless, in fact, by the absolute honesty and beauty that unfolds on stage. As Capote opens with “One Christmas,” a holiday punctuated by a Santa list that he created, like so many young boys, we can collectively sense that Capote is dreaming of that pearl knife, a radio, a box with puzzles – or the top of a little boy's dreams, a green pedal plane, shiny and ready to soar.

What begins with the wonder of a young boy takes viewers on a thrilling journey through one Christmas, marked by confusion, realization, reckoning and, ultimately, loss of innocence. But still, and always, there's that one person, waiting in the only place he's ever called home, his beloved Suk, who teaches Capote the most powerful holiday message of all – if you have a person who loves you, that creates holiday magic for you, giving you a sense of home and belonging, this is the one smile and hug you will long for forever.

It is at the command of his author in the written word that Capote captures. His images, his rich descriptions, his heartfelt details — all evoke luxurious memories that nourish our very souls.

In “A Christmas Memory,” Capote heralds the start of the holiday season with Sook's cheerful declaration, “It's fruitcake season!” And so the preparations begin as before, the two counting the pennies and coins they've made all year in their Fruitcake Fund, kept in an ancient beaded purse, to buy the ingredients – butter, eggs and fruit and most dear and expensive of all, the whiskey they both share a taste for, to the chagrin of other relatives.

As the two go about baking, the audience can literally step back into their hearts and minds and smell the smells that rose in their own childhood kitchens, as grandmothers stood, red-faced, over hot stoves and beat the things that Forever Memories are made of — cookies and cakes, pies and puddings and yes, fruitcake.

Shook and Capote send their fruit out into the world, saving postage to spread holiday cheer by collecting “thank you” notes that open up expanded horizons for the couple, whose lives are often defined by the confines of their meager existence.

The ornaments and gifts they make are from scratch, homemade, and yet the anticipation builds until Christmas morning, when they ache to wake the others and rejoice with the unwrapping of scarves for the ladies and a lemonade and aspirin concoction for to ward off colds, for the men, even a bone for Queenie the dog, stuck up in the tree — and for Sook and Capote, pet kites who are both in a hurry to fly to the meadow on Christmas morning.

Their spirits, flying high in the clouds, where only dreams exist.

Yes, he would have preferred to buy her a pearl knife or a box full of the chocolate cherries she craves, but in the simplicity of the home was found the true wealth — a wealth of love and an abundance of emotion that could never be duplicated in the years they brought, for Capote, fanfare, fortune, and all the glitter that fame can bear.

The stage is simple, just chairs and a screen displaying beautiful photos of Capote, his family and the time period in which the stories take place. At its center is a genuine pedal plane, as shiny and new as any young boy's dream.

But while the set is simple, its message is powerful: Not every holiday is a perfect storybook. There are sometimes painful truths and disturbing realizations.

There are arguments and sadness, loss and longing. But in the end, the true joys of Christmas are not in the riches and the wrapping, but in the memories, in the rich smells of fruitcake, in the softness of a hand-knitted blanket draped over hunched shoulders, in the comfort only the embrace of the right person can bring .

After all, the magic of the holidays is, at its heart, the love we carry inside us forever. The memory of those childhood Christmases that sustain us, all our lives. The sense of homesickness that stays with us, even when faces and houses and yes, even sweet puppies, are so many memories.

Disher has directed masterfully. Seeing Capote's stories come to life is quite simply the most meaningful holiday performance an audience could ever hope to experience. It is a rich gift to share with family, friends and yourself, as a reminder of what is important and what we should cherish.

There are no words strong enough to urge audiences to see this show and see it again. It captures the true meaning of the holidays in a way that will stay in hearts forever.

Disher directs, with direction and set design by Joey Giovingo and projections and music by Jack Seabury.

Production photography provided by Dane Dupuis, with graphics and posters designed by Tracy Alia. The Center Stage cast includes Patrick Abillama, Daniel Becker, Susan Cincotta, Rori Finazzo, Tom Gregory, Vincenzo James Harty, Franco Pistritto, Jack Seabury, Michaal Lyn Schepps, Richard Schindler, Mary Sabo Scopinich — and each conveys every emotion, every written word. , with respect and reverence that is commendable. Each actor can convey with a look, a glance, a saying, a direct glimpse into Capote's heart.

For Disher, the production held special significance. The stories resonated, Disher said. “Not every gift comes wrapped in pretty paper and gold ribbon. Some of the greatest gifts we can ever receive are so subtle—yet touching and life-changing. These are the gifts that don't come with a receipt, because they never will.” These gifts stay with us for a lifetime and I think these stories will stay with me much longer than I could have predicted.

There are messages that Disher hopes to convey to audiences through Capote's work, especially during the holiday season. “Again, gifts are not mere packages. Understanding is a gift. Honesty is a gift. Truth is a gift. Loss, though painful, can bring us to this gift of higher understanding. All of these the stories are reflections of Mr. Capote and his life and learning and I believe that learning is the greatest gift one can receive, any day, perhaps even greater.”

Disher faced a daunting personal challenge in recent years after being diagnosed with brain cancer and temporarily paralyzed. But his inner sadness, fortitude and grace led his journey of recovery and in 2021, he returned to the stage in the East End, filling the hearts of those who love him with immeasurable joy.

His own health journey has made the vacation especially meaningful, Disher said. “I never take any day or holiday for granted. For all of us, some days are better than others, but holidays remain very special to me.”

If he could talk to Capote, Disher knows exactly what he'd say: “I'd say, 'Thank you.' Thank you for giving us these truly moving and heartfelt pages of your past.”

To read a full interview with Michael Disher about the experience of bringing new life to Capote's memories, click here.