Press Release
MEDIA CONTACT:
Megan Mabry,
Publicity and Marketing Assistant
Triad Stage
232 South Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27401
336.274.0067 ext. 201
megan@triadstage.org
DAVID SEDARIS' HILARIOUS THE SANTALAND DIARIES IS BACK FOR A THIRD YEAR AT TRIAD STAGE'S UPSTAGE CABARET, DECEMBER 7 – 23, 2010
James Tunstall is the disgruntled Macy's elf, Crumpet, in this holiday comedy for grown ups.
(Greensboro, NC) —Triad Stage presents the return of David Sedaris’ hit one-man show, The Santaland Diaries, in The UpStage Cabaret. Welcome back the quintessential elf gone bad in this hilarious antidote for holiday havoc. Spend some time with the irreverent Crumpet – one of Santa’s little helpers during the Macy’s Christmas shopping rush – as he copes with thousands of shoppers and their kiddies with his whacked out, wicked wit. The Santaland Diaries runs December 7 – 23, 2010. Opening Night is Tuesday, December 7. The Santaland Diaries is not recommended for younger audiences.
David Sedaris, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, originally wrote the essay The Santaland Diaries as a true account of his time spent working as an elf in “SantaLand” at Macy’s department store in New York City. Sedaris gained national fame after reading the essay on National Public Radio in 1992, and published it in his collections Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice. In 1996, Tony Award®-winning director Joe Mantello (Wicked, 9 to 5) adapted the story as a one-act, one-man stage play.
This production marks the fifth time The Santaland Diaries has been performed at Triad Stage, the first two times being MainStage holiday specials in 2004 and 2005. Both the 2008 and 2009 productions in The UpStage Cabaret were sold out. This new production is directed by Jeff Stanley, who promises to “cut the sweet with a little bit of salt.” Stanley, who has worked in regional theaters across the country and in New York, makes his Triad Stage debut with The Santaland Diaries. “We see the hilarious dangers of over-commercializing the holiday, but also the fact that, at its simplest, the season can still lift even the greatest of cynics. Being reminded of that fact—that joy can be found at the bottom of the barrel—is more important now than ever, and that is the story I am interested in telling,” states Stanley. James Tunstall is making his debut in The UpStage Cabaret as Crumpet after three years of portraying Tidence Ledbetter in Beautiful Star: An Appalachian Nativity on Triad Stage’s MainStage. A long time fan of David Sedaris’ work, Tunstall states, “Crumpet is a complex character with a lot of layers, a character with whom I can absolutely empathize. The opportunity to do a one-man-show does not come around that often and I am both excited and terrified, a combination of emotions that actors live for.”
The creative team includes scenic and lighting designer Nicholas Hussong, costume designer Andrew Cutler, and sound designer Patrick Calhoun. The stage manager is Emily J. Mails.
Biographies for the cast and creative team are online at www.triadstage.org.
Tickets are $20 for seats to all 7:30 p.m. performances, and $15 for seats to all 10:00 p.m. late night performances. Seating is general admission. The doors open thirty minutes prior to each performance for bar service inside The UpStage Cabaret space. Tickets are on sale now at the Triad Stage Box Office and online through Triad Stage’s website. MainStage Season Passholders receive $3 off tickets when purchased through the Box Office.
All performances are at Triad Stage’s UpStage Cabaret on the top floor of The Pyrle Theater, located at 232 South Elm Street in historic downtown Greensboro, North Carolina (between Market and Washington Streets).
Show times for The Santaland Diaries are Tuesday – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., with additional late night performances Fridays and Saturdays at 10:00 p.m.
About Triad Stage
Triad Stage is a professional not-for-profit regional theater company based in Greensboro’s downtown historic district. All Triad Stage productions are created in Greensboro using the best of local and national talent. Triad Stage gratefully acknowledges the support of its Season Sponsors: Mitre Agency, the North Carolina Arts Council and the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. The UpStage Cabaret media partner is YES! Weekly.
All Triad Stage productions feature the bold acting and breathtaking design that have been nationally recognized by The Wall Street Journal, and by the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards®, which recently named Triad Stage one of the top ten most promising emerging theatres in the country as a recipient of the 2010 National Theatre Company Grant. Triad Stage has also earned accolades including “One of the Best Regional Theatres in America”, New York’s Drama League; “Best Live Theater”, GoTriad/News & Record and The Rhinoceros Times; and “Professional Theater of the Year”, North Carolina Theatre Conference.
About The UpStage Cabaret
In late 2007, Triad Stage began the conversion of The Pyrle Theater’s top floor storage area into a new rehearsal hall, WUNC Public Radio’s Greensboro satellite bureau and a second performance space known as The UpStage Cabaret. Created with flexibility and intimacy in mind, The UpStage Cabaret has seating with tables for 80 people, bar service and a relaxed, easy-going atmosphere that blends downtown flair with uptown chic. Not only home to theatrical productions by Triad Stage, The UpStage Cabaret plays host to Entertainment UpStage – a series of events that includes film screenings, live concerts, poetry readings and more.
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