Santa's lap

I can't resist this. Rick Hines jumped onto the Jonathan's lap on the Santa Throne last night. What do you suppose he's asking for?

Review - Santaland Diaries

The review came out today, and he loved it as much as everyone else in the audience. The second weekend is on its way to being sold-out - a real coup in this season of abundance for holiday entertainments.  Here's the review:

Published 12/8/2011

‘Santaland Diaries' Starts Out Zany and Stays That Way

By Dan Mackie

Valley News Staff Writer

“Here comes Santa Claus,” the spirit of Bing Crosby croons from unseen speakers before the start of The Santaland Diaries.

People of a certain age will recognize the relaxed phrasing, the mellow voice -- it goes down as easily as hot chocolate with melted marshmallows.

But did Bing's dreamy White Christmas really exist? Did treetops glisten? Did children really listen, to hear sleigh bells in the snow?

What about long lines? Heavy traffic? Picked-over merchandise? Cranky kids? Crankier parents? And unholy night, pepper-spray attacks on Black Friday?

If the holidays aren't all they're cracked up to be -- the most wonderful time of the year, for starters -- The Santaland Diaries, playing on weekends through Dec. 18 at the Shaker Bridge Theatre in Enfield, might be a curative.

Shaker Bridge is staging a one-man play by humorist David Sedaris, the darling of public radio and author of several very funny books. The Santaland Diaries is based on an essay he read just before Christmas in 1992 on NPR's Morning Edition. It recounted his strange season as a Christmas elf at Macy's Santaland, a job Sedaris sought on a dare and out of desperation, since he was an out-of-work New Yorker.

In this one-man (or one-elf) production, Jonathan Anderson portrays David the Elf. He comes onstage in civilian clothes, blue jeans and dress shirt, and tells a story of a long descent into the belly of the beast, in this case, SantalLand.

Anderson gives it all he's got, prancing (elf-style), preening, whining, hollering, and strolling merrily about. He recounts the indignity of having to be cheery as an elf -- “Everything the elves said ended with an exclamation point!” he exclaims.

The staging is simple: In the center is a Santa-sized chair with a red seat. Next to it twinkles a tree. A couple of presents are nearby. Some fake snow is strewn on the floor.

Beyond that, all we have is Anderson and his considerable energy. Segments are separated by the brief dimming of the house lights, and a bit more of Crosby's Christmas crooning.

Sedaris' story starts out zany and stays there. Elf training includes group cheers. Give me an S. Give me an A. Give me an N. You know the rest.

It crosses from the awkward to the surreal when Anderson appears in full elf regalia. “This is my work uniform,'' he says, his humiliation outfitted in red and green polyester.

We learn that Santaland is divided into sections like “the omigod corner,'' where visitors are overwhelmed by their glimpse of the entire scene, or “the vomit corner,'’ where little children lose their lunch. We learn that parents can be overbearing, customers can be rude (and profane), and professional Santas can be a little strange. David the Elf shares this with the bemused outrage of a skilled comic observer.

I've heard Sedaris tell his story on the radio -- he tells it well. Anderson has the challenge of making you forget Sedaris' voice (if you happen to be a public radio groupie) and listening to his. Anderson's physicality is an asset -- by golly, he sells his elf self. This production is at times laugh-out loud funny, and smile-worthy when it's not.

The Santaland Diaries is a seasonally appropriate antidote to the horrors of the holiday season. No matter how bad you have it, the elf had it worse.

“The Santaland Diaries” runs through Dec. 18, with shows on Friday and Saturday nights, and a Sunday matinee. Call 603-448-3750 for information, or go to www.shakerbridgetheatre.org.

Dan Mackie can be reached at dmackie@vnews.com, or 603-727-3211.