It all happens in the blink of an eye.
Given that Thornton Wilder’s classic one-act drama, “The Long Christmas Dinner,” encompasses nine decades, it is anything but lengthy.
In a little over 30 minutes, 90 years of Bayard family Christmas dinners take place. In that time, the audience is introduced to generations past, present and future as times change and life marches on.
“The play plays straight through. The play doesn’t stop. But we just sort of take liberties with time and jump ahead,” Director Richard Pahl said. “It may not be obvious to the audience the first couple of changes, but the audience will get it pretty quickly.”
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Janus Theatre Company will present the play Dec. 13-22 at Al’s Café in downtown Elgin. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 7 p.m. Sundays. Seating for dinner is 90-120 minutes before the show. Call the restaurant for tickets and reservations.
“This play is (set) around the family Christmas dinner table,” Pahl said. “It works perfectly in the Al’s Café setting.”
This is Janus Theatre Company’s third production at the historical, Victorian style building that houses Al’s Café, and the second show Pahl has directed there. He previously directed a production of “The Long Christmas Dinner” in 1992 at the Hemmens Cultural Center.
“I have visited this script before and it’s nice to be back,” said Pahl, who lives in Elgin.
Wilder, perhaps best known for his 1938 classic “Our Town,” wrote the one-act drama several years prior.
“He published this book of six one-act play six years earlier in 1931, after he had success as a novelist,” Pahl said.
Similar to “Our Town,” the one-act play calls for a sparse set. The script, Pahl said, benefits from its setting inside Al’s Café, where it is as if the audience is really watching the Bayard family dine.
“It’s way sweeter there than it would be in a black box,” Pahl said. “Really, Wilder wrote it for to be no set. He suggested if you had the money and were doing it on a big stage, he just suggested gray curtains so all the emphasis was on the table and the family around the table.”
The cast, which Pahl called “a great little ensemble,” includes Trace Gamache, Matt Hellyer, Richard Isemonger, Jan Jacobs, Ann Marie Nordby, Crystal Skipworth and Michael Wagman.
“It’s a fun exercise for actors. Three of them come in at the beginning and they gradually grow older, and may die off and then that actor may come back a few minutes later playing their own grandchild named after them. So it’s a fun exercise for actors to get to play aging vocally and physically.”
Like the setting, costumes for the cast are minimal as well.
“There’s not really time to make major costume changes. When they change character and return, they’ll just change maybe one piece,” Pahl said. “When they get older they might wear a shawl, when they get younger they might wear a bow in their hair. It will just be very suggestive. “
Wilder, he said, was a writer who experimented with a lot of different techniques and styles.
“A lot of the language is very poetic,” Pahl said. “There’s a few lovely lines that get repeated … It’s a sweet use of language.”
The play, which looks at the generational legacy handed down, is appropriate for all ages, he said.
“I think it would be quite a conversation starter for people. I think having seen it, people will appreciate their own families more at their own Christmas dinner,” Pahl said. “I think it will resonate for people.”
‘The Long Christmas Dinner’
When: Dec. 13-22
Where: Al’s Café, 43 DuPage Court, Elgin
Tickets: $15 for show, plus dinner
Information: 847-742-1180; www.janusplays.com
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Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.