Southampton Arts Center will present “Tru,” the 1989 play by Jay Presson Allen, adapted from the words and works of Truman Capote, on Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23. The play will be directed by Will Pomerantz and stars Patrick Christiano.
In “Tru,” literary legend Truman Capote finds himself a social outcast overnight after betraying the secrets and trust of some high society confidantes in his new novel “Answered Prayers.” Alone in his luxurious New York apartment on Christmas Eve 1975, he drunkenly contemplates fame, literature, and his unfulfilled life.
Adapted from the words and works of Truman Capote, it is set in the writer’s New York City apartment at 870 United Nations Plaza the week before Christmas 1975. An excerpt from Capote’s infamous unfinished roman a clef, “Answered Prayers,” recently has been published in Esquire and having recognized thinly veiled versions of themselves, Manhattan socialites such as Babe Paley and Slim Keith turn their backs on the man, they once considered a close confidant. Alone and lonely, Capote — soothing himself with pills, vodka, cocaine, and chocolate truffles — muses about his checkered life and career in what is essentially a two-act monodrama.
Patrick Christiano has been a realtor in East Hampton for over three decades. He is also a theater critic, journalist, actor and the publisher of TheaterLife.com, a website for theater buffs covering Broadway and Off- Broadway Theater. A member of both the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle, Christiano hosts “Spotlight on the Arts,” an show on LTV, channel 20 in East Hampton, where guests discuss their projects and process.
Christiano first played Truman Capote in “Tru” at Player’s by the Sea in Jacksonville, Florida. He wrote “My Lessons From Dogs,” which he performed in East Hampton as a benefit for ARF at Guild Hall. He also played the realtor in a reality TV series shot in East Hampton called “My Big Redneck Wedding.” His New York City acting credits include Richard in Harold Pinter’s “The Lover,” Silva in Tennessee Williams’s “27 Wagons Full of Cotton,” Felix in Bill Manoff’s “The Owl and the Pussycat” and Touchstone in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”
Will Pomerantz has directed and developed new plays and musicals with many theaters on both the East and West Coasts. He has directed world premieres by such playwrights as John Guare, David Auburn, Craig Lucas, Kia Corthron, David Lindsay-Abaire, Stephen Belber, Noah Haidle, Linda Cho and Kira Obolensky. Pomerantz is currently associate artistic director for Bay Street Theater, where he has directed “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” “Ragtime” and his newly envisioned production of “Evita.” As playwright, his scripts include both plays and books for musicals, including “This Side of Paradise,” “For the Last Time” and “About Love,” which have been produced in New York and regionally.
Tickets are $20 ($15 SAC members) available at southamptonartscenter.org or 631-283-0967. Southampton Arts Center is at 25 Jobs Lane in Southampton.
Staff Writer on May 16, 2024