Butler Theatre presents The Long Christmas Ride Home

It's Christmas, and three children are crowded into the back seat of the family car headed to their grandparents' house to celebrate a holiday that becomes more complicated than anyone anticipated. Beneath the festive surface lies marital strife, unexpressed resentment, and unspoken truths all taking place in 1960s America when family dynamics and the definition of identity were rapidly changing. Vogel takes us on an extraordinary journey through memory and time to meet Rebecca, Claire, and Stephen as children, portrayed by puppets, each following a very different path into adulthood. Inspired by Bunraku puppetry and the theatrical storytelling of Thornton Wilder, best known for Our Town, Vogel creates a world in which past and present coexist. Actors engage the audience directly, luring us into the story with the comfortable familiarity of a family holiday gathering, where the extraordinary is always present, often just beneath the surface. Emmy Award-winner David Valentine has skillfully designed and constructed puppets that represent the main characters as children. They are animated by members of the ensemble with remarkable intensity, clarity, and humanity, all of which heighten seemingly ordinary moments and contribute to the theatrical magic of the production. The Long Christmas Ride Home is an intimate, inventive, oftentimes hilarious piece of theatre that moves between tenderness and shocking moments with ease. Through Vogel's evocative language, puppetry, and direct storytelling, a single Christmas journey becomes a story that stretches across decades, revealing how just one fleeting moment can remain present in the lives of family members forever. Note: This production contains mature themes and adult content. Recommended for audiences ages 18 and up.