TheatreWorks Presents A CHRISTMAS MEMORY

 

In a big-hearted, gloriously tuneful world premiere musical from a team of celebrated Broadway veterans, Truman Capote's enchanting holiday tale A CHRISTMAS MEMORY springs to life at TheatreWorks, the nationally acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley.  A collaboration between Duane Poole (book), Larry Grossman (music), and Carol Hall (lyrics), starring Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actress Penny Fuller, with orchestrations by Tony Award-nominated Steve Orich, this whimsical new show is a wistful memoir of cherished youth chronicling a young boy's loving friendship with an eccentric elderly relative.  Also featuring TheatreWorks favorite Gabriel Hoffman alongside Eileen Barnett, Jennifer Chapman, Richard Farrell, Joshua Park, and Cathleen Riddley, with TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley at the helm, and musical direction by William Liberatore, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY plays December 1-26 (press opening December 4) at TheatreWorks at Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto. For tickets and information, the public may call 650-463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.
 
Set in a small Southern town in the 1930s, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY is narrated by Buddy, a successful writer who reminisces about his childhood celebrating the holiday season with his elderly cousin and best friend Sook.  The two misfits are inseparable as they launch kites, haunt speakeasies, and mail fruitcakes to everyone from Jean Harlow to President Roosevelt.  This evocative yuletide tale delves into the simple pleasures of country life, friendship, and the joy of giving during the Christmas season.  A CHRISTMAS MEMORY  is based on the largely autobiographical story by Truman Capote, A Christmas Memory, originally published in Mademoiselle Magazine in December, 1956, and reprinted in 1958 as an addendum to Capote's celebrated novella Breakfast at Tiffany's.  It was issued in a stand-alone hardcover edition in 1966. 
 
Truman Capote was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, and plays are recognized as literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood.  Born Truman Streckfus Persons in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1924, Capote's parents divorced when he was four, and he was sent to Monroeville, Alabama, where for the following four to five years, he was raised by his mother's relatives.  He formed a fast bond with his mother's distant relative, Nanny Rumbley Faulk, known as "Sook," upon whom A Christmas Memory is based.  He was also a neighbor and friend of author Harper Lee, who wrote the 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, with the character of Dill based upon young Capote.  Between 1943 and 1946, Capote wrote a continual flow of short fiction, including "Shut a Final Door," for which he won the O. Henry Award at the age of 24 and "Miriam," published in Mademoiselle Magazine.  The critical success of "Miriam" attracted the attention of Random House, resulting in a commission to write a novel.  Other Voices, Other Rooms was completed in 1948, and remained atop the New York Times best-seller list for nine weeks.  The novel was followed by Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1958, and the sensational hit In Cold Blood in 1965, based on a true story.  The book catapulted him into celebrity, and he assumed a jet-setting lifestyle of high society parties and the glamorous world of film and television.  After years of tumultuous living, he died a recluse in 1984.
 
A Christmas Memory was originally adapted for the television's ABC Stage 67 in 1966 by Truman Capote and Eleanor Perry, starring Geraldine Page with Mr. Capote as the narrator.  The production won two Emmy awards and a Peabody Award, and was released in 1969 in cinemas as part of Truman Capote's Trilogy.  It made its theatrical debut in 1991 as the play Holiday Memories by Malcolm Ruhl and Russell Vandenbroucke, combining both the story A Christmas Memory and Capote's lesser-known sequel, The Thanksgiving Visitor.  The story was again adapted for television in 1997 by Duane Poole for Hallmark TV, starring Patty Duke as Sook and Eric Lloyd as Buddy.  A CHRISTMAS MEMORY received a stage reading in March of 2010 at The Human Race Theatre Company and developmental workshops at TheatreWorks in May and September 2010.

Duane Poole (book) has written numerous theatrical projects, including the musical Dorian which had its world premiere at Denver's Buell Theatre.  He has created tribute evenings to Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, Stephen Sondheim, and Stephen Schwartz for the Pasadena Playhouse.  Upcoming productions include Make Someone Happy for Broadway's Judy Kaye and Love Makes the World Go 'Round, featuring the songs of Bob Merrill.  As writer and producer, Mr. Poole's credits range from Hanna-Barbera to Hotel to The HallMark Hall of Fame, including over forty television movies and features.  His film, Shattered Image, was an official selection at the Venice, Montreal, and Toronto Film Festivals.  He has written for performers as varied as Johnny Depp, Glenn Close, Anthony Quinn, Gwen Verdon, Jack Lemmon, George Clooney, Fred Flintstone, and Katharine Hepburn.
 
Larry Grossman (music) has Broadway credits including A Doll's Life (Tony nomination) and Grind (Tony and Drama Desk nominations), both directed by Harold Prince, as well as Minnie's Boys and Goodtime Charley.  His Off-Broadway and London hit Snoopy!! (The Musical) has been translated into six languages, and he was Creative Consultant to the Tony-winning Elaine Stritch: at Liberty.  He composed incidental music for Play Memory and End of the World and off-Broadway and regional credits include Paper Moon and Diamonds. His extensive television work has been awarded six Emmys (17 nominations) and a Peabody Award for his contributions to The Muppet Show.  His film credits include Disney's Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World and The Great Mouse Detective, Princess Diaries 2, and That's Dancing.  His songs have been recorded by artists ranging from Tony Bennett and Lena Horne to David Bowie and Michael Jackson.

Carol Hall (lyrics) wrote music and lyrics for the Tony-winning The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and contributed songs to Sesame Street, A... My Name Is Alice, and the landmark children's classic Free To Be... You and Me.  She wrote the Off-Broadway musical To Whom It May Concern, and the score for Max and Ruby, a children's musical now in its fourth year national tour. Her work has generated Grammys, Emmys, Drama Desk and Peabody Awards, as well as the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award, acknowledging her contribution to American popular song. She also garnered an ASCAP Most-Performed Country Song Award for Dolly Parton's recording of "Hard Candy Christmas." Her songs have been performed by Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Chita Rivera, Barbara Cook, Ann-Margret, Frederica von Stade, and Big Bird, among others.

Steve Orich (Orchestrator) received a Tony Award nomination (Best Orchestrations) for his work on the 2006 Best Musical Jersey Boys.  In regional theatres, he has orchestrated Turn of the Century (Goodman Theatre), You Never Know (Goodspeed Opera House), Paint Your Wagon (Geffen Playhouse), Can-Can (Pasadena Playhouse) and Time After Time (Pittsburgh Playhouse).  As a composer, he has scored many television series, specials, and documentaries, and orchestrated solo albums for artists including Helen Reddy, Judy Kaye, Debbie Gravitte, Petula Clark, and Deborah Gibson, as well as the Grammy-winning Jersey Boys cast album.  His orchestrations have been performed by the Boston Pops, at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the White House, and around the world. For TheatreWorks, he was the Musical Supervisor and Orchestrator for Snapshots in 2008.
 
TheatreWorks has assembled an outstanding cast featuring stage and television star Penny Fuller as Buddy's cousin "Sook."  Ms. Fuller began her Broadway career starring in Barefoot in the Park, three productions in Shakespeare-in-the-Park, and the musicals Cabaret, Rex, and Applause (Tony nomination). Her television work garnered 6 Emmy nominations and an Emmy Award for The Elephant Man. Recent Broadway appearances include The Dinner Party (Tony Nomination) and Dividing The Estate, and numerous off-Broadway and regional productions include The Glass Menagerie (Charlotte Repertory Theatre), The Seagull (The Matrix Theatre Company), and A Delicate Balance (Merrimack Repertory Theatre). With William Finn's A New Brain (Lincoln Center) she returned to musical theatre, and has starred in A Little Night Music (White Plains Performing Arts Center), Do I Hear a Waltz (George Street Playhouse), Noel Coward's Sail Away (London), and embarked on a new career phase as a cabaret artist in New York clubs and theatres. Ms. Fuller won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Mrs. Kendall in The Elephant Man. Additionally, she has appeared in many films including All the President's Men, as well as TV shows including Judging Amy, Law and Order, Grace Under Fire, E.R., and N.Y.P.D. Blue.
 
Starring alongside Ms. Fuller is the Bay Area's own bright young star, Gabriel Hoffman as "Buddy."  This is not the first time Mr. Hoffman has played a character inspired by a young Truman Capote - he was seen most recently in To Kill a Mockingbird at TheatreWorks as "Dill."  Other credits include "Jesse" in Distracted at TheatreWorks, as well as roles at A.C.T., American Musical Theatre San Jose, Broadway By the Bay, and Hillbarn Theatre, as well as a performance at the Razz Room.  Joshua Park joins the cast as "Adult Buddy," the narrator.  Park has Broadway credits including "Tom" in Tom Sawyer and has been seen Off-Broadway at Irish Repertory Theatre, the New York Theater Festival, and York Theatre Company.  Additionally, he has starred as "Pippin" in the national tour of Pippin and has regional credits including Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago, Goodspeed Opera House, Westport County Playhouse, and Stageworks Theatre of Charlotte. 
 
Cathleen Riddley returns to the TheatreWorks stage as "Anna Stabler," where she was recently seen as "Calpurnia" in To Kill a Mockingbird.  Other TheatreWorks credits include roles in Dessa Rose and the Marines Memorial Theatre transfer of Crowns; regional credits include roles at A.C.T., Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, and Magic Theatre. Jenni Chapman appears in the show as "Nelle Harper," MS. Chapman understudied the role of "Scout" in To Kill a Mockingbird at TheatreWorks with multiple performances in the role, and boasts numerous credits at Children's Musical Theatre San Jose. 
 
Making their TheatreWorks debuts are Eileen Barnett as "Jennie Faulk" and Richard Farrell as "Seabon," "HaHa," and "Farley."   Ms. Barnett's regional credits include roles at Reprise Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Rubicon Theatre, Blank Theatre, and Musical Theatre Guild.  She has also guest-starred on numerous television series including E.R., Fraiser, The Gilmore Girls, Days of Our Lives, Melrose Place, Murder She Wrote, Matlock, and Designing Women.  Mr. Farrell's regional credits include many roles at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, as well as roles at Pearl Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, ALLIANCE THEATRE Company, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. 
 
TheatreWorks' Resident Musical Director William Liberatore lends his talents to A CHRISTMAS MEMORY as Musical Director.  Liberatore has conducted more than twenty shows at TheatreWorks including The Light in the Piazza, A Civil War Christmas, Tinyard Hill, Grey Gardens,  Merrily We Roll Along, Dessa Rose, Harold and Maude, Crowns, Jane Eyre, Ragtime, Smokey Joe's Café, and Pacific Overtures.  He was the musical director at American Musical Theatre of San Jose where he conducted more than thirty shows.  Mr. Liberatore has won San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards for Caroline, or Change at TheatreWorks, and A Little Night Music, South Pacific, and Damn Yankees at American Musical Theatre of San Jose.  He is also the choral director at Gunn High School and this year is conducting Symphony Silicon Valley's Broadway in Concert Series. 
 
TheatreWorks founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley, who helmed the company's acclaimed production of Caroline, or Change and multi record-breaking World Premiere musical Emma, directs A CHRISTMAS MEMORY. Kelley has earned Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards for TheatreWorks' productions of Caroline, or Change; Ragtime; Rags; Another Midsummer Night; the West Coast Premiere of Jane Eyre; and the Sondheim classics Sunday in the Park with George; Pacific Overtures; Into the Woods; and Sweeney Todd. Additionally, he is the recipient of Bay Area Drama-Logue Awards for his direction of Pacific Overtures, Ah, Wilderness!, and Once in a Lifetime; and Back Stage West Garland Awards for his direction of Side Show and Sunday in the Park with George. Since founding TheatreWorks in 1970, Kelley has directed over 150 productions for the company.
 
With over 8,000 subscribers and 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast from across the country.  A home for artists developing new works, it was at TheatreWorks that Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical (now beginning its second year on Broadway) was first workshopped and received its world premiere.
 

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