A Christmas Memory
an adaptation of Truman Capote's short story
by Patsy Moss
December, 2020 & 2021
We are thrilled that "A Christmas Memory" is included in Jim Ruocco's list of "The Best Plays of 2021"!
Click here to see the full list
Thank you to all who attended our virtual holiday co-production with Theatre Artists Workshop!
"Directed by Andrea Lynn Green with style, passion, warmth and purpose, Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory" becomes an important piece of American theatre that pulls you in with its vibrant, impassioned storytelling for a full 47 minutes. Filmed and edited with style and grace by Green and starring Norman Allen and Susan Jacobson (each perfect for their respective roles) this Greenwich Theatre Company production never once misses a beat. Capote's dialogue is rich, thoughtful, important and perfectly in sync with the nostalgic story at hand. And Green and her cast give it the attention it deserves, most agreeably. And most of what happens comes from the heart, which, in turn, gives "Memory" additional resonance, verve and stand-alone importance. Moving forward, this would be the ideal work to stage live at the theater. With Green as director, it would work quite well. As would, bringing back Allen and Jacobson to repeat their film roles. This is a play that demands to be seen and heard...LIVE." - Jim Ruocco, entertainment critic
MEET THE CAST & CREATIVES
TRUMAN CAPOTE (Author) one of the most iconic and successful writers of the 20th century, was born in New Orleans L.A. on September 30th, 1924. He spent childhood years in Monroeville, Alabama, with his Faulk cousins. These early years are reflected in some of his most popular writings, such as his short story, "A Christmas Memory". Eventually he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her second husband. From 1939 - 1941 his family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, where he excelled in school and wrote for the high school's literary journal The Green Witch. Eventually, he returned to live in New York City, attending Franklin School, a private school on the Upper West Side. Publications in Harper's Bizaare established his literary reputation when he was in his twenties. His novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948) and his novella, The Grass Harp (1951) consolidated his precocious fame. His collected stories were published in Tree of Night (1949) and his famous novella Breakfast at Tiffany's was published in 1958. capote also adapted The Grass Harp into a play and wrote the book and lyrics for the famed musical House of Flowers in 1954. His forays into journalism are well documented and highly acclaimed and included Local Color (1950) and The Muses Are Heard (1956). His most famous and successful book is In Cold Blood published in 1966. In his later years he published two collections of fiction and essays, The Dogs Bark (1973) and Music For Chameleons (1980). He died on August 25th, 1984.
NORMAN ALLEN (Buddy) is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He first came to Broadway in the English Stage Company’s Chips with Everything, returning in Half A Sixpence a year later. Other Broadway productions include Borstal Boy; Comedians; Vivat, Vivat, Regina; Major Barbara; Get Thee To Canterbury, to name a few. At Stratford Shakespeare Theatre, he played the closing two seasons: Hamlet and Henry VI with Christopher Walken; and Henry V with Christopher Plummer. He did benefits with Tammie Grimes in Shaviana, Julie Harris in Whitechapel, Celeste Holm in Toes, in an unsuccessful attempt to reboot Stratford Festival Theatre. Regionally, he has appeared in Noises Off, Awake and Sing, Children of Darkness, The Faith Healer, and The Miser. Off-Broadway he starred in Carrin Beginning for the Riverside Stage Company and as Menelaus in The Trojan Women. He has done many readings for the Square Writes of Stratford, and is a member of the Theatre Artists Workshop in Norwalk. He is a member of Actors Equity, AFTRA and SAG.
SUSAN JACOBSON (Cousin) recently portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt under the astute direction of Norman Marshall in the Moses Gunn Play Company’s production of Gray Jacobik’s book, Eleanor. Susan was also accepted into the 2020 People, Politics and Planet Gallery Exhibition in Westport. She received the 2019 United Solo Award for Best Physical Theater for her one-woman show, Collecting Driftwood, which sold out at the Theatre Row Studio Theatre in NYC. In addition to developing Collecting Driftwood for the camera, Susan is shooting episodes for the new HBO series The Gilded Age. A soloist with Mary Anthony Dance Theatre and Susan Jacobson Dancers, she choreographed and performed in the film Letting Go which premiered at Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera Festival. While studying with Uta Hagen and teaching at HB Studio and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Susan worked as a Lincoln Center Teaching Artist and received a MA in Arts & Education from Columbia University. AEA, SAG/AFTRA. Being able to work with Norman and Andrea on this beautiful piece during these harrowing times has been a true gift. Love, peace and kindness to all family, friends and strangers alike. May we be back in the theater soon!
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ANDREA LYNN GREEN (Director/Editor) has found herself wearing a lot of new hats these days. Andrea was making her Broadway debut understudying the role of "Honey" in Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? directed by Joe Mantello, when COVID-19 struck the U.S., shutting down the live theatre industry. Pivoting, Andrea found herself in the newly remote director's chair, creating digital theatre for non-profits, and learning many valuable insights along the way. As an actor, Andrea has worked at Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, Irish Rep, Hartford Stage, Delaware Theatre Company, Ford's Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, The Public, Gulfshore Playhouse, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Music Theatre of Connecticut. TV/Film: Elementary, Crashing, The Carrie Diaries, The Mysteries of Laura, The Super, Exposed. Andrea is the current co-artistic director of Greenwich Theatre Company. She studied at the Vassar Powerhouse Program, and went on to earn her B.A. in Theatre Arts Performance with a minor in Russian & Eastern European Studies at SUNY New Paltz. She is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and Theatre Artists Workshop.
PATSY MOSS (Literary Adapter) has written short plays for TAW festivals, Aery Theatre Company, New Dramatists, and a full length for a staged reading at Ridgefield Public Library. She has directed at Westbeth Theater, Samuel French OOB Festival, assistant directed at Cherry Lane Theatre, and stage managed at Ensemble Studio Theatre. Her acting experience includes working at Provincetown Playhouse, Circle Repertory, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Bottom Line, and Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami. She also taught acting at The New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia. She is a former member of AEA and SAG and a current member of the Dramatists Guild.
Special thanks to Theatre Artists Workshop, where this piece was first developed for the stage.