Review: THE SANTALAND DIARIES at Actors Theatre Of Louisville
By: Taylor Clemons Dec. 04, 2017
Nathan Keepers in THE SANTALAND DIARIES, 2017. Photo by Bill Brymer.
THE SANTALAND DIARIES
by David Sedaris
Adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Directed by Meredith McDonough
Review by Taylor Clemons
Entire contents copyright © 2017 Taylor Clemons. All rights reserved.
The month of December, while filled with joy, excitement, and anticipation, can also be a time of stress, frustration, and melancholy. While the holidays span this range of emotion for the average person, I can only imagine how much these feelings are heightened for an actor working as an elf at one of the 100s of "Santaland" displays around the country. That precisely is where THE SANTALAND DIARIES gets it's inspiration. The short 70 minute comedy is based on an essay originally published by David Sedaris in 1994. Sedaris, taking from his own experience as a Macy's Santaland elf, took notes from his diary and wove it into several funny and sometimes touching antidotes, that would eventually be read aloud on NPR, launching Sedaris into celebrity author status. As for this stage version, we have director and writer Joe Mantello to thank. He adapted the original essay into a one man play, taking the audience through the month of December through the eyes of Crumpet the Elf.
The show plays the Victor Jory Theatre, a small and intimate black-box space. Walking in, the audience sees nothing but a ball of tangled Christmas lights on the floor, little did we know that there was so much more in store. On this barren stage, we soon meet (unbeknownst to us) Crumpet the Elf (Nathan Keepers). Throughout the first 20 minutes of the show, we only know him as some guy, but as the show goes on and we are introduced to his Santaland persona. Not to give too much away, but the look of the show is not what it seems. There are so many fun surprises when you least expect them.
Nathan Keepers is giving one of the best comedic performances I've ever seen. He easily cracks the wit of Sedaris' writing, while effortlessly bringing himself to the role at the same time. While the things the character is saying can sometimes be harsh, Keepers never lets him lose his core humanity, which keeps an audience enraptured and rooting for him every second. While technically a play, the evening feels more like a Christmas themed stand-up special, with the writing taking us seamlessly from story to story. Nathan Keepers isn't afraid of being organic either, throughout the show he routinely speaks directly to audience members, and and uses their reactions to further his storytelling. Doing this show is no small feat. It's over an hour of fast paced dialogue with joke after joke flowing non-stop. Keepers never leaves the stage for more than 5 seconds, and was always ready to plow through this beast of a show.
No surprise to me, Meredith McDonough's direction soars yet again. Her hard work is evident in the pacing of the evening alone. She's made the show very fluid, which as many know, that can be an issue when doing a one person show. Even more so, her direction didn't feel like direction at all. In fact it was so expertly directed that we were made to feel like everything that was happening was organic and spur of the moment.
This show is an absolute delight from start to finish. Every aspect is perfectly executed, and as a result the audience (myself included) jumped to it's feet at the evening's conclusion. As fun as the annual production of A Christmas Carol is, I would gladly welcome many return engagements of this show, as it's refreshing and just damn funny. Nathan Keepers is not to be missed in a comedic tour de force that many will be talking about for years to come. I know for many this month and time of year is crazy, but even so you need to carve out 70 minutes and make it a point to catch this delightful and sometimes edgy holiday comedy extravaganza.
THE SANTALAND DIARIES Now - December 23, 2017 (with a handful of 10pm late shows)
Actors Theatre of Louisville
316 W. Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
Tickets: (502) 584-1205
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