CONTACT:

Wendy Knox
Frank Theatre, 612 724 3760

Dana Munson
The Cowles Center, 612.206.3630

FRANK THEATRE PRESENTS DAVID SEDARIS

THE SANTALAND DIARIES

AT THE COWLES CENTER, DEC.13-DEC. 23

MINNEAPOLIS (November, 2013)Frank Theatre will bring back its alternative holiday classic,
David Sedaris THE SANTALAND DIARIES, the stage adaptation of his hilarious account of his
stint as a Christmas elf in Macys SantaLand. The Santaland Diaries will play for 11 performances at The Cowles Center for Dance & Performing Arts from Dec. 13-23, located at 528 Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. The production will once again feature Twin Cities actor Joe Leary as Crumpet the Elf, with scenery by Brendan and Steve Rohde, costumes by Kathy Kohl, lighting by Mike Wangen and sound by Sarah Pickett with assistance from Katharine Horowitz. Frank Theatre Artistic Director Wendy Knox directs the production.

There is no room for equivocation: the funniest show on offer this holiday season

is the Frank Theatres The Santaland Diaries. Metro Magazine

About SANTALAND DIARIES

The Santaland Diaries is a delightfully absurd look at the commercial underbelly of the holiday season. Sedaris sharp and hilarious observations about his encounters as an Elf during the season of forced joy have become a delightful cult classic for those in need of an antidote to an overload of holiday treacle. David Sedaris is a New York Times best-selling author and National Public Radio humorist known for his essays Me Talk Pretty One Day, When You Are Engulfed in Flames and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Sedaris first read The Santaland Diaries, with its delightfully sardonic and merrily subversive perspective on the holiday season, on NPRs Morning Edition program in 1992. It was, as the Washington Post later described it, unforgettable, an autobiographical confession of a penniless, gay, would-be soap opera writer named Crumpet working as an elf at Macy's mega-department store on Herald Square in New York. The piece was so well received that it gave Sedaris one of his first major breaks and it remains an annual NPR staple. In 1996, it was adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello, of "Love! Valour! Compassion!" fame.

Frank Theatres production stars Joe Leary as Crumpet. Leary was featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary "Peace Crimes" and appeared in Vera Farmiga's recent film "Higher Ground." He is familiar to local audiences through his work with History Theatre, Mary Worth Theatre and with Theatre Latté Da/Interact Theatres King of Hearts. His Off-Broadway credits include Talk Radio, Dead Bird and All Men Are Whores. Frank Theatre Artistic Director Wendy Knox, who has directed acclaimed productions of The Santaland Diaries at Syracuse Stage (NY) and Portland Center Stage, directs.

Ticket prices are $29 (fees included in ticket price). Groups of 10 or more should call (612) 206.3600 for information and reservations. Tickets may be purchased online at www.thecowlescenter.org or by calling 612.206.3600. Run time is 70 minutes with no intermission. Performance dates and times are listed below.

If you're looking for holiday entertainment that's more tart than treacly, more snarky than sweet,

prepare to make merry at Frank Theatre's "The Santaland Diaries"This lively production, under the direction of Wendy Knox, has a wonderfully cartoon-like look, complete with Steve Rohde's recreation of Santaland and Kathy Kohl's gaudy elf costume, including curly-toed shoes. ..Joe Leary does a stellar job

with the variety of characters that inhabit this play, embodying some particularly amusing Santas,

over-wrought parents and freakish coworkers. StarTribune

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCES

Santaland Diaries
by David Sedaris

Starring Joe Leary
Directed by Wendy Knox

The Cowles Center
528 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Box Office: 612.206.3600
www.thecowlescenter.org

Thursday, December 12, 7:00pm Preview
Friday, December 13, 7:00pm Opening Night (Talk-back)
Saturday, December 14, 7:00pm

Saturday, December 14, 9:30pm

Sunday, December 15, 2:00pm

Thursday, December 19, 7:00pm Lavender Night at The Cowles

Friday, December 20, 7:00pm

Friday, December 20, 9:30pm

Saturday, December 21, 7:00pm

Saturday, December 21, 9:30pm

Sunday, December 22, 2:00pm

Monday, December 23, 7:00pm

Elsewhere it is director Knoxs hand that makes a difference... What she is driving at is that Santaland is more than a coffeehouse monologue with darts thrown at safe targets like commercialism and the bogus bonhomie our culture seems to foster even without the holidaysWhat Knox finds in The Santaland Diaries is a deeper connection with the enduring secular stories of Christmas, specifically A Christmas Carol and Its a Wonderful Life.Syracuse New Times

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