David Sedaris’s ‘Santaland Diaries’ at Shakespeare & Co. for 3rd and Final Year

David Josef Hansen is Crumpet the Elf in Shakespeare & Co.’s “Santaland Diaries” (photo Scott Barrow)

(LENOX, Mass.) – Shakespeare & Company’s annual – and final – run of David Sedaris’ irreverent Christmas memoir, The Santaland Diaries, opens on Friday, November 30, 2012, at 7:30 p.m., and runs through Sunday, December 30, 2012, in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. This year, longtime company member David Joseph Hansen plays Sedaris’s less-than-merry autobiographical self, Crumpet the Elf. Once again, artistic director Tony Simotes directs.

Tickets are $15-$50. To view a complete schedule, receive a brochure, or inquire about discounts, call the Shakespeare & Company box office at 413. 637.3353 or visit Shakespeare & Company.

Simotes and Hansen have worked together several times over the years, most notably on the The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged), on which the pair have worked together three times at Shakespeare & Company. Hansen last appeared with Shakespeare & Company in the 2005 mainstage production of The Taming of the Shrew, which starred OBIE Award winner Rocco Sisto and was directed by Daniela Varon.

During the entire run of The Santaland Diaries, Shakespeare & Company will be accepting donations on behalf of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the nation’s leading industry based HIV/AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization. This is the third consecutive year the company has worked with Broadway Cares, which uses the donated funds to support local organizations. Over the past two years, Shakespeare & Company has raised over $10,000 for Broadway Cares.

David Josef Hansen is Crumpet the Elf in Shakespeare & Co.’s “Santaland Diaries” (photo Scott Barrow)

The Santaland Diaries is the occasionally subversive, alarmingly clever, engagingly poignant, and rib-tickling account of David Sedaris’s time as a Christmas elf in the famous Macy’s Santaland.  The essay on which the play is based propelled Sedaris into the national spotlight when it was first published and is now a modern holiday classic. After applying for the position as a gag job, Crumpet the Elf is suddenly thrown into a world of tinsel, fake snow, Santas who are more naughty than nice, and all the cringe-worthy trappings of the Macy’s Santaland. Crumpet guides the audience through the yuletide nightmare with a wryly satiric attitude, but even he may eventually find himself filled with holiday cheer. A true tale of redemption and good will, The Santaland Diaries is a hilarious depiction of what the modern holidays are all about.

 

 

 

 

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