BWW Reviews: SANTALAND DIARIES and SEASON'S GREETINGS from Rhubarb/Pendulum 3

Most everyone knows that when I am not sitting in a darkened theater, eviscerating the budding careers of wannabe starlets and wayward chorus boys, I can be found schlepping tailored clothing at Macy's...so David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries clearly resonates deeply with me and any chance I get to see a stage production of the funnyman's warped vision of the holiday season in the world of retail is always a red-letter day!

Thanks to a joint production of Nashville's Rhubarb Theater and Pendulum 3, Sedaris' twinbill for Christmas - The Santaland Diaries and Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello - gave audiences just the right twist to the season, delivering laughs and evoking deeper thought, thanks to the superb performances of Bob Roberts, as Sedaris' onstage doppelganger, and Trish Crist as the Christmas letter-writing doyenne of the fictional Dunbar family. Directing each other in their halves of the show gave Roberts and Crist the opportunity to show us their dual roles in exemplary fashion.

Both vignettes are staged simply, but evocatively so, on the Darkhorse Theater stage, with Paul Cook and Katie Gant's lighting design adding to the overall feel of the production, perfectly capturing the slightly kitschy and decidedly offbeat nature of Sedaris' acclaimed pieces.

The Dunbar living room is tastefully decorated for the holidays and Crist, as the family's psychopathic matriarch, makes good use of the playing space to deliver her tale of Christmastime turmoil and familial upheaval in an understated, but completely believable, manner. Crist's performance is perfectly modulated and she does, in fact, sound exactly as you would expect Jocelyn Dunbar to sound. Her delivery is unfettered by dramatic nuance, making the Dunbars' lifestory all the more disturbing (for the uninitiated, all hell breaks loose when the bastard child of the family patriarch shows up - from Vietnam, no less - to claim her place in the family, upending Jocelyn's perfectly styled applecart and sending all those well-timed holiday plans flying out the window).

Taking his place onstage for the show's second half - The Santaland Diaries - Roberts brings Sedaris' tale of his time spent as an elf at Macy's Herald Square so vividly to life that you'll feel like you've actually experienced your own miracle on 34^th Street. Roberts' rather matter-of-fact performance matches perfectly the tone and feel of Sedaris' tale, and his charming performance ensures that you're completely drawn into the story.

Trust me, speaking from the Macy's point of view, it's amazing how closely Sedaris' view of retail reality mirrors the genuine reality of a holiday season spent toiling for the world's largest department store. Interestingly, only three days after the performance reviewed, Macy's own Santa Claus - the real guy from the Thanksgiving Day parade - made an appearance at Macy's Green Hills, accompanied by his entourage of elves, which only proved Sedaris' point.

Sedaris' tale is certainly a heightened version of reality, but not so much so that the events detailed in The Santaland Diaries challenge the legitimacy of the real-life happenings in Santa's workshop. Now, if only I can choreograph my own exit from Macy's one day to re-stage the show's final moments as my own retail ending - well, let's just say that my life will be complete.

A delightful antidote to the treacly holiday offerings most often found on local stages - and a welcome respite from the competing productions of A Christmas Carol on every Nashville street corner - Rhubarb and Pendulum 3 have presented Music City theater audiences with a wonderful gift that we hope to unwrap again in future seasons.

- The Santaland Diaries and Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family. By David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello. Presented by Rhubarb Theater Company and Pendulum 3, at Darkhorse Theater, through December 18.

Pictured: Bob Roberts as Crumpet the elf in Santaland Diaries

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