Staged Readings Of Truman Capote's Holiday Works Unfold In Hamptons: 'The Stories Will Stay With Me Forever'

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Sometimes, if you wish hard enough, Christmas dreams do come true.

Such is the case for those yearning for a second chance to see one of the most heartfelt and meaningful shows ever executed on the East End: a staged reading of Truman Capote's holiday short story collection. Audiences were so enchanted by last year's production, they clamored for an encore this season.

Center Stage at Southampton Arts Center will present the Long Island staged readings of Truman Capote’s holiday short story collection: "One Christmas" and "A Christmas Memory" at the Southampton Arts Center, located at 25 Jobs Lane. Performances take place Friday, November 28, at 7 p.m., Saturday, November 29 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, November 30, at 2 p.m.

Saturday's performance caps off a wondrous holiday weekend in Southampton Village, with the annual Parade of Lights, which begins at 4:30 p.m., and the tree lighting ceremony, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at Agawam Park, followed by fireworks.

Capote's holiday short story collection, produced through special arrangements with and permission granted by The Truman Capote Literary Trust, 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 left a forever legacy on the East End. As the world celebrated Capote during his centennial year in 2024, reflecting upon his literary prowess and larger-than-life persona, in the Hamptons, the author was remembered for the rich treasure trove of memories he created in a place he called home — and where his ashes were spread on Crooked Pond, his essence deeply rooted in the area for eternity.

And so it’s especially meaningful that this year, back by popular demand, staged readings of literary icon Truman Capote’s holiday works — a collection that shines with quiet beauty, as Capote summons up scenes and heartachingly poignant childhood memories — will once again bring his singular voice to life on a Hamptons stage.

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 lovingly eccentric cousin, Sook. Together, through two Christmases, Buddy and Sook learn much about honesty, love, loss and enduring friendship.

In "One Christmas", young Buddy spends the holiday away from his Alabama family and in New Orleans with his rarely seen father. A "Christmas Memory" is Capote’s love letter to his elderly cousin, Sook, who raised him and taught him much about kindness, sharing and forever.

Directed by the iconic Michael Disher, the shows touch a deeply rooted emotional chord, calling upon collective memories of anyone who's ever cherished thoughts of their earliest days, complicated yet dusted with wide-eyed, childlike wonder and sparkle. A show that that taps into the emotions that represent the core of where we began and what matters most, no matter the passage of time or level of acclaim achieved.

For Disher, Capote's stories resonate deeply — enough so that he wanted to bring them back for a resounding encore.

"I’ve learned holidays are not all glitter and gold. Some gifts are lifelong memories, traditions and understandings that far outlast papered packages," he said. "These stories will stay with me forever."

Audiences have found a touchstone in the works, he said. "Many people embrace or embraced the bittersweet battles many of Capote’s characters bring to the tales. And despite their struggles, the joys were found — often in the simplest of gestures or objects," he said.

Asked about the singular message he believes the works convey, Disher said: "Christmas is what we make it — simple and homespun, bright and garish, beautifully presented with simple cut backyard greenery, a feast or a home-cooked meal — wherever there is love and loveliness to be shared and found, there is Christmas."

Staging the show for the second time has brought new realizations, Disher said. "Simpler is better. The cast is smaller, the action more compact. Without question, the messages and the prose are the co-stars of these productions."

When asked about his favorite line from the shows, Disher said that Sook, in 'A Christmas Memory,' says: "'I've always thought a body would have to be sick and dying before they saw the Lord. And I imagined that when He came it would be like looking at the Baptist window: pretty as colored glass with the sun pouring through, such a shine you don't know it's getting dark. And it's been a comfort: to think of that shine taking away all the spooky feeling. But I’ll wager it never happens. I'll wager at the very end a body realizes the Lord has already shown Himself. That things as they are.'"

Disher recalls Capote's words, writing of "clouds and kites and grass and Queenie pawing earth over her bone," the small memories that are truly grand, in the memories of a lifetime.

And, he quoted Sook: "As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes."

Asked about his own Christmas memories, Disher said. "My father and I were not particularly close. He, too, was a complicated man. But every Christmas morning, he would take me to visit several homes of friends. He felt is was important to share with others. To what avail I’m still uncertain, but it was something he and I did together. Our time. He was a very social man. I guess I’ve inherited that from him. From he and my mother and sister — a treasure trove of memories."

Disher said the show has sparked inner reflection about holidays past — and said there are certain tastes and traditions that bring it all flooding back in a rush of joy, and so much love: "Luckily, many of my Christmas memories revolve around family and food. My sister and I fought annually over packages opened on Christmas Eve or Day. Mother, ever the diplomat, allowed one package opened on Christmas Eve. But, my mother’s annual box of her baked goods, which I received every year I was in New York, was something to behold — buttered pecans, butter mints, Rice Krispies cayenne cheese straws, Chocolate Puppy Chow, Trash (savory Chex Mix) and always a fruit cake and pound cake. Nothing will ever compare."

Disher spoke of Capote's singular presence on the East End. "Mr. Capote would often hold court at Bobby Van’s in Bridgehampton. Often, he would leave (or be escorted out) and find his way to a small coffee and pastry place I frequented next door called Simple Pleasures. I loved that storefront. He would find his way there, which is where we met."

If they were able to, today, sit down over a coffee and pastry and discuss the Christmas stories, Disher would have much to ask, he said.

"My greatest question to him would most likely be unanswerable: How does such a complicated man, so steeped in infamy and celebrity harness such humble tenderness, pitch perfect prose and warmth? He possessed a flawed persona. He was, without question, a brilliant writer. He is/was quite a paradox, but I guess that’s a keen facet of his appeal."

Southampton is the consummate setting for works that speak so purely of home, a place of the heart Capote treasured. "I’d hope a tiny ripple could occur on Crooked Pond, where he and Jack’s ashes lie, and a whispered 'thank you' for telling his tales — again."

Audiences were forever touched by Capote's timeless holiday prose, and many have told Disher that they're looking forward to making the shows a part of their holiday tradition, for a second time.

As a review wrote last year: "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 boys' dreams, a green pedal plane, shiny and ready to soar."

The reviewer added: "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."

The productions are sponsored in part by Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.

For additional information and tickets, which cost $25 for general admission and $20 for SAC members, click here.