THE SANTALAND DIARES Opens Tonight at Theater Wit

Fear not fans of subversive holiday entertainment. Theater Wit is re-gifting Chicago with its 11th annual production of The Santaland Diaries, based on David Sedaris' true comic tale of his hilarious stint as one of Santa's elves at Macy's Department Store.

Performances are tonight, November 21-December 28 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Press opening is tonight, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $24 to $36. For tickets and information, call 773.975.8150 or visit TheaterWit.org.

Hailed as the "24 funniest pages ever written in the English language," Sedaris' uproariously funny, droll reminiscence of his less than merry misadventures as a Christmas elf gone bad is a must-see celebration of the desperation of unemployment, the rampant consumerism and the soul-sucking "cheer" of the holiday season. Don't miss Theater Wit's annual invitation to go behind-the-scenes with Santa's most reluctant helper as he struggles to keep his dignity while being humiliated by fellow elves, scary Santas, selfish shoppers and their obnoxious tots during Macy's Christmas rush.

The Santaland Diaries is adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello and directed by Theater Wit Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler. Mitchell Fain dons his candy stripe tights for his seventh consecutive outing as Santa's snarkiest elf, the always-irreverent Crumpet.

Wit's The Santaland Diaries has been hailed "a martini-flavored antidote to Christmas cheer" by Time Out Chicago, "a darkly hilarious monologue" by the Chicago Tribune, and "Infectiously fun!" by New City.

Chicago Magazine added "Mitchell Fain nails it. I defy anybody to refrain from laughing," seconded by the Chicago Reader, "Sly and effortlessly endearing, Fain plays the audience like a harp."

Press opening is tonight, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue (in chronological order): Saturday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, November 23 at 3 p.m.; November 28 through December 7: Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. No show Thursday, December 11. Performances resume Friday and Saturday, December 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, December 14 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursday, December 18 at 7:30 pm.; Friday and Saturday, December 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, December 21 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Monday and Tuesday, December 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. No shows Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Final week show times are Friday and Saturday, December 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; and Sunday, December 28 at 3 p.m.

Note: The Santaland Diaries sells out every year, so don't wait to make reservations. Check Theater Wit's website or call the box office to learn about possible added performances.

David Sedaris became an overnight sensation after he first read The Santaland Diaries on NPR's Morning Edition on December 23, 1992. His autobiographical tale is still known as the best workplace exposé ever, and secured his discoverer, Chicago Public Radio host Ira Glass, his long-running show This American Life. With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, Sedaris has since become one of America's preeminent humorists. He is the author of Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and his most recent book Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. There are seven million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 25 languages.

Mitchell J. Fain (Elf) was last seen at UP Comedy Club at The Second City as host of Best Musical, at La Jolla Playhouse with The Second City and at Actors Theatre of Louisville in Lookingglass Theatre's Lookingglass Alice. He has also performed improv and sketch comedy on The Norwegian Star as a part of a Second City touring company. Other credits include This at Theater Wit, Stilettos, Circus and Soul, Hamlet-The Musical, Henry VI, Hamlet, Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As Bees in Honey Drown, Bitches, Hay Fever, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and The Lynching of Leo Frank. Fain is an Artistic Associate of Chicago's The Midnight Circus and About Face Theatre as well as co-host of The Windy City Queercast.

Jeremy Wechsler (director) is the artistic director of Theater Wit where he most recently staged the hit Midwest premiere of Madeline George's Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England, and its subsequent summer remount at Art Square Theatre in Las Vegas. Wechsler also staged Wit's acclaimed productions of Completeness and The Four of Us (Itamar Moses), Tigers Be Still (Kim Rosenstock), This (Melissa James Gibson), Spin (Penny Penniston), Feydeau-Si-Deau (Georges Feydeau), Men of Steel (Qui Nguyen), Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) (Will Eno), Two for the Show (James Fitzpatrick and Will Clinger) and The Santaland Diaries. Other directing credits include: A Taste of Honey (Shelagh Delaney), The Play About the Squirrel (Mia McCullough), The White Devil (John Webster), The Real Thing (Tom Stoppard), Szinhaz (Itamar Moses), The Duchess of Malfi (John Webster), Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare), The Roaring Girl (Thomas Middleton), Flight (Mikhail Bulgakov), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (Paul Rudnick), This is the Rill Speaking (Lanford Wilson), Hay Fever (Noel Coward) Now Then Again (Penny Penniston), A Month in the Country (Brian Friel), Europe (David Grieg), Henry VI: Blood of a Nation (Shakespeare), The Promise (Jose Rivera), Un Robot (Laura Jacqmin), The Coarse Acting Show (Michael Green), Life is a Dream (Calderon), The Prisoner's Dilemma (David Edgar), Cabaret (Kander/Ebb) and The Threepenny Opera (Brecht). Wechsler's productions have been nominated for and won multiple awards for design, performance, adaptation and best new work. He has taught at several universities, is an artistic associate at Collaboraction and currently serves on the board of the League of Chicago Theatres.

Designers for The Santaland Diaries are Joey Wade, set; Mara Blumenfeld, costumes; Mike Durst, lights; and Joe Fosco, sound. Katie Klemme is stage manager.

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