A Christmas Memory. DR2 (see Off Broadway). Book by Duane Poole. Music by Larry Grossman. Lyrics by Carol Hall. Directed by Charlotte Moore. With ensemble cast. Running time: 2hrs 5mins. One intermission.
A Christmas Memory: In brief
The compelling Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) stars in a nostalgic Christmas musical adapted—by Duane Poole, Larry Grossman and Carol Hall—from a story by Truman Capote, about a boy and his eccentric Southern family. The Irish Rep's Charlotte Moore directs the local premiere.
A Christmas Memory: Theater review by Diane Snyder
Money is scarce, presents are handmade, and Christmas spirit means baking fruitcakes for gift-giving. We’re in Monroeville, Alabama, in 1933, for A Christmas Memory, an overly family-friendly musical adaptation of Truman Capote’s autobiographical short story. Wrapped with nostalgia and homespun charm, this Irish Rep production is enchanting for a spell, but Larry Grossman and Carol Hall’s playful songs and emotive ballads are at odds with the unembellished beauty of the source material.
Book writer Duane Poole expands on this tale of a boy, Buddy (Silvano Spagnuolo), and his elderly cousin, Sook (Tony winner Alice Ripley), without really enriching it, framing scenes of these kindred spirits celebrating the season—with possible separation looming—with ones of an adult Buddy (Ashley Robinson), now a successful author, returning home in 1955. The magic of A Christmas Memory comes from the power of Ripley’s and Robinson’s performances, while Capote’s words, which comprise some of the dialogue and narration, resound with affection. They’re never cloying, whereas much of the musical is so excessively jovial that it risks romanticizing hardship.—Theater review by Diane Snyder
THE BOTTOM LINE Capote doesn’t go well with this much sugaring.
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