Still Not an Elf on the Shelf

The Santaland Diaries – Goodman Theatre

The holiday season isn’t always a time for unbridled joy and delight as movies, musicals and television specials would have you believe. Even that crabby old curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge, eventually found Christmas to be a season of joy and renewal. But ask anyone working in the public sector during the holidays, especially in retail or hospitality, where they’ve suffered the indignities and downright rudeness of people at their worst, and you’ll understand how some folks look at Christmas in an entirely different light.

In 1992, humorist David Sedaris wrote a darkly comic essay that he first read on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” The piece was so well received that the writer included the essay in his first published collection, Barrel Fever, and later again in his seasonal tome, Holidays on Ice. In his essay, Sedaris tells about how, as a young man, he first relocated to New York City to become a soap star. The only decent-paying job he could snag at that time was at the Herald Square Macy’s. Following a series of intrusive personal interviews, drug tests and questionnaires, David was shocked to find himself employed as an elf in Santa’s Workshop for the holiday shopping season. 

The experience was fraught with exasperating coworkers, annoying parents, whiny children, frustrating Santa Clauses, and was made even worse by the humiliating green velvet costume he was forced to wear. There were a many moments that tried the patience of the snarky, sardonic Mr. Sedaris. However, by his final day of employment, David has managed to not only endure the job but to finally experience his own Christmastime epiphany.

In 1996, actor/director Joe Mantello adapted the biographical essay for the stage. Since that time, his one-man play entitled “The Santaland Diaries” has been presented everywhere and has become an alternative theatrical staple for the holidays. Although Chicago has enjoyed this dark comedy for several seasons at Theater Wit, the Goodman has chosen the 65-minute comedy to balance their theatre offering of “A Christmas Carol.” 

Talented, Jeff Award-winning director Steve Scott again has guided another bright and wonderfully entertaining production, a follow-up to last year’s production. This year, Chicago comic character actor and playwright, Steven Strafford steps into the role of Crumpet, the Elf. This likably sardonic actor, known for standout roles in the Goodman Theatre’s “Wonderful Town,” Drury Lane’s “Little Shop of Horrors” and the Marriott’s “Honeymoon in Vegas,” is quite simply terrific. In this one-man show, but Mr. Strafford comfortably wears the dual characters of David Sedaris/Crumpet like a pair of warm, flannel pajamas. 

When the actor is first discovered on the glorious, colorful set, Kevin Depinet’s scenic design that represents Macy’s lavish Santa Land, he’s the foulmouthed essayist David Sedaris, recounting the events that led up to his first job in the Big Apple. While describing costumer Rachel Lambert’s hilarious, velvet atrocity, that’s to become his new work uniform, Steven changes onstage into an emerald and gold smock, a green hat and curly-toed slippers, all accented by a pair of red-and-white candy cane-striped tights. His character’s indignity, however, is discreetly hidden beneath this festive fantasy attire.

Steven Strafford owns the stage as he relates Sedaris’ embarrassing and sometimes humbling experiences as Crumpet. Each episode is defined by Mike Durst’s subtle changes in lighting, while the actor uses the entire stage as his playground. As David, Mr. Strafford describes a clueless, overly enthusiastic fellow elf who asks to wear her costume home on the subway. Another handsome, hunky elf employee, who enjoys shamelessly flirting with all the gay employees, is later overheard degrading them in private. He relates the embarrassment that he feels while witnessing a pair of loud New Jersey dads shouting to Santa that, for Christmas, they’d each like a woman with big boobs. He humorously demonstrates how he’s been taught ASL so that he can communicate with hearing impaired children; and, in another episode, Crumpet secretly shares how it’s sometimes difficult to separate those with special needs from everyone else seeing Santa. 

Still not an Elf on the Shelf, Mr. Strafford, through his character’s sassy, smart-mouthed, often profane comments, roams the stage helping the audience empathize with his situation. Through  the actor’s honest commitment to his role, we feel the frustration of dealing with rude, pushy parents, screaming children and obnoxious fellow employees. He describes all the various Santa Clauses with whom he’s worked, from one jolly old elf who had his routine down to a science, to another Santa who saw his job as a platform for spouting his political views. But, ultimately, the actor brings the evening to a close with one particular tender incident that not only changed David Sedaris, but allows the  audience to see the hustle and bustle of the holiday season through more caring, compassionate eyes.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas Presented November 29-December 29, by the Goodman Theatre in the Owen Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 312-443-3800 or by going to www.GoodmanTheatre.org/Santaland.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.