1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Best when seen with a former elf.
Date of Review: Oct 17, 2000
Of the two plays, I actually got to see one; SANTALAND DIARIES. I'd long been a fan of the DIARIES, having first read them in a local arts and entertainment paper. About a year after I read them, a good friend of mine actually got a job as a Macy's Elf himself, and I spent the next four years tearing around looking for a copy of SANTALAND DIARIES to show him; finally, lo and behold, the DIARIES were adapted as a one-act show off-Broadway. I rounded up a group of tickets for friends, including the elf.
Not every essay translates easily into stage form; fortunately, though, this adaptation for SANTALAND DIARIES works tremendously well. As anyone who's heard Sedaris read on the air can attest, his work is at its best when it's simply recited instead of being "acted out"; this is precisely what the stage adaptation has done. It's a one man show, with an actor taking the place of Sedaris and retelling the whole story. The bonus, though, is that the script includes a bit wherein "David Sedaris" changes into his gloriously tacky elf uniform onstage; a detail which, judging from the reactions of my elf friend, adds a lot.
Heck, for SANTALAND DIARIES alone, it's a good deal of fun...
