New Rep Opens THE SANTALAND DIARIES Tonight, 12/16

Downstage @ New Rep is reviving David Sedaris' hilarious autobiographical show, The Santaland Diaries. This one-man comedy that satirizes everything we love to hate about the holidays opens for the press on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 7:30pm and plays through Sunday, January 3, 2010 in the Black Box Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts.

"This show is the perfect treat for adults looking to escape from the stresses of the holiday season. Sedaris' personal memoirs provide prime material for a funny and entertaining experience." said Kate Warner, New Rep's Artistic Director.

This year, Christopher Webb will be returning to direct The Santaland Diaries and Gary Littman will be playing the infamous role of Crumpet for the first time.

After his third sold-out run last season Downstage @ New Rep, Crumpet, the wickedly funny Macy's Elf returns to the Black Box Theater in this strange-but-true account of adventures in holiday retailing. If you've had enough of the usual heartwarming holiday fare, it's the perfect antidote.

New Repertory Theatre presents provocative and intelligent works of both established and emerging playwrights in an intimate setting that involves and engages the audience. New Rep has earned a reputation for Dynamic Productions that honor the writers and feature talented professional actors from the New England Theatre community as well as guest artists from around the U.S. New Rep has received Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for outstanding acting, scenic design, directions, and production. Programming for New Repertory Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
The Artists

Gary Littman (Crumpet) New York: Bonnie & Clyde (Anderson) at the Chernuchin Theatre, A Fine and Private Place (The Raven) at The York Theatre, and Minnie's Boys (Groucho Marx) at The Jewish Repertory Theatre. Regional: Duck Crossing (Richard Spill) at Premiere Stages, Schmucks (Harpo Marx) at The Wilma, Oklahoma (Ali Hakim) at Atlanta TOTS, Dracula (Renfield) at Premiere Stages, Cabaret (Emcee) at Redondo Music Theatre, Metamorphoses (Phaeton) at Florida Studio Theatre, Sight Unseen (Jonathan Waxman) at Centenary Stage, Chapter Two (Leo) at The Bickford Theatre, The Odd Couple (Speed) at Carousel Dinner Theatre, Annie Get Your Gun (Charlie Davenport) and The Man Who Came To Dinner (Banjo) both at the Art Center of Coastal Carolina,
City of Angels (Sonny) at AMT of San Jose, and The Tempest (Ariel) at Actors' Shakespeare Company. Gary is also voice-over artist, recording everything from cartoons to commercials to audio books.

Christopher Webb (director) Directing credits include: The Santaland Diaries (Peterborough Players); Of Mice and Men (New Rep on Tour); The Rainmaker (Foothills Theatre Company); The Santaland Diaries (New Repertory Theatre); Anais Niin Goes to Hell (Should We Go Productions); Guys and Dolls and You Can't Take it With You (Stoneham Theatre Young Co.); The Pre-Nup, The Trophy and Outed (Boston Theatre Marathon); Savage/Love (Northern Illinois University); War in Heaven (The National Theatre Conservatory); Babel Rap, No Exit, and The Food Chain (Western Michigan University); and the original works:  Hero (Starving Artists Theatre Company); Revolution: a Song of Black Freedom and faith & redemption (Northern Illinois University); Voodoo Child  (The National Theatre Conservatory); and his adaptation of Antigone (the Munroe Center for the Arts). As an actor he has appeared with New Repertory Theatre, The Boston Theatre Marathon, Boston Theater Works, Foothills Theatre Company, Starving Artists Theatre Company, Borealis Theatre Company, The Michigan Shakespeare Festival, and was a three-year member of the Tony Award-Winning Denver Center Theatre Company. Film credits include: Shutter Island; Hands of the
Nocturnal Clock; Bad Guy Guide; Time Travel Tours; and Meet the Mayfarers. This fall he will be co-directing the short film Dyslexic Psychic and will be appearing in Actors Shakespeare's Project's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He has been a faculty member of the Denver Center Theatre Academy, The Illinois Institute of Art, Stoneham Theatre, The Munroe Center for the Arts, The United South End Settlements, New Repertory Theatre, and Harding Jones Talent Management in New York City. He is a member of the Acting Faculty with the Boston Conservatory. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University, a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from the National Theatre Conservatory, and is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.

David Sedaris (playwright) made his comic debut recounting his strange-but-true experiences of being a Macy's elf clad in green tights, reading his Santaland  Diaries on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. Sedaris' sardonic humor and incisive social critique have since made him one of NPR's most popular and  humorous commentators and a bestselling author in the United States and abroad. The great skill with which Sedaris slices through euphemisms and political correctness proves that he is a master of satire. Everywhere he goes, David Sedaris delights his audience with his irreverent style and great humor. In addition to his commentaries on NPR, David Sedaris is the author of the best sellers Barrel Fever, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. His other book, a collection of Christmas-related stories, is entitled Holidays on Ice. His most recent book of essays, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, was published in June 2008 and became an immediate bestseller. David and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name The Talent Family and written several plays which have been produced at La Mama and at Lincoln Center in New York City. These plays include Strump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Show (Obie Award), Incident At Cobbler's Knob, and The Book of Liz. David is a regular contributor to Esquire magazine, and his essays have also appeared in The New Yorker, Allure, and Travel and Leisure. Sedaris' original radio pieces can often be heard on public radio's This American Life, distributed nationally by WBEZ in Chicago, as well as BBC radio in London. David Sedaris currently resides in Paris.

Joe Mantello (adaptor) Directing credits include: Assassins (Tony Award); Wicked; Take Me Out (Tony Award); Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune; A Man of No Importance; Design for Living; Terrence McNally and Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking for the San Francisco Opera; The Vagina Monologues; Bash; Another American: Asking and Telling; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Proposals; The Minneola Twins; Corpus Christi; Mizlansky/Zilinsky or Schmucks; Blue Window; God's Heart; The Santaland Diaries; Lillian; Snakebit; Three Hotels; Imagining Brad; Fat Men in Skirts; and The Ritz. Mr. Mantello also directed the film Love! Valour! Compassion! As an actor, he appeared in Angels in America (Tony Nomination) and The Baltimore Waltz. He is the recipient of the 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 is an associate artist at the Roundabout Theatre Company.

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