Is there any word dearer to the winter holidays than “nostalgia”? Something about the combination of cozy blankets in cold weather, classic movies, childhood memories, and the swirl of seasonal traditions makes the past feel close, its charms pushed to the forefront and its ills temporarily forgiven.
There’s certainly no better word to describe the energy suffusing the Alchemy Theatre’s current production of A Christmas Memory, Luke Hill’s adaptation of Truman Capote’s autobiographically inspired 1956 novella. The homey set, carefully arranged in the Alchemy’s intimate black-box space; the soft lights in pastel colors, magnificently designed by UT student Zackary Read; the costumes by Stephanie Slayton in thick, woven fabrics. It all comes together to bathe the stage in fond and fuzzy-edged memory.
The story itself is a tender recounting of youthful holidays spent with beloved elderly Cousin Sook (perfectly encapsulated in the description “shy with everyone but strangers”), and from the outset director Michael Cooper’s production feels deeply personal. It’s the experience of showing up to a stranger’s door and having them welcome you inside like you’re an old friend. As the unnamed narrator, Leslie R. Hethcox is effortlessly endearing and classically Southern, sliding between conspiratorial confessions of petty indulgences, presentational storytelling, and floating recollections with winsome and irresistible charm. His love for Cousin Sook (Carol Hickey, at once firmly grounded and larger than life) is a tangible presence, as is her love for his younger self (played in the past by 12-year-old Noah Griffin Brooks) who she calls Buddy and treats as a surrogate son. It’s hard to watch without thinking of the important figures of one’s own past and the formative experiences that shaped us.
And yet, with no disrespect to any of the actors, I wonder if it might not work better as a two-person show, with the narrator interacting with Cousin Sook directly. From a performance standpoint, the chemistry between Hethcox and Hickey is notably stronger than that between either older actor and Brooks – perhaps inevitably, as Brooks is somewhat hampered by the fact that Buddy is a nonspeaking role. More importantly, though, the thematic core of the play lies in its exploration of our relationships to memory and each other: bridging that gap of time by having the narrator step into his own past to revisit this woman who was once the center of his young world might make us feel more poignantly the chasm between present and past.
Even so, A Christmas Memory is a warm and inviting production that embodies all the best pieces of the holidays: love and loved ones, giving even when we don’t have much ourselves, and the sense of connection to past and community. It’s a wonderful suggestion to reflect on our own important people and, after riding with the Alchemy Theatre along the gentle stream of time, perhaps to write those precious persons a letter in the manner of Cousin Sook’s closing request to Buddy: “Go see a picture show and write me a story.”
Alchemy Theatre’s A Christmas Memory
130 Pedernales Ste. 318-B
thealchemytheatre.org
Through Dec. 16
Run time: 60 min.
This article appears in Gift Guide 2023.