by Samantha Scott
Daily Lobo
If you're looking for dark, surreal, sarcastic theater to satiate your inner Grinch and Cindy Lou Who, "The Santaland Diaries" is for you.
"The Santaland Diaries" is a monologue play that was adapted from a mostly true essay by David Sedaris that describes his stint working as an elf in Macy's Santaland to earn some holiday cash.
The play is now in its second run but is new to The Box Performance Space. The gap between the first and second runs of this play was much longer than average. It was a four-year gap, co-producer and director Lee Francis said. The play's first run was at the Vortex Theatre in 2003.
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Co-producer, set designer and actor Ross Kelly emphasized that although the script has remained the same, many aspects of the performance have changed. So even if you saw "The Santaland Diaries" at the Vortex, this performance promises to be different.
The play's set, constructed by Kelly, conveys the feeling of a jolly yet frightening mall landscape. The centerpiece is Santa's gargantuan red velvet chair, adorned with tiny stuffed animals that serve to emphasize the chair's enormity. The background mural of creepy, cheerful teddy bears and other commercial Christmas accoutrements was designed by Kelly and executed by local artist Ash Wednesday, Kelly said.
The lighting was simple but extremely effective. The attention to detail in the set construction added to the effective acting and dialogue to create a realistic Santaland.
And Kelly, buoyed by his recent success in the arenas of film, television and theater, plays Sedaris - elfin code name: Crumpet - with just the right level of effeminate ridicule and sincere observation.
Kelly has audience interaction down to a science. Using the confidence that only comes from years of practice, Kelly had the audience eating out of his hand for the rest of show.
Laudably, Kelly continues to imbue his acting with realism and facetiousness for his loyal audience throughout the monologue.
Kelly was originally attracted to the play by the magnitude of the monologue and the content of the script, he said.
"Thirty-three pages of text seemed like a tremendous challenge," Kelly said. "I really wanted to tackle it when Lee approached me about it - the first time. Then, I actually read the script, and I was, like, 'It's really great and funny. I'll have a blast with it.' This time, it was like, 'Remember how much fun that was?' And it is fun."
Co-producer and director Lee Francis said the timing finally worked out to allow him and Kelly to put on the play.
"About two years ago, we really started thinking about bringing it back," Francis said. "And Ross approached me and said he was getting people saying that they wanted to see it again. So, we were interested in doing it again. ... It's got a nice little twist on Christmas. It's not your traditional Christmas fare. It's like an alternative Christmas."
"The Santaland
Diaries"
The Box Performance Space
1025 Lomas Blvd. N.W.
Through Dec. 23
Friday-Saturday
8 p.m.
Sunday
6 p.m.
$10
