He (Capote) was able to draw on this rich and bizarre childhood.” I always, when I read it, I could see the incubation of this man’s talent, because of his imagination as a child.

It takes place in a dire time, the Depression. “It’s a story about someone who grew up in a most bizarre setting, but they were a family. He’s won a large pile of Emmys and has composed for a number of Broadway shows.

“It’s about family,” said Grossman, whose Broadway credits include writing the title song for Woody Allen’s “Play it Again, Sam” in 1969, and whose TV credits include some Muppets tunes. But mainly it’s the sweet little story of Buddy’s last Christmas with his most-loved adult from his childhood. The boy and the elderly woman - and their faithful dog - have their own little world within the greater family, who are only called “relatives” or, on Christmas morning, “the household.” There’s a bit of drama when the old woman and the young boy drink the little bit of whiskey left in the bottle from the fruitcakes and do some dancing, which angers the other relatives. “He had us at first bark,” Grossman said.) (The writers happened to be around when the dog auditioned. The creators of the show - all of whom have impressive Broadway and Hollywood credits - gathered for an interview at the TheatreWorks rehearsal facility late last month, while down the hall Robert Kelley, the company’s artistic director, and musical director William Liberatore were rehearsing a cast that includes Tony-nominated actress Penny Fuller, Bay Area favorite Gabriel Hoffman, singer Cathleen Riddley - and a dog. Being true to Truman Capote was so much in our minds for this show.”Īnd lyricist Carol Hall added, “This has always been my favorite story. They weren’t focused on the material as much as they should be. We’ve all been writing the same show.”Ĭomposer Larry Grossman noted that “a lot of misbegotten shows go wrong because the various collaborators each had a different show in mind.

“Because of that, our approaches were very compatible. “All three of us had the same feeling about this story,” said Duane Poole, who wrote the book. When a team formed to write a stage musical of the Truman Capote short story “A Christmas Memory” started working together, the three members found they had something crucial in common.

A christmas story truman capote