Private Eyes is open

PRIVATE EYES IS OPEN and audiences love the show! Several people have sought me out after the show (a real effort, since I tend to hide somewhere in a corner - they should be talking to the actors) and have told me that they think this is the best show they've seen here. Cool. We have two more weekends of performances - don't miss this one.

Ahhh, here's evidence of the true romance of working in the theatre -

Dan mops the stage.

LeeAnne warms up before the show.

Danielle and Grant pre-set their props.

The glory of all the mundane preparations before a show . . . thrilling stuff.

Private Eyes begins

Well, here we are at the beginning of another rehearsal process. This time, it's Private Eyes by Steven Dietz. He is one of the ten most produced playwrights in this country - tied with Edward Albee and Tennessee Williams.  Although most people haven't heard of him, he's a big time playwright. Some may remember his wonderful play, Becky's New Car, that we presented as a staged reading earlier in the season. This play is another witty, imaginative, powerful evening in the theatre. Put a great script in the hands of a remarkable cast - and I've got a lot of fun ahead of me.

I'll have more pictures and updates from rehearsals as we go on, but here are some from our first night on our feet.

LeeAnne Hutchison as Lisa and Grant Neale as Matthew.

Danielle Cohen as the mysterious Cory.

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.

It's time for Santa!

We're a week into rehearsals for Santaland Diaries, an outrageous comedy by David Sedaris. In addition to working for hours every day in rehearsals, I'm building something that will pass (I hope) for the over-the-top world of Macy's "Santaland." First thing was to get some really big lumber . . .

and then get it shaped into something . . .

that will pass for an exaggerated Santa Throne.

Here's Jonathan in rehearsal playing around with the slacker elf in Santaland. This weekend, we're taking time off from rehearsing, Jonathan is playing with friends in Boston and I'm going to get this sucker tricked out in yuletide cheer. Christmas trees, lots of little lights, garlands and artificial snow!

Opening night is December 2nd - it's gonna be fun.

Becky's New Car

We started a new tradition last night - the staged reading. We had a great crowd show up for desserts and the staged reading of Steven Dietz's play, Becky's New Car. Everyone loved the presentation, and people can't wait for the next one. I want to thank all the wonderful actors who took part in this, and I also want to thank all of the people who made the wonderful desserts. It was a great night - it created a lot of excitement about the work that this theatre does.

Jonathan Anderson rolls in from New York on Sunday, and we start rehearsals on Monday for the David Sedaris play, The Santaland Diaries. I think there's general agreement that David Sedaris is one of the funniest people on this planet, and this production is going to be very, very funny. You may remember Jonathan from his amazing performance last season in Fully Committed. This guy is a great comic actor. . . or more accurately - he's a great actor with a great sense for comedy.

I have two days to design and build a Santa throne.

Time Stands Still goodbye

Well, TSS has closed to overwhelmingly positive reactions.  Although I never get sentimental about any productions, I will miss working with those four people. But now, it's on to the next one. Spent the last two days striking the set, and it's all gone! Last step is cleaning up and storing what I'm going to keep, and then it's time to really focus on Santaland Diaries. Jonathan Anderson will be here in a couple of weeks to begin rehearsals. If he's anywhere near as good as he was last season in Fully Committed, SD will be a great show. We're going to have some real fun working on this one.

Before I get on to building the set for SD, I have to design the set. But before I can do that, I thought I'd share some photos from TSS.

Mandy the event-planner

Jamie under threat

Sarah remembers Tariq

Jamie changed his copy for their book

Richard takes a stand

Mandy remembers the elephants

Jamie and Sarah home again

Final image in the show - listen to Brandi Carlile's "Downpour"

So, . . . one down and four to go. Heading down to New York in a week and a half to audition people for shows 3,4 & 5. Brandy has become my casting agent in New York, and we have some really good people lined up to audition. Can't wait to tell you about what happens. And while I'm there, I've snagged a ticket for Theresa Rebeck's new show. Review to follow.

Here we go!