Sasha Lee Andrews, Jaz Astwood and More to Star in THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER
Step into The Long Christmas Dinner, a sweeping journey through nine decades of the Bayard family’s holiday table at Hudson Valley Shakespeare.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Nov. 18, 2025
Hudson Valley Shakespeare and Philipstown Depot Theater will present a staged reading of The Long Christmas Dinner written by Thornton Wilder (Our Town) and directed by Alice Jankell (An Enchanted April). In honor of Our Town and the Cosmic One-Acts, Wilder’s latest collection of short plays, the reading will take place on Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 6:30pm at Philipstown Depot Theater.
Following the success of Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s 2025 production of Wilder’s 1955 play, The Matchmaker, which was helmed a New York Times’ Critic’s Pick, the company is partnering with Philipstown Depot Theater for this one-night-only presentation. The Long Christmas Dinner is one of several staged readings being held at theaters across the country in celebration of the publication of Our Town and the Cosmic One-Acts, a landmark new collection of Wilder’s short plays.
Step into The Long Christmas Dinner, a sweeping journey through nine decades of the Bayard family’s holiday table. In this poignant and poetic one-act by Thornton Wilder, time bends and generations pass before our eyes, revealing what changes, and what endures. As laughter, loss, and tradition circle back again and again, we’re reminded that every family dinner tells a timeless story.
The cast of The Long Christmas Dinner will include Sasha Lee Andrews (What Breaks the Ice) as Lucia, Jaz Astwood (Something Rotten) as Genevieve, Christine Bokhour (Jesus Christ Superstar) as Lucia, Sarah-Jane Casey as Leonara Banning, Devin Gibbs (Choir Boy) as Samuel, Sean McNall (The Comedy of Errors) as Charles, Ryan Quinn (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) as Roderick, Kurt Rhoads (The Matchmaker) as Cousin Brandon, Peggy J. Scott (The Slow Dance) as Mother Bayard, Julian Shatkin (Ashes & Ink) as Roderick Jr., and Nance Williamson (The Matchmaker) as Cousin Ermengarde.
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