THE SANTALAND DIARIES

This play put on by Live Theatre Workshop in Tucson was the best community based local acting I have seen. both the Diaries and the other one - SEASON'S GREETINGS TO OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY - were adapted from David Sedaris's writings. That's the reason why i wanted to see it because when we moved from Redding to Tucson I listened to a book by Sedaris and it was so entertaining and witty and sarcastic and interesting that i was disappointed when the driving ended.

The Diaries is a recounting of Sedaris's experiences moving to New York to be an actor in a soap opera and running out of money while waiting for a job. So he applies at Macy's to be a Christmas elf. It is absolutely hilarious and accurately portrays all the different characters and personalities of the people who play elves and also the various Santa's. He also does an excellent job of showing the absolute insane rush and pressure of the holiday season. The actor, Christopher Johnson, was superb and he didn't just narrate but became each person he was talking about.

The Season's Greetings play was much darker. Kristi Loera plays a perfect Martha-Stewart lady who is composing her yearly Christmas letter and she remains upbeat and perky (while slugging down wine and whiskey) and all smiles and grins while relating the happenings of the year. But the events include finding out her husband had a child when he was in the Vietnam war, her druggie daughter becoming pregnant, accusations of murder, court dates. The contrast between the underlying tragedies and violence and her chirpy exterior was bittersweetly funny.

The theater was small so every seat was good. Because of the bright lights on the stage and the heat it caused (we could see the sheen of sweat on both the actors' faces) they don't heat the theater so i'm glad i was warned of this because i brought adequate jackets and scarves to stay comfortable. Plus laughing a lot helped too.