Ethan Hawke, Anthony Rapp, Jeff Tweedy, and More Will Perform The Long Christmas Dinner Across The Country

Thornton Wilder’s holiday classic The Long Christmas Dinner, first produced in 1931, will be presented by more than 30 community-facing organizations across the country this November and December as part of The Long Christmas Dinner Festival. In the course of a single holiday meal, 90 years of a family’s history fly by in this 40-minute one-act play.

The festival will kick off at the Public Theater in New York City on Monday, November 2. The cast includes Ethan Hawke, Jose Llana, and Tappan Wilder, Thornton Wilder’s nephew and the managing member of the Wilder Family LLC. Additional casting will be announced soon.

Rent‘s Anthony Rapp and Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco will be part of the performance of The Long Christmas Dinner at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. Complete casting, which will include a mix of actors and community members, will be announced soon for other performances nationwide.

So far, 31 theaters, schools, and bookstores in 20 states, including Alaska, Florida, California, and Maine, have signed on, with more expected to join this inaugural year. Click here to see a full list of participants.

Performances range from full productions to staged readings. The Wilder Estate has foregone a licensing fee for any organization that wishes to present a reading and discussion of the play for their community. Through a partnership with Educational Theatre Foundation (ETF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to broadening representation and increasing access to theater education, the Wilder Estate has also made The Long Christmas Dinner available to high schools.