''The Long Christmas Dinner'' is a play in one act written by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

novelist and playwright

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

in 1931. In its first published form, it was included in the volume ''The Long Christmas Dinner and Other Plays in One Act''.

Characters

The characters, as they are listed in the script: *Lucia *Mother Bayard *Roderick *Cousin Brandon *Charles, son of Roderick and Lucia *Genevieve, daughter of Roderick and Lucia *The Nurse *Leonora, wife of Charles *Ermengarde *Sam, son of Charles and Leonora *Lucia II, daughter of Charles and Leonora *Roderick II, son of Charles and Leonora

Plot

Setting: 90 years in the dining room of the Bayard House. Length: ~35 minutes Summary: A one-act drama about several generations of one family: A play whose action traverses ninety years and represents in accelerated motion ninety Christmas dinners in the Bayard home. The development of the countryside, the changes in customs and manners during this period of time as well as the growth of the Bayard family and their accumulation of property sums up vividly a wide aspect of American life. It is a serious play lightened with humor of character; it has a human, tender, moving quality both appealing and forceful.

Performance history

It was first performed jointly by the Yale Dramatic Association and the Vassar Philaletheis Society. Currently, Samuel French, Inc., owns the rights to ''The Long Christmas Dinner''.

Adaptation

In 1963, an operatic adaptation, with music by

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

to text by Wilder, entitled '' The Long Christmas Dinner'', was premiered at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

Influence

''The Long Christmas Dinner'' inspired a famous scene in

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

's 1941 film ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' — the breakfast-table montage in which the nine-year deterioration of Kane's marriage is told through a conversation seen in five vignettes. Several breakfast scenes were to be filmed, but during shooting Welles had the idea of simply photographing it as a continuous scene without dissolves, with the camera whipping back and forth. "

he idea He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

was stolen from ''The Long Christmas Dinner'' of Thornton Wilder!" Welles told filmmaker

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on ...

. "I did the breakfast scene thinking I'd invented it. It wasn't in the script originally. And when I was almost finished with it, I suddenly realized that I'd unconsciously stolen it from Thornton and I called him up and admitted to it." When Bogdanovich asked how Wilder reacted, Welles replied, "He was pleased." Welles and Wilder were good friends. Welles, Orson, and

, edited by Jonathan Rosenbaum, '' This is Orson Welles''. New York:

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

Publishers 1992 hardcover pp. 51–52

References

External links

''The Long Christmas Dinner'' Further Commentary
by The Thornton Wilder Society
''The Long Christmas Dinner'' Teaching Materials
by The Thornton Wilder Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Christmas Dinner Plays by Thornton Wilder 1931 plays One-act plays Coward-McCann books