Butler Theatre: Long Christmas Ride Home

Butler Theatre: Long Christmas Ride Home at Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts

Christmas lights don't always mean comfort. Sometimes they mean the night everything cracked open. Butler Theatre's *The Long Christmas Ride Home* brings that tension to the Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts in Indianapolis on November 15 at 2:00 PM. If your holiday season has room for a story with a little more truth in it, this Paula Vogel play is a bold place to spend an afternoon.

The story follows three children from one turbulent Christmas Eve into adulthood. Then it keeps moving, shifting between memory and the present. Love, violence, grief and the possibility of forgiveness all share the road. That's the pull here: a family story that shows how childhood moments can follow us for decades. You may see your own relatives in it. You may see the people you've worked to understand. Either way, it's the kind of theatre that stays with you after the lights come up and the coats go back on.

Actors and puppets share the stage, with puppet designs by guest artist David Valentine and direction by William Fisher. That blend gives the story a striking visual language, and it makes live performance feel like the only way to meet it. Come for a Sunday matinee that offers something unlike the usual seasonal fare. Bring someone who appreciates daring storytelling, and secure your seats for The Long Christmas Ride Home in Indianapolis.