Truman Capote's Holiday Stories Presented 'In Place He Called Home'

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Truman Capote, iconic for both his literary prowess and his larger-than-life persona, has ties deeply entwined in Hamptons life and lore.

And so, it is especially fitting that, for the first time on Long Island, staged readings of Capote’s holiday story collection will bring his singular voice to life on a Hamptons stage — in a place where he spent many years and where, in fact, he found a final resting place.

Center Stage at Southampton Arts Center will present the Long Island premiere staged readings of Truman Capote’s holiday short story collection: "The Thanksgiving Visitor", "One Christmas" and "A Christmas Memory" on two separate November weekends.

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?

Capote's presence was rich and vivid on the Hamptons canvas: According to the Long Island Press, Truman Capote, didn't spend his summers, like so many, journeying to the Hamptons – but, instead, enjoyed the bliss of autumns and winters; he once referred to Sagaponack as "Kansas with a sea breeze."

Born in New Orleans in 1924 but raised largely in Monroeville, Alabama by aunts and cousins, Capote spoke to Architectural Digest in a 1976 interview about his Hamptons retreat, filled with the favorite things, the Victorian collections and photographs that were his touchstones.

His weathered gray beach house was hidden away near Sagaponack, the article said — and the author soaked in the solitude, heading out to the East End to find inspiration for his work in the natural splendor. He spent time reading and writing, walking his beloved dog Maggie, not engaging in the dizzying social scene that so many of his contemporaries favored.

“I own these fields,” he told Architectural Digest, explaining that he'd had the house built to his specifications “by a local carpenter who’s dead now. He did it to my directions. It’s exactly the way I wanted it. I work at this untended look. It’s intentional. You can see how quiet it is here because you can barely see the top of another house. This is a place to be alone."

And, too, the Hamptons was a place where he found eternal peace in the rich beauty of nature, the scent of salty ocean breezes. According to a Sag Harbor Express article published on October 21, 2010 and reprinted by the Southampton Trails Preservation Society, a bench was placed with a granite marker with a plaque in tribute to Capote and his partner, author, and playwright Jack Dunphy.

In the summer of 1994, friends, family, and others joined staff from The Nature Conservancy as the ashes of both Capote, who died in 1984, and Dunphy, who passed away in 1992, were spread on the waters of Crooked Pond.

The location, off Widow Gavits Road, south of Sag Harbor and deep in the Long Pond Greenbelt, hold great meaning: After their deaths, proceeds from the sale of Capote and Dunphy's Sagaponack home would be used to purchase almost 20 critical acres, linking lands to the north and south and creating a contiguous parcel crucial to the preservation of the Greenbelt for posterity.

A forever gift to the place that had long symbolized home to Capote, where his memory lives on.

Performances of "The Thanksgiving Visitor" will be held on Friday, November 15 at 7 p.m., Saturday, November 16 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, November 17 at 2 p.m. Performances of "One Christmas" and "A Christmas Memory" will be held on Friday, November 29 at 2 p.m. (before the Annual Village Christmas Parade), 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 will bring to life the bittersweet, heartwarming and thought-provoking prose written by one of the 20th Century’s greatest and most celebrated American writers, Truman Capote. Set during The Great Depression of the early 1930s, the three tales are based largely upon Capote’s youth in rural Alabama and focus on young Buddy and his lovingly eccentric cousin, Sook. Together, through one Thanksgiving and two Christmases, Buddy and Sook learn much about honesty, love, loss and enduring friendship.

"The Thanksgiving Visitor" focuses on young Buddy and his reluctance to invite a classmate to his family’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. 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.

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

"The Truman Capote Literary Trust was quite agreeable to having Mr. Capote’s short stories presented in an area he once called home. I am pleased and honored to be bringing these stories, in their entirety, to the stage," said Michael Disher. "It is the hope of the trust that interest in reading these stories is renewed. In many areas, 'A Christmas Memory' was once required reading in many schools," Disher said.

Christina Strassfield, executive director of Southampton Arts Center added: "We look forward to our second season and holiday collaboration with Center Stage at Southampton Arts Center. We can think of no better way to jumpstart the holiday season than with these beautiful tales."