The Santaland Diaries Returns to Rep for a Holiday Run
The cult classic is the hilarious antidote to the holiday overload
(SEASIDE, FL)?Based on an essay by David Sedaris, The Santaland Diaries is a scathingly humorous story that recounts the author?s real-life brief employment as an out-of-work-actor-turned-elf working in Macy?s Santaland. In an act of desperation, an unemployed writer finds himself trading in his dignity for red-and-white-striped tights and a paycheck, while wittily revealing the true nature of the beast formerly known as Christmas.
"The Santaland Diaries is to the theatre what A Christmas Story is to movies," said Rep Executive Director Craige Hoover. "It?s not exactly anti-Christmas, but it does lend a hilarious satirical eye to the commercialism that has become the modern holiday experience. Brook and Anne Marie have also added a little local flavor to the production, so even if you?ve seen the show before, our production is not to be missed.?
The Rep production stars Brook Stetler as the disgruntled Sedaris surrogate. Brook has most recently been seen on the Rep stage in October?s The Homecoming and this summer?s other Sedaris offering, The Book of Liz. Directing the production is Anne Marie Carol, another Rep company member who is making her directorial debut. Anne Marie was also seen in The Homecoming, and is a three-year veteran of the Rep.
Tickets are available for this "PG-13" presentation by visiting www.seasiderep.org or by calling 850-231-0733. Tickets are $29 for reserved seating, $24 for Rep members, and $15 for students and active military. The Santaland Diaries runs from December 20th - 30th (except Christmas and Christmas Eve), and then closes on January 2nd. The Santaland Diaries is sponsored by The Merchants of Rosemary Beach, while the entire 2009 Season has been co-sponsored by Pizitz Home and the Cottage Rental Agency.
For more information, please visit www.seasiderep.org or call 850-231-0733.
CREATORS
David Sedaris (Writer) has become one of America?s pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today. David Sedaris is the author of the bestselling books Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as other personal essay collections, entitled Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, each of which became immediate bestsellers; he edited the anthology of stories, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules. Seven million copies of his books are in print, translated into 25 languages. His essays also appear regularly in Esquire and The New Yorker. Sedaris and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated on several plays under the name ?The Talent Family? which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center, and The Drama Department in New York City. They include Stump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Shoe (which received an Obie Award), Incident at Cobbler?s Knob and The Book of Liz (published by Dramatist?s Play Service.) His most recent collection of essays, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, was published in June 2008. David Sedaris? original radio pieces can often be heard on This American Life, distributed nationally by Public Radio International. In 2001, David Sedaris became the third recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and was named Time magazine?s Humorist of the Year. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards, for Best Spoken Word Album (Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim) and Best Comedy Album (David Sedaris: Live at Carnegie Hall).
Joe Mantello (Adapter) most recently directed Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Mantello?s other directing credits include November, The Receptionist, The Ritz, Three Days of Rain, The Odd Couple, Glengarry Glen Ross, Laugh Whore, Assassins (Tony Award), Take Me Out (Tony Award), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, A Man of No Importance, Design for Living, The Vagina Monologues, bash, Another American: Asking and Telling, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Proposals, The Mineola Twins, Corpus Christi, Mizlansky/Zilinsky, Blue Window, God?s Heart, The SantaLand Diaries, Snakebit, Three Hotels, and Imagining Brad. Film: Love! Valour! Compassion! As an actor: Angels in America (Tony nomination) and The Baltimore Waltz, among others. Mantello is the recipient of Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Helen Hayes, Clarence Derwent, Obie and Joe A. Callaway Awards. He is a member of Naked Angels and an Associate Artist at the Roundabout Theatre Company.
About the Seaside Repertory Theatre
The Seaside Repertory Theatre is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing high-quality professional theatre to Northwest Florida, and to promoting the living arts in the region. Founded in 2001, The Rep performs for over 25,000 people annually, and offers a diverse range of entertainment, including indoor and outdoor live theatre for audiences of all ages, movie presentations, improv and stand-up comedy, and much more. For more information about the Rep and its programming, visit Seaside Repertory Theatre, or call the box office at 850-231-0733.
About Seaside
The Town of Seaside is a gulf front community located in The Beaches of South Walton on Scenic Highway 30A between Destin and Panama City Beach. Founded in 1981, by Robert and Daryl Davis, Seaside is the much-heralded birthplace of The New Urbanism movement, which is based on rediscovered traditional town planning principles. Situated on 80 acres, Seaside is a pedestrian-scaled beach town with 423 residences and 42 specialty retail shops and 12 restaurants and eateries. The town is designed so that life's daily needs are accessible within a short stroll or bicycle ride. Seaside's thriving downtown includes civic, cultural and educational institutions; a public charter school, an inter-faith chapel a repertory theater and The Seaside Institute. Parks, a swim and tennis club, and an amphitheatre provide year-round recreation and entertainment.