Carbonell Winner Michael McKeever In David Sedaris' THE SANTALAND DIARIES At The Arsht
By: Beau Higgins Nov. 22, 2011
ZOETIC STAGE AND THE Adrienne Arsht CENTER
FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
PRESENT
THE SANTALAND DIARIES
Starring Carbonell Award winner
A hilarious holiday rant based on Sedaris'
New York Times bestseller Holidays on Ice
December 8 – Preview
Through December 23, 2011
Tickets $35
Four-play Theater Up Close Packages Just $108
Theater Up Close Season in Carnival Studio Theater
in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House
Zoetic Stage and The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County proudly present David Sedaris' THE SANTALAND DIARIES, a side-splitting one-man play adapted for the stage by Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran Joe Mantello, December 8-23, 2011, in the intimate Carnival Studio Theater (Ziff Ballet Opera House). Starring Michael McKeever, one of South Florida's most produced and prolific artists, THE SANTALAND DIARIES is based on the outlandish, and true, chronicles of David Sedaris' unique experience during the holidays working as "Crumpet," a Christmas elf in Macy's Santaland display. This cult classic examines the desperation of unemployment, while celebrating the insanity of Christmas shopping and the ineffable "cheer" of the holiday spirit. Tickets to THE SANTALAND DIARIES are $35, and may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at www.arshtcenter.org.
THE SANTALAND DIARIES is the third installment in the 2011-12 season as part of the Arsht Center's Theater Up Close series which features artistic collaborations from stellar local theater ensembles and nationally acclaimed theater companies. Directed by Zoetic Stage's Artistic Director Stuart Meltzer, the wickedly funny SANTALAND DIARIES exposes the outrageous things people do in the insanity of the holiday season. In this dark-humored tale, Sedaris spends much of the time feeling amusingly humiliated by wearing an elf suit, participating in elf training, and enduring abuse from drunken Santas, mean customers, and screaming children. THE SANTALAND DIARIES was first broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition in 1992. Joe Mantello's adaptation of Sedaris' essay for the stage as a one-man, one-act play debuted (as THE SANTALAND DIARIES) at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York in 1996, and has since become a seasonal staple.
Zoetic Stage is comprised of South Florida's most celebrated playwrights, directors and actors. In partnership with the Adrienne Arsht Center, the company co-presents three exciting productions in the 2011-2012 season, featuring stellar casts, including Broadway actors and Carbonell Award winners. Up next from Zoetic Stage is MOSCOW, March 29-April 15, 2012, Michael McKeever's world premiere comedy about the changing tides in 1963 Miami.
"It is with great excitement that the Arsht Center co-presents, with Zoetic Stage, this outrageous holiday comedy by award-winning American humorist David Sedaris, which is sure to offer welcome comic relief during the height of the holiday crunch," said M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. "We are thrilled that one of South Florida's most celebrated theater veterans, Michael McKeever, will take center stage in the role of Crumpet the elf in this one-man show."
Zoetic Stage Artistic Director Stuart Meltzer adds, "It is thrilling for me to be working with Michael McKeever on this David Sedaris piece. McKeever's understanding of the rhythms and quirkiness of Sedaris make for a perfect match of author and artist. I am excited to be partnering with the Adrienne Arsht Center for Zoetic Stage's second production of the season." One of America's pre-eminent humor writers, David Sedaris (Author) made his comic debut recounting his strange-but-true experiences of being an elf clad in green tights, reading his SANTALAND DIARIES on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. His 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 U.S. and abroad. The great skill with which Sedaris slices through euphemisms and political correctness proves that he is a master of satire. He is the author of the bestsellers Barrel Fever, Naked, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. Sedaris and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name The Talent Family and written several plays, including the Obie Award winner One Woman Shoe, which have been produced at La Mama and Lincoln Center in New York City.
Three-time Carbonell Award recipient Michael McKeever (Crumpet) is a founding member of Zoetic Stage. As an actor, he has performed on several stages throughout the South Florida region. This past summer, he played one of the infamous Collyer Brothers in the world premiere production of his play Stuff at the Caldwell Theatre Company in Boca Raton. Last season, he was named Best Supporting Actor by the Broward-Palm Beach New Times for his performance in Distracted, also at the Caldwell. As a playwright, his work includes Melt, Charlie Cox Runs with Scissors, 37 Postcards, Suite Surrender, and South Beach Babylon, which was produced as the inaugural production of Zoetic Stage at the Arsht Center's Carnival Studio Theater. McKeever is the recipient of the 2011 Silver Palm Award for Outstanding New Works for his plays Stuff and South Beach Babylon.
Stuart Meltzer (Director, Sound Design) is the Artistic Director and a founding member of Zoetic Stage. He returns to the Arsht Center's Carnival Studio Theater after directing the world premiere of Christopher Demos-Brown's Captiva in November 2011. Last year, he directed Zoetic Stage's critically acclaimed inaugural production of South Beach Babylon. Previously, Meltzer served as Artistic Director of City Theatre in Miami for two years, where he oversaw and expanded the Summer Shorts Festival. His New York credits include Romulus Linney's Gint, Harold Pinter's One for the Road, Aristaphanes' Lysistrata, and Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, as well as Morzek's Striptease. Upon returning to his native South Florida, he was Head of Theatre at Gulliver Preparatory and then served on the faculty of New World School of the Arts for two years. Meltzer earned his M.F.A. in Directing from The Actors Studio and his B.F.A. from New World School of the Arts in Miami.
THE SANTALAND DIARIES features lighting design by Luke Klingberg
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