MY MEMORY:  I will always be grateful for this show because it introduced me to the most amazing person I've ever known in the theatre, actress Ruth Nelson. In 1987 the Williamstown Theatre Festival held a celebration of the Group Theatre. I was fascinated by Shelley Winters' description of the event that changed her artistic life: seeing a matinee of Long Day’s Journey into Night with Ruth Nelson, who she called “America’s Greatest Actress." I was delighted when Ruth accepted my offer to do this show, but nothing compared to the wonder of working with her. Ruth was warm, generous, and so hard-working; the integrity and work ethic she brought to her craft was inspiring. And oh, what magic she created onstage! In no time, she had won everyone’s heart at the theatre -- especially mine -- and she became a dear friend for the rest of her life. I loved spending time with Ruth, especially going to the theatre. I never saw anyone get more joy out of watching her fellow actors on stage. She loved to greet old friends after the show, and their eyes would just light up when they saw her. Her spirit and talent enriched their lives, as it did mine, beyond measure, and I miss her every day. 

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UNLIKELY PAIR CAST SPELL IN TINY JEWEL OF A PLAY

"Oh my, it’s fruitcake weather.”   A Christmas Memory is a fragile wisp of a play, but the exaltation of that line, as Ruth Nelson utters it, lifts it right into the world of myth – a simple story whose rich vein of truth embraces us all.  Gradually, you fall under the spell created by this unlikely pair. Conover’s earnest delivery encompasses both the boy of the story and the man telling it.  And Nelson insidiously steals your heart, using no tricks except the enormous magic of her performance. 

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Jeff Sage’s wonderful stage design helps, too. No set hides the brick walls of the stage. It invites us into a slightly bizarre dream world but also into a play in which we will have to use our imaginations just as much as the actors onstage do.  Director Roger Danforth has shaped a little jewel.  – Marianne Evett, Cleveland Plain Dealer.