Videos for
The Long Christmas Ride Home

Watch the trailer	Paula Vogel
Basil Twist	Philip Flavin

“THEATRICAL MAGIC! A sophisticated blend of art forms” – Oakland Tribune
"A shiver-making experience! Exquisite!” – New York Times
“Poignant, witty, thought provoking and wildly imaginative” – SF Chronicle
“Full of adventurous theatricality... Haunting and stunning!” – Associated Press

West Coast Premiere
THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE HOME
by Paula Vogel
directed by Basil Twist
choreography by Joe Goode
featuring Shamisen master Philip Flavin and dancer Jess Curtis/Gravity
Bay Area puppeteers provided by Lunatique Fantastique

through June 17
(3 encore performances added!)
Northside Theatre

An exciting new work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of How I Learned to Drive and The Baltimore Waltz. A single, sudden act of violence shatters the lives of three siblings – and also unites them. Dubbed by Ms. Vogel as her “love poem to San Francisco,” this lyrical and haunting new work combines live actors and Bunraku puppets to portray a love strong enough to reach beyond death to heal the inescapable legacies of childhood. The Long Christmas Ride Home brings together a unique collection of accomplished artists in a production that plays with theatrical form and structure in unexpected ways.

Dubbed by Ms. Vogel as her “love poem to San Francisco,” the play takes its cue from Japanese puppet theatre, using music, dance and poetry to tell this sprawling story that spans decades. In her long and celebrated career, Paula Vogel has tackled many taboo subjects: AIDS, incest, abuse, prostitution. It is her ability to create emotional truth in these uncharted territories that has made her one of the most produced playwrights around the country. New York Times has written of her: "Ms. Vogel has a gift for sustaining humor and pathos at the same time, without trivializing either emotion."