“The Santaland Diaries” by comedian, author, writer and radio personality David Sedaris has become a modern holiday classic. Sedaris first read his hilarious essay on working as a Macy’s holiday elf on NPR on December 23, 1992 and it provided Sedaris with his first big break, leading to a monthly segment on NPR and a book deal. The essay was adapted for the stage as a one-man, one-act play by Joe Montello in 1996 and has since become a holiday classic for anyone that enjoys an irreverent take on the holiday season.

We’re ticketing quite a few productions of the play across the country and we highly recommend you experience Sedaris’ hilarious brand of snarky holiday humor. If you’re not familiar with the piece, here’s a taste of Sedaris’ original reading:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjYe_fUBNw0]

“The Santaland Diaries”  Grass Valley, California  LeGacy Productions presents Joe Mantello’s hilarious stage adaptation of David Sedaris’ incredibly funny  work “The Santaland Diaries” starring Gary Wright. “The Santaland Diaries” will be performed at the Off Center Stage in Grass Valley, California until December 24th. Carolyn Howarth directs this true and humorous account of Sedaris’ stint working as a Christmas elf in “SantaLand” at Macy’s department store. Gary Wright wowed audiences for LeGacy last year in his one man show “This Wonderful Life”, depicting all 31 Bedford Falls residents, based on the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”, and is sure to create a terrific outing in this year’s one man show. Don’t miss this incredible production! MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY!!

THE SANTALAND DIARIES  St. Louis, Missouri  A delightfully thorny account of an out of work slacker who decides to become a Macy’s elf during the holiday crunch. Through the sardonic and subversive wit of humorist David Sedaris, this hilarious one-person play chronicles the perils of Christmas shopping and the insane commercialization of the Yuletide season. This production will be playing until Saturday, December 17 and is intended for mature audiences only.

The Santaland Diaries  Washington D.C.  Based on the outlandish, true chronicles of David Sedaris’ experience as an elf in Macy’s Santaland, this cult classic riffs on Sedaris’ truly odd encounters with his fellow man during the height of the holiday crunch. NPR humorist and best-selling author of “When You Are Engulfed in Flames,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim,” David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humorists. Joe Brack has performed “The Santaland Diaries” for several years in Washington, DC under the direction of Matty Griffiths. Each year they explore this rich, true life text to find a fresh take on this off beat holiday classic.  They let the audience draw on vivid memories – from childhood to that day’s trip to the shopping mall – while the story winds it’s way deeper behind the scenes. Come see what it takes to juggle tots and tottering Santas during the most festive time of the year. A laugh ’til you cry evening of merrily subversive entertainment! This production is playing until Saturday, December 24th.

The Santaland Diaries & trueCHRISTMAS  Cincinnati, Ohio  Spastic children, obnoxious parents, nutty co-workers and, oh yeah “One Life to Live”…. Happy Holidays! Brutally honest, witty and even a bit crude at times, “The Santaland Diaries” looks at the comically darker side of Christmas through the eyes of one man’s memorable experience as a seasonal worker elf at Macy’s Christmas Winter Wonderland. This year, New Edgecliff has paired with Cincinnati’s True Theatre to present trueCHRISTMAS, featuring real people telling real stories about their own memorable holiday experiences. This storytelling event is the perfect compliment to David Sedaris, the ultimate storyteller. This production is playing until Saturday, December 17.

The Santaland Diaries  Newburgh, New York  Based on the outlandish and true, chronicles of David Sedaris’ experience as Crumpet the Elf in Macy’s SantaLand display, this hilarious cult classic features comic encounters during the height of the holiday crunch. NPR humorist and best-selling author of “When You Are Engulfed in Flames,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim,” David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. This production starts on Thursday, December 15.

The SantaLand Diaries & Season’s Greetings  Ferndale, Michigan  If you’re allergic to shopping malls, excessive commercialism or egg nog, Who Wants Cake? has the perfect solution to restore a smile to your overburdened holidays.  Opening December 18th at Ferndale’s Ringwald Theatre for an exclusive four day engagement is the return of the comedic duo of “The SantaLand Diaries & Season’s Greetings” from award-winning humorist David Sedaris and adapted for the stage by acclaimed director Joe Mantello and featuring Joe Bailey and Joe Plambeck. A young man (Joe Plambeck) arrives in New York with dreams of being a writer for “One Life to Live” and instead lands a part-time job as a Macy’s Christmas elf named Crumpet. From humiliating interview to elf indoctrination to scrapes with miscast Santas and obnoxious customers, the author’s real-life experiences, detailed in “The SantaLand Diaries,” are merrily subversive and fall-on-your-knees funny! In “Season’s Greetings,” a determinedly sunny Mrs. Jocelyn Dunbar (Joe Bailey) takes pen to paper recounting the joys and unexpected surprises of the past year – including the arrival of her husband’s illegitimate, gold-digging, Vietnamese daughter on the doorstep. Twisted, tragic and hilarious in its lurid revelations, “Season’s Greetings” is an antidote to the chipper holiday newsletter of yore. David Sedaris is the author of the best sellers “Barrel Fever,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” “Naked” and “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.” He taught writing at the Art Institute of Chicago for two years, and his essays appear regularly in The New Yorker and Esquire. Sedaris’ original radio pieces can often be heard on public radio’s “This American Life,” distributed nationally by WBEZ in Chicago.

Santaland Diaries – 10th Year  San Francisco, California  Combined Artform is celebrating ten years with ten performances of “Santaland Diaries” by David Sedaris and adapted to the stage by Joe Mantello.  David Sinaiko puts on his elf hat and boots to return to the Eureka Theatre as everyone’s favorite elf, Crumpet. No one captures the craziness of the holidays like David Sedaris. Come see the show that critics and audiences love and keep coming back for more and spend the holidays with Combined Artform at the Eureka Theatre. Nominated for a SF/Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Solo Performance.  This production starts on Thursday, December 22.