Truman Capote’s beloved short story, A Christmas Memory, will once again be performed as a one-man show by actor and theologian E.R. Haire, Jr. at The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness.
Four shows are set, beginning on Friday, December 16th at 7:30pm. The rest of the schedule includes Saturday, December 17th at 7:30pm, Sunday, December 18th at 2:30pm and 7:30pm. The performances will be held in the Wilderness Room of the Parish House, across Rutledge Drive from the church building at 1895 Greenville Highway in Flat Rock.
This is the 20th year Dr. Haire has performed the story from Los Angeles to Edinburgh, Scotland with many stops in between.
“This story has become a big part of my life and I never really realized it until returning to perform it at home. It brings the story’s poignant message full circle,” said Dr. Haire.
The show is free to the public, but seating is limited to 50 people per performance and RSVP is required. Sign up here. Face masks are optional.
A Christmas Memory takes place during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Until he was ten years old, Truman Capote lived with elderly relatives in a small town in rural Alabama. The story is a frankly autobiographical account of those years, especially of his relationship with one of the elderly cousins, Miss Sook Faulk.
The greatest examples of Capote’s skillfulness as a writer are found among the stories inspired by his early childhood and the relationships he forged growing up in the rural South.
A Christmas Memory first appeared in Mademoiselle Magazine in the late 1950s, when Capote was 27 years old, and has since become one of his most beloved and bestselling
works.
Mr. Capote was a flamboyant figure in both literary and cultural circles. Controversial, colorful and complex, he was a writer of uncommon grace. His best-known works include Breakfast at Tiffany’s, In Cold Blood, Other Voices Other Rooms, and The Grass Harp. Mr. Capote died in 1984 at the age of 59.
Earle Ross (E.R.) Haire, Jr. PhD is a native of North Carolina. His professional achievements combine acting and theology. In Los Angeles, he worked as an actor and at Paramount Studios. Theater credits in Los Angeles include The Foreigner, You Can’t Take It With You, Hamlet, Henry V, Richard III, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and the comedy spoof Riffs of Shakespeare. Dr. Haire is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Dr. Haire earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree from Yale University Divinity School, focusing on drama and worship. In 2017 he earned a PhD. In Theology and Ethics from the University of the Edinburgh in Scotland.
St. John in the Wilderness is located in Flat Rock, NC at 1905 Greenville Highway. Queries may be directed to the church office, (828) 693-9783 or officeadmin@stjohnflatrock.org.
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