Santaland Diaries
by David Sedaris

A sardonic, merrily subversive tale, David Sedaris' humorous and acerbic account of working as an elf at Macy's in Manhattan has become an 'anti-holiday' cult classic.

NPR humorist and best-selling author David Sedaris made his comic debut reading his "Santaland Diaries" on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. Sedaris' sardonic humor and incisive social critique have since made him one of NPR's most popular and humorous commentators. He is the author of the bestsellers Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day. Sedaris and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have written several plays which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center, and The Drama Department in New York City. In 2001, David Sedaris became the third recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and was named by Time magazine as "Humorist of the Year."

Actor Rodney Raftery brings true life experience to playing Crumpet the Elf, having worked days jobs as costume characters for children's parties and as a nutcracker for the Santaland at the Dedham Mall. He also currently works for a department store, just not in elf garb.

Rodney is best known to Boston audiences for recent appearances as Gail in Our Lady of 121st Street at Speakeasy Stage, and for his star turn as Chicklet, the 15 year old surfer girl with multiple personalities, in Psycho Beach Party, which broke box office records at the Footlight Club last year. His almost claim to fame was a second callback for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (he was not called back for the Amazing Race.) He will be performing in Gagarin Way with Sugan this Spring.

Performances of Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris are December 3-26, Thursday-Saturdays at 8:00 and Sunday December 19 & 26 at 7:00. There is a special Christmas Day performance, Dec. 25th at 7:00. No show on Dec. 24th. Performances are at the Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea.

Sly Raftery stands tall as wicked elf in poignant 'Santaland'

Christmas is a holiday, a season, and even a state of mind, but above all, it's a show -- one that has never been quite the same since a little gay man named David Sedaris took us backstage in "Santaland Diaries," the bitterly funny tale of his sad travails as Crumpet the Elf in Macy's Santaland.

As adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello, "Santaland" has actually become something of a Christmas anti-tradition, an acidic spritz cutting the sugar in the holiday punch. In fact, Boston has already enjoyed a fabled version by ubiquitous local star John Kuntz. But Kuntz is serving up holiday jeer elsewhere this year (in the hilarious "Fully Committed" at the Lyric Stage), so "Santaland" has been revived by Chelsea's feisty TheatreZone, with local theater's latest up-and-comer, Rodney Raftery, in the pointy hat and booties. If there's any doubt that Raftery has the chops to dispel the ghosts of Kuntzes past, however, they're laid to rest within the first few minutes.

For while Kuntz was a manic powerhouse, Raftery is a sly (even shy) raconteur; his sweet, deadpan sincerity belies killer skills as a mimic and a wicked sense of irony. Of course, he's appalled by such Yuletide crimes as parents slapping their children on Santa's knee, or demanding a "traditional" St. Nick ("You know -- a white one!"). But this dyspeptic elf isn't out to get mad; he's out to get even. So when a customer hisses, "I'm going to have you fired!," Crumpet whispers back, "And I'm going to have you killed!" In his spare time, he reassembles "Santa" into an anagram for "Satan," and when children express disappointment with his "Magic Window," he tells them to look a little harder and maybe they'll see Cher.

If all this is true, it's hard to believe Sedaris hung onto his job -- except for the fact that most of Santaland is equally Christmas-dysfunctional. The Santas themselves ("Santa Doug," "Santa Jerome") are a motley crew, while several elves don their gay apparel in more ways than one (unsurprising given they're unemployed actors); one of Sedaris's funniest riffs concerns the flirty Snowball, a little tease in tights who lures Crumpet to the changing room -- only to discover half of Santa's workshop already there, hoping for their own little Xmas.

Such moments sent a ripple through the crowd in Chelsea (it's not the South End, after all). But Raftery blithely powered on, and by the time he wailed, "Snowball is playing a dangerous game!" or launched into a spot-on Billie Holliday cover of "Away in a Manger," the crowd was howling happily along.

Alas, "Santaland" itself eventually succumbs to some ersatz holiday spirit, and its delights, though spiked, are fairly slight. What's new about the TheatreZone version, however, is its surprising poignance; Sedaris, like most of us, can't bear to give up on the illusion of good will even as he drives a stake of holly through its duplicitous heart.

Although speaking of illusion, it's really too bad that TheatreZone couldn't deliver a little more sticky holiday glitz for Crumpet to cavort in. Still, under Danielle Fauteux Jacques's solid direction, Raftery dispels all such unseasonably spirited caveats, and gives "Santaland" its required Yuletide-cyanide sparkle.

Santaland Diaries
Written by David Sedaris
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Set, Julia Noulin-Merat. Costumes, Susan Paino. Sound Design, Jamie Alley.
Presented by TheatreZone.
At Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea, through Dec. 26. 617-887-2336.
 

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