Theatrical Outfit Presents The Gifts of the Magi
Dec 4, 2014

THE GIFTS OF THE MAGI story: It is Christmas, the season of giving, but for young penniless lovers Jim and Della, the prospects are bleak. Each valiantly struggles to find the perfect gift for the other. Meanwhile, forgotten man Soapy comically attempts to get thrown in jail for a free meal and place to sleep. Characters "City Him" and "City Her" join in the hustle and bustle of cold 19th Century New York. News Vendor Willy warmly guides the way with wise council and soaring melodies. A charming and transcendent musical that asks, "Is the wisdom in the gift or in the giving?"

A CHRISTMAS MEMORY story: Theatrical Outfit will feature Artistic Director, Tom Key, on stage for his one-man adaptation of Truman Capote's cherished story, "A Christmas Memory." An Alabama native himself, Key narrates the semi-autobiographical tale of seven-year-old Alabama boy, Buddy, and his unique friendship with his elderly eccentric cousin, like "a lost pair of kites hurrying towards heaven."

WHY THIS PLAY, WHY NOW?: When a story like O'Henry's The Gifts of the Magi becomes a classic for generations, I imagine that at least a few readers, or a scholar or two, are curious if the story was based on an actual event. Perhaps part of the reason such a story becomes a classic in the first place is because readers hope that it is true. And, in the case of O'Henry's out-of-work, newly-wed, by turns grateful and terrified, exhausted and, most importantly, deeply in love characters, Jim and Della, what might be the most hopeful fact of this fiction's success is the possibility that we, too, know that to give as they do is what it is to be alive. Thank you for attending this ritual of Theatre that makes fiction immediately plausible and eternally true. -- Tom Key, Artistic Director

THE GIFTS OF THE MAGI run dates: December 4, 2014 - December 21, 2014

- Previews at 7:30 p.m. December 4 and 5

- Opening night performance is at 7:30 p.m. December 6

- Remainder of run is 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday -- with no Saturday matinee opening week

A CHRISTMAS MEMORY run dates: Two Days Only: Monday and Tuesday, December 22-23 at 7:30 p.m.