TUTA Theatre Will Remount Thornton Wilder’s THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER
Performances run December 1-28.
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TUTA Theatre has announced it will remount its successful 2024 production of the Thornton Wilder drama THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER for the 2025 holiday season. In one 75-minute act and continuous action, THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER chronicles the lives of several generations of an American family by representing the Christmas dinners they celebrated over 90 years. The characters age in front of the audience’s eyes as we witness births, deaths, and the welcoming of new family members. TUTA Co-Artistic Director Jacqueline Stone will again direct the production, which will return to the Bramble Arts Loft, Beatrice Theatre, at 5545 North Clark Street. Previews are Monday, December 1 and Tuesday, December 2 at 7:30 pm each evening. The press opening will be Wednesday, December 3 at 7:30 pm. The run will continue through Sunday, December 28.
TUTA’s 2024 staging of THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER was named by the CHICAGO TRIBUNE as one of the “Top Ten Holiday Shows to See” and was recommended by the CHICAGO READER. BUZZ CENTER STAGE said, “In a time and landscape where holiday entertainment options are virtually endless, THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER counts as an especially rewarding option from a company who has a knack for curating works of discreet brilliance." THIRD COAST REVIEW wrote "...Thank god for TUTA Theatre and their production of Thornton Wilder's 1931 one-act THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER…"
TUTA has enjoyed a string of acclaimed productions since returning in 2024 after a COVID hiatus. ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE won the Jeff Award for Ensemble of a Play, and this year’s rep of TOM & ELIZA and WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT were both extended through September following critical raves. Many of the actors from those productions will appear in THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER. Bide Akande and Clifton Frei were in the award-winning cast of ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE and also appeared in the Rep: Bide Akande and Aziza Macklin were both among the rotating one-night-only performers of WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT, and Clifton Frei played Tom in TOM & ELIZA. Akande will appear in THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER as Cousin Brandon and Sam, Macklin will play Charles’ wife Leonora, and Frei will play Roderick and Roderick II. Huy Nguyen, who will again play Charles, was the opening night performer of WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT. Joan Merlo, another of the performers in WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT, will repeat her 2024 roles as Mother Bayard and Cousin Ermengarde. Charlie Irving will return as Genevieve and Alexis Primus will recreate her roles of Lucia and Lucia II, Understudies are Austin Ryan Hunt (of WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT) and Julia Stemper.
The artistic team, in addition to Stone as Director, includes Keith Parham (Scenic and Lighting Design), who was responsible for the lighting design of BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY on Broadway; Jeff Award winner and six-time nominee Rachel Sypniewski (Costume Design); four-time Jeff Award winner Jeffrey Levin (Sound Designer), whose numerous credits include projects in Chicago Equity and Non-Equity theaters as well as regional companies outside Chicago; Wain Parham (Music Direction), who provided music direction and original composition for ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE and many other previous TUTA productions; and longtime TUTA company member Helen Lattyak (Properties Design). The production team also includes Becky Warner (Stage Manager), Austin Ryan Hunt (Assistant Director), Sharon Ammen (Dramaturg), and Jamal Howard (Casting Director).
THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER, in its first published form, was written in 1931 when Wilder was 34 years old and dividing his time between writing and teaching at the University of Chicago. It was included in the volume THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER AND OTHER PLAYS IN ONE ACT and first performed jointly by the Yale Dramatic Association and the Vassar Philaletheis Society. It was produced on Broadway in 1993 as one of three one-act plays in the program WILDER, WILDER, WILDER. An operatic adaptation of the play, with music by Paul Hindemith, premiered at the Juilliard School of Music in 1963. The play and opera were performed together as a double-header at Lincoln Center in 2014. The opera was performed by the Chicago Fringe Opera in 2018.
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