Review: TRU at Desert Ensemble Theatre

Since I missed Chuck Yates’s award-winning performance of Jay Presson Allen’s TRU the first time around, I was thrilled to review the reprise of his solo show, playing through February 2, 2025, Desert Ensemble Theatre at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. From curtain to curtain the only character on that stage was Truman Capote—TRU—with all his idiosyncrasies, peccadillos, and charm.

It’s hard to praise Chuck Yates’s masterful performance enough. He so captivated the audience that all you could hear, when appropriate, was laughter. Casting that theatrical spell is not new for Yates. For his previous achievement as TRU, Yates was awarded “Performance of the Decade” by Broadway World.

Under David Youse’s careful direction, one would never guess that Yates had uttered that two-hour monologue before. It was a spontaneous and authentic portrayal. This team, having worked together before in an award-winning production at Desert Ensemble Theatre, was Spot-On. I look forward to their future projects.

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