Truman Capote’s hilarious and heartwarming “Holiday Memories” showcases the author's deliciously dry humor, a beloved spinster, whisky-soaked fruitcake, kooky Southern relatives, and a tipsy rat terrier. Norwalk’s Theatre Artists Workshop will present an adaptation of Capote's holiday classic on Friday, December 2 and Saturday, December 3 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, December 4 at 3 p.m.
Admission to the concert reading is free, but a $15 donation is suggested at the door to support the Workshop, a non-profit organization of professional actors, writers, and directors founded in 1983 by stage and screen star Keir Dullea.
Skillfully adapted by Russell Vandenbrouke, the two tender and touching one-acts that comprise “Holiday Memories” bring to the stage two of Capote’s most beloved stories, “A Thanksgiving Visitor” and “A Christmas Memory,” which vividly detail the author’s recollections of being a small boy sent to live with Alabama relatives during the 1930’s Depression.
Longtime Workshop member, Jo Anne Parady of Southport, creates the pivotal role of Capote’s elderly spinster cousin, the reclusive Miss Souk, whose cherished relationship with young Truman lies at the heart of the tale.
Utilizing the theatrical conceit and inherent dramatic tension of a middle-aged narrator sharing the stage with his younger self, “Holiday Memories” features Workshop pro Katie Sparer of Stratford as 7-year-old Truman, and the versatile Mark Basile of Weston, as the older Truman. Basile and Sparer also direct the evening. Melody James of Westport and Granville Burgess of Greenwich play a wide range of Capote’s colorful, funny, and sometimes terrifying characters, including the Reverend J.C. Lucy, “HaHa” Jones, the girl bully, and the “meanest human creature,” Odd Henderson.
Theatre Artists Workshop is located at 5 Gregory Blvd. in Norwalk, Conn. For more information, phone (203) 854-6830, or visit taworkshop.org.
Pictured (left to right) are Granville Burgess of Greenwich, Katie Sparer of Stratford, Jo Anne Parady of Southport, Mark Basile of Weston, and Melody James of Westport