In Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory the much-maligned fruitcake seems to take center stage in the story of a young boy and adult cousin. Ignored by the rest of the family, the pair develops an amazing bond over their adventures, and their determination during the depression to earn and save enough money for the ingredients to bake the very special fruit cakes that they send as gifts to people sometimes very far away.
The fruitcake is the gift of course but their love, friendship and support of each other is the big gift that lasts. But how wonderful for all the recipients to be on the receiving end of that friendship and love, too.
There’s something really special about feeding people and showing them that you love them. All that holiday baking, and gifts like that, do make a difference —how wonderful to be remembered! Time and again at the theater it’s impossible not to notice how people light up when there are cookies, cake or other treats appear.
We hope you will join us this holiday for this beautiful show featuring Park Bucker unfolding the Christmas Memory and for the poignant Long Christmas Dinner by Thornton Wilder, celebrating the treasure of family directed by John Clancy.
More than anything else, though, we hope that we will find togetherness, sustenance, and a way of coming together in the theater, in our homes, and business, and life itself that allows us to celebrate and treasure one another this Christmas and every day.
We will be sharing fruit cake and other treats and recipes gathered from friends at every performance.
Please join us to celebrate together, let us treat you to a bite or two a fruitcake and carry some of that sweetness and connection through the holidays into every day thereafter.
Tickets are on sale now for the American holiday stories at MET. Visit metkc.org or call 816-569-3226 for yours or to give to others. In addition to doing the play, we are conducting a food drive and will be sharing all the canned goods and non-perishable items we gather with local food banks.
