Home  Entertainment Reviews Review: Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris (Dec. 10)
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Review: Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris (Dec. 10) |
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Written by Barry Gaines
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Monday, 10 December 2007 |
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After playing a series of complex and challenging roles with FUSION Company at the Cell Theater, Ross Kelly is shifting gears with the one-man holiday comedy routine “Santaland Diaries” at The Box Performance Space. Kelly performed the show four years ago at the Vortex.
“Santaland Diaries” is based on the journal kept by National Public Radio humorist and commentator David Sedaris when he was employed as a Christmas elf at Macy’s famed New York department store in 1990 and 1991. Sedaris first read the work on NPR’s Morning Edition in 1992, and it has become an annual tradition. “Santaland Diaries” was adapted for the stage by Tony Award winning director and actor Joe Mantello. This study of elf-awareness and elf-determination is a pleasant antidote for an overdose of seasonal sentimentality. Under the direction of Lee Francis, versatile Ross Kelly plays a 33-year-old who has come to New York to break into show biz, preferably as a soap opera regular. After three weeks in town, and down to his last twenty bucks, he responds to a want ad and calls Macy’s about becoming an elf. Following a series of interviews and tests, he is admitted into the elfin ranks and issued his elfin costume: red and white tights that make his legs look like large candy canes, a yellow turtleneck under a green velvet smock, green knickers, “a perky little hat decorated with spangles,” and Mr. Spock ears. He chooses the impish name of “Crumpet” and is trained in relentless cheerfulness until his face is set in a permanent false grin and his speech exudes enthusiasm. Crumpet tells us more than we want to know about the operation of Santaland, and he imitates the other elves and Santas with whom he works. One Santa encourages his small visitors to explore entomology as a vocation. Crumpet also provides examples of parent/child interaction during the Christmas season (“Stop crying right now or I’ll give you something to cry about.”). It’s painfully funny. This is my first visit to The Box Performance Space, and, well, it is aptly named. Kelly decorated the small acting area with a mural painted by Ash Wednesday (isn’t that the wrong holiday?), a large red Santa Chair, and lots of stuffed animals, lights, and candy canes. Kelly’s presentation of elf-incrimination is good fun. If You Go WHAT: “Santaland Diaries” by David Sedaris WHEN: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. through December 23 WHERE: The Box Performance Space, 1025 Lomas Blvd. NW HOW MUCH: $10. Call 404-1578 for ticket information
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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