Review: THE SANTALAND DIARIES Brings Irreverent Cheer to Drafthouse Comedy Theater

For the cynics among us who need to look beyond THE NUTCRACKER and A CHRISTMAS CAROL for holiday entertainment, THE SANTALAND DIARIES at Drafthouse Comedy Theater offers a quirky alternative. Cameron Folmar plays a disaffected department store Christmas elf in this consistently funny solo show adapted from a cult-classic monologue by humorist David Sedaris.

David is a gay, unemployed writer who finds a seasonal job as Crumpet the elf in Santaland at Macy's. Unlike many of the other elves, who overflow with aggressive holiday joy, he's not onboard with the workplace culture at all. He finds himself overcome with negativity over the flagrant commercialism and detestable families of customers queuing for photos with Santa, so he decides to share his behind-the-scenes stories with us, the audience.

Lynn Sharp Spears directs this production in the venue's intimate black box, which is decorated with just enough metallic Christmas kitsch to get the point across. Folmar is perfectly suited to the role, his languid voice dripping with disenchantment. He dons the velveteen elf suit and jingly shoes with utter disdain at the humiliation of it. And he delivers rollicking impressions of annoying elves and insufferable customers. He improvs as necessary, taking full advantage of the space with physical comedy, and engages the audience with winks and asides like a comedy veteran.

The source material, Sedaris's monologue, was originally delivered in 1992, so a handful of its details are somewhat dated and offensive in a not-as-entertaining way (for example, use of the word "retarded" to describe a group of visitors). But on the whole, the brand of offensiveness presented by THE SANTALAND DIARIES is hilarious in all the right ways.

Folmar's performance may be wrapped in utter distaste for the side effects of the holiday season, but it also reaches out to the cynic in all of us with a feeling of mutual understanding and camaraderie. The result is a paradoxical feeling of Christmas cheer based on the humor and meaning in what's around us.

Running time: approximately 80 minutes with no intermission.

THE SANTALAND DIARIES runs through December 23rd, 2017, at Drafthouse Comedy Theater, 1100 13th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005. Tickets are available at http://drafthousecomedy.com or by calling (202) 750-6411.

Photo: Cameron Folmar in THE SANTALAND DIARIES, courtesy of Drafthouse Comedy Theater.

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