Photo Flash: Sneak Peek at Benjamin T. Ismail in THE SANTALAND DIARIES at Capital Stage

Back by popular demand, The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris returns to Capital Stage with Benjamin T. Ismail as Crumpet The Elf! Recommended for mature elves only, this play takes you to the retail heart of the holidays through Macy's Herald Square Santaland Display and skewers it with the kind of candid wit any adult will appreciate. Shannon Mahoney (In the Next Room, Clybourne Park, Maple & Vine) will direct this year's holiday romp with a Press Opening on Friday, December 9, 2016. Scroll down for a sneak peek at Ismail in character!

Crumpet the Elf is back for another round of best-selling author David Sedaris' sardonic comedy. This wry tale is based on the outlandish, and true, chronicles of Sedaris' brief stint as an elf in Macy's Herald Square SantaLand display. His hysterical, behind-the-scenes anecdotes are a holiday treat for adults, mercilessly cutting through the sticky-sweetness of Christmas to illuminate the insanity of the holidays, and the resilience of the human spirit. ADVISORY: Recommended For Mature Audiences,

David Sedaris is the NPR Humorist and Best-selling Author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, as well as others. With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America's pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.

David Sedaris 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, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and his most recent book, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, each of which became an immediate bestseller. The audio version of Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls is a 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album. He is the author of the New York Times-bestselling collection of fables entitled Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (with illustrations by Ian Falconer). He was also the editor of Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories. Sedaris's pieces appear regularly in The New Yorker and have twice been included in "The Best American Essays." There are a total of ten million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 29 languages.

He and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name "The Talent Family" and have written half-a-dozen plays, which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center, and The Drama Department 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, which was published in book form by Dramatists Play Service. David Sedaris's original radio pieces can often be heard on public radio's This American Life. David Sedaris has been nominated for three GRAMMY Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. His latest audio recording of new stories (recorded live) is "David Sedaris: Live for Your Listening Pleasure" (November 2009). A feature film adaptation of his story C.O.G. was released after a premier at the Sundance Film Festival (2013).

The Santaland Diaries will be directed by Shannon Mahoney (Rapture, Blister, Burn) and will star Benjamin T. Ismail (Speech & Debate, Tribes, Disgraced) as Crumpet the Elf. The production design team will include Justin D. Muñoz (scenic design), Mari Carson (costume design), Ron Madonia (lighting design), Ed Lee (sound design).

Regular ticket prices range from $33-42. Tickets are currently available at the Capital Stage Box Office, by phone at 916-995-5464, or online at capstage.org.