Staged Readings Of Capote's Holiday Stories: A Breathtaking Experience

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

Michael Disher has brought staged readings of Truman Capote’s holiday story collection 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 Southampton Arts Center presents the Long Island premiere staged readings of Truman Capote’s holiday short story collection "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 had such deep meaning?

Performances of "One Christmas" and "A Christmas Memory" will be held on Friday, November 30 at 2 p.m, Saturday, November 30 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 1 at 2 p.m.

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

Produced through special arrangements with and permission granted by The Truman Capote Literary Trust, Center Stage brings to life the bittersweet, heartwarming and thought-provoking prose written by one of the 20th Century’s greatest and most celebrated American writers, Capote.

Set during The Great Depression of the early 1930s, the tales are based largely upon Capote’s youth in rural Alabama and focus on young Buddy and his loving cousin, Sook. Together, through two Christmases, Buddy and Sook learn much about honesty, love, loss and the enduring bond no time or distance can break or alter.

The audience is left breathless, in fact, by the sheer honesty and beauty unfolding on the stage. As Capote begins with his "One Christmas," a holiday marked by a Santa list he created, like so many young boys, we can collectively feel Capote dreaming of that pearl-handled knife, a radio, a box of puzzles — or the pinnacle of a little boy's dreams, a green pedal plane, shiny and ready to soar.

What begins with a young boy's wonder takes audiences on a winding, wending journey through one Christmas, marked by confusion, realization, reckoning and ultimately, the loss of innocence. But still, and always, there is that one person, waiting at the singular place he called home, his beloved Sook, who teaches Capote the most powerful holiday message of all — if you have one person who loves you, who creates holiday magic just for you, who gives you a sense of home and belonging, that's the one smile and wam embrace that you will yearn for, forever.

It's with his author's command of the written word that Capote captivates. His imagery, rich descriptions, heartfelt details — all conjure up a sumptuous repast of memories that nourish our very souls.

In "A Christmas Memory," Capote heralds the start of the holiday season with Sook's joyful pronouncement: "It's fruitcake season!" And so the preparations begin as first, the two count up the pennies and coins they've squirreled away the whole year long in their Fruitcake Fund, kept in an ancient bead purse, to buy the ingredients — butter and eggs and fruits and the most dear and expensive of all, the whiskey that both share a taste of, to the chagrin of other relatives.

As the two go about the baking, the audience can literally reach back into their hearts and minds and smell the scents that wafted through their own long-ago childhood kitchens, as grandmothers stood, faces flushed, over warm stoves and whipped up the stuff that forever memories are made of — cookies and cakes, pies and puddings and yes, fruitcakes.

Sook and Capote send their fruitcakes off into the world, saving up for postage to spread the holiday cheer, collecting "thank you" notes that open up expanded horizons to the pair, whose own 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 up the others and rejoice in the unwrapping of tie-dye scarves for the ladies and a lemon-licorice and aspirin concoction to ward off colds, for the men, even a bone for the dog Queenie, tucked high in the tree — and for Sook and Capote, homemade kites that they both rush to let fly in the meadow on Christmas morning.

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

Yes, he'd rather buy her a pearl-handled knife or a box filled with the chocolate covered cherries she covets, but it's in the simplicity of the homemade that true wealth was found — a wealth of love and abundance of emotion that could never be replicated in the years that brought, for Capote, fanfare, fortune and all the glitter that fame can afford.

The stage is simple, just chairs and a screen that displays beautiful photos of Capote, his family, and the period of time during which the stories evolve. 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 strong: Not every holiday is story book perfect. There are sometimes painful truths and unnerving realizations.

There are arguments and sadness, loss and longing. But in the end, the true joys of Christmas are found not in riches and wrapping, but in the memories, the rich smells of fruitcake, the softness of a hand-knit blanket wrapped around stooped shoulders, the comfort only the hug from the right person can bring.

In the end, the magic of the holiday is, at its heart, the love that we carry forever within us. The memory of those childhood Christmases that sustain us, our whole lives through. The sense of yearning for home that stays with us, even when the faces and homes and yes, even sweet pups, are just so many memories.

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

There aren't 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 stage management and set design by Joey Giovingo, and projections and music by Jack Seabury.

Production photography is 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 a reverance and respect that's laudable. Each actor can convey with a look, a glance, an utterance, a direct look into Capote's very heart.

For Disher, the production has had special meaning. The stories resonated, Disher said. "Not every gift is wrapped in pretty paper and gold ribbon. Some of the greatest gifts we can ever receive are so subtle — yet touching and life-altering. These are the gifts that do not come with a receipt, for they will never be returned. These gifts remain with us for a lifetime and only increase in worth and value. I think these stories will stay with me far longer than I could ever anticipate."

There are messages that Disher hopes to impart to audiences through Capote's work, especially during the holiday season. "Again, gifts are not just packages. Understanding is a gift. Honesty is a gift. Truth is a gift. Loss, though painful, can bring us to that gift of higher understanding. All these stories are reflections by Mr. Capote and of his life and learning. And I do think learning is the greatest gift anyone ever can receive, on any day. During the holiday season, perhaps greater."

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

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

If he could speak to Capote, Disher knows exactly what he'd say: "I would say 'Thank you. Thank you for giving us these truly touching 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.