CPT & PHS Present Sedaris' THE SANTALAND DIARIES

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) is proud to announce the return of a holiday favorite, The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted by Joe Mantello, produced by Cleveland Public Theatre and presented at the Outcalt Theatre at Playhouse Square this holiday season from December 6 through December 17. CPT's production of The Santaland Diaries is directed by Eric Schmiedl and stars David Hansen as "Crumpet the Elf."

Written by acclaimed American humorist David Sedaris, The Santaland Diaries is told from the perspective of a jaded, out-of-work 33-year-old actor who takes a job as "Crumpet," a costumed Christmas Elf at Macy's department store in New York City. As thousands of holiday customers gaily tromp through his display, Crumpet regales the audience with wicked and hilarious observations about the realities of holiday cheer, performed with a sardonic wit that has made The Santaland Diaries an enduring, off-beat holiday favorite. **Recommended for mature audiences only.

Cast and Crew of THE SANTALAND DIARIES

The Santaland Diaries was written by David Sedaris and adapted by Joe Mantello. The production is produced by Cleveland Public Theatre. The one-man-show is directed by Eric Schmiedl and features actor David Hansen as "Crumpet."

The creative & production team includes: Raymond Bobgan and Beth Wood (Producers), Eric Schmiedl (Director), Elizabeth Cammett (Stage Manager), Aaron Benson (Scenic Design), Wes Calkin (Lighting Design), James Kosmatka (Sound Design), Kerry McCarthy (Costume Design), Esther M. Haberlen (Crumpet Costume Design).

Ticket & Show Information

The Santaland Diaries is onstage Wednesday, December 6 through Sunday, December 17 in the Outcalt Theatre at Playhouse Square, located at 1407 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115. The show runs Wednesday through Sunday, times vary. See website for complete schedule. Tickets are $32.50 and can be purchased online at www.playhousesquare.org or by calling the Playhouse Square Box Office at (216) 241-6000 or (866) 546-1353.

About the Playwright: David Sedaris Sedaris 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 and Naked. His other book, a collection of Christmas related stories, is entitled Holiday on Ice. His most recent book of essays, Me Talk Pretty One Day, was published in June 2000 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 Stump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Shoe, which received an 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.

About the Director: ERIC SCHMIEDL is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of Kent State University and the University of Hawai'i. His plays have been produced by theatres including the Denver Center for Performing Arts, Cleveland Play House, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Public Theatre, the Lantern Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, the Oregon Children's Theatre, New Stage Theatre, Karamu House, Signal Ensemble Theatre and Great Lakes Theater. As a director, Eric has worked with theatres including Cleveland Public Theatre, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Play House, the Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Ensemble Theatre. This season he directed the acclaimed Beck Center for the Arts production of Waiting for Godot. Eric is currently working on an original play with his wife, Nigerian storyteller Adaora Nzelibe Schmiedl, which explores the life-changing events of a nine-year-old boy in Cleveland and a nine-year-old girl in a remote village in West Africa during the summer of 1977 and has received generous support from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts as well as Playhouse Square's Launch program. In 2018 Eric will collaborate with Great Lakes Theater on his theatrical adaptation of Huckleberry Finn. He will also continue his work with Steven Jones on Threads, a theatrical experience which embraces blues music and storytelling to celebrate the lives and experiences of Clevelanders, sponsored by the Cleveland Treatment Center. Eric is the recipient of a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, a Creative Workforce Fellowship, an Aurand Harris Fellowship and a Sloan Foundation Commission. His work has also received three Edgerton Foundation New American Play Awards. Eric is a proud faculty member of the Low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing program at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

About the Performer: David Hansen (Crumpet the Elf) Favorite performances at Cleveland Public Theatre include White Rabbit, Red Rabbit and Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge. Acting work in Cleveland includes 8 (Cleveland Play House), The Velocity of Autumn (Beck Center for the Arts), Night Bloomers (Dobama Theatre) and a turn as Hercule Poirot in his own adaptation of The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Great Lakes Theater). New York City credits include appearances in his own plays Double Heart (The Courtship of Beatrice and Benedick), And Then You Die (How I Ran a Marathon in 26.2 Years) and I Hate This (a play without the baby) for which he received an award for Excellence in Solo Performance at the New York International Fringe Festival. He also once appeared on The Drew Carey Show. David is Education Outreach Associate for Great Lakes Theater and a member of the Cleveland Play House Playwrights' Unit and the Dramatists Guild of America. He lives in Cleveland Heights, the City of Great Writers. davidhansen.org

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