Sedaris' Santaland

"I wear green velvet knickers, a forest green velvet smock, and a perky little hat decorated with spangles. This is my work uniform..."

One of my favorite parts of my recent rendezvous in Chicago was seeing the stage adaptation of David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries at The Theatre Building Chicago. As many of you know, David Sedaris is is an award-winning comedic author and radio contributor. Many of his books are essay collections, and two of his most popular are Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (2004) and Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000), both of which became New York Times Best Sellers. I kid you not when I tell you that they are roll-on-the-ground hilarious.

Sedaris' Santaland Diaries is the essay that, in 1992, launched his career when it broadcast on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. In fact, the New York Times described how the broadcast made Sedaris "a minor phenomenon." In the essay, Sedaris recounts his days as a Christmas elf at Macy's department store in New York City. You must listen to the NPR broadcast here. I promise that it will be the most hilarious thing you'll hear all day.

When we saw the stage adaptation in Chicago, it was equally hilarious. Mitchell J. Fain played the perfect David Sedaris (a.k.a. Crumpet, the elf). It was just a one-man show, in a very tiny theater, but so much personality and humor was packed into the performance. Amazingly, the show wasn't even sold out, and tickets were a steal. At least check out the NPR broadcast and let me know what you think! I hope it will make you laugh out loud, too.