About the Play:

The Santaland Diaries and Season's Greetings contains two one-act comedies by NPR comic genius David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello. The outrageous holiday comedy stars Crumpet, a rebel without a Clause who recounts the true-life tale of an out-of-work writer's stint as a Macy's Department Store elf. These two irreverent comedies by David Sedaris provide some wicked Yuletide humour.

The Santaland Diaries is a hilarious cult classic of what a slacker's Christmas must feel like. Out of work, our slacker decides to become a Macy's elf during the holiday crunch. At first the job is simply humiliating, but once the thousands of visitors start pouring through Santa's workshop, he becomes battle weary and bitter. Taking consolation in the fact that some of the other elves were television extras on One Life to Live, he grins and bears it, occasionally taking out his frustrations on the children and parents alike. The piece ends with yet another Santa being ushered into the workshop, but this one is different from the lecherous or drunken ones with whom he has had to work. This Santa actually seems to care about and love the children who come to see him, startling our hero into an uncharacteristic moment of goodwill just before his employment runs out. (Cast: 1 man)

Joe Mantello adapted the David Sedaris comedic first-person essay for the stage as a one-man, one-act play, which premiered as The Santaland Diaries in 1996 at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City. The play enjoyed widespread acceptance among leading regional theatres, and has become a seasonal staple for college, high-school and community theatre productions.

Season's Greetings is just your average holiday newsletter to friends and family, with a twist. Another funny, touching – and twisted – monologue about the season. (Cast: 1 woman)

What people say:

"A delightfully thorny account of working as a Yuletide elf at Macy's. Priceless observations, both outrageous and subtle. Destined to hold a place in the annals of American humor writing." — New York Times

"A sardonic, merrily subversive tale — just the antidote to bright-eyed joy before too many shopping days have passed. Worth more than a photo album full of Santas." — New York Newsday

"A satirical brazenness that holds up next to Twain and Nathanael West." — The New Yorker

"The Santaland Diaries is quite possibly the thirty-one funniest pages of text published in the past quarter century… David Sedaris slays me." — Seattle Weekly

"A caustic mix of J.D. Salinger and John Waters." — Publishers Weekly

"A subversively cynical, misanthropic wit." — Time Out NY

About the Playwright:

David Sedaris is an American playwright, bestselling author, and a regular commentator for National Public Radio (NPR). He has become one of America's pre-eminent humorists and travels extensively though Europe and the United States on lecture tours.

Joseph Mantello is an American actor and director best known for his work on the New York stage, both on and off Broadway.