dacamhar fi, 2002 •
THEATER
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hristmas means many things to many
people, and two views of the holiday are
coming to town this month as Portland
Center Stage presents a double bill of
David Sedaris’ The SantaLand Diaries and Tru
man Capotes A Christmas Memory.
The one-acts are autobiographical episodes
in the lives of two of the most famous and cele
brated out gay authors of the 20th century. Yet,
while Capotes is a poignant recollection of cel
ebration, Sedaris’ proves that not everylxxlys
holiday experience is merry and bright.
If you lived in New York City during the
early 1990s, humorist Sedaris might have
cleaned your apartment or washed your win
dows or greeted you in an elf outfit at Macy’s.
He first perfonned Diaries, a first-person
account of his two Christmases spent as an elf
in the giant department store’s SantaLand, on
National Public Radio in December 1992.
His 8 1/2-minute introduction to the world
began with the words “1 wear green velvet
knickers, a forest green velvet smock and a
perky little hat decorated with spangles. This is
my work uniform.” The monologue— read in his
distinctive nasal whine— was so well received it
generated the second-most requests for tapes of
any story in the history of Morning Edition.
After this bout of popularity, Sedaris
expanded Diaries and included it in his first
collection of essays, Barrel Fever. A few years
later Joe Mantello (who originally directed Eve
Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues) adapted it into
a one-man show, which opened Nov. 7, 1996,
in New York. The expanded version was broad
cast on NPR at Christmas in 1997 with Sedaris
once again reading it himself.
At the time Diaries was broadcast in ’92, it
was considered risqué because Sedaris admits
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Steve W ilkerson has his hands full as David Sedaris in The SantaLand
msm Diaries (left) and as Truman Capote in A Christm as Memory
his attraction for another male elf, Snowball.
Like many of his stories, though, being gay is
not the subject so much as an adjunct. It’s
there, and then the story goes on. Despite this,
radio stations still received nasty letters, includ
ing one from a listener who complained about
"that pederast who worked at Macy’s.” (Sedaris’
response: “Pederast.7 What story.7 I’d love to
hear a story about a pederast at Macy’s.”)
\ edaris’ hitter and sardonic view of the hol
idays is the polar opposite of Capote’s in A
Christmas Memory. Written in 1956, the
sweet and sentimental tale of a single Christ
mas in his childhood is a departure for the
famously acerbic raconteur.
The scene is the quaint 1930s community
of Monroeville, Ala. Seven-year-old Buddy
(Capote) is being raised by a family of elderly
cousins who have no experience with children,
nor are they particularly accommodating to the
lonely child. Sook, the eldest cousin, is the
exception, being rather simple, with all the
excitement and wonder of a child about her.
Sook and Buddy become best friends. The
pair are very poor, yet very happy, and Capote’s
description of the use of meager earnings to
buy the ingredients for their annual fruitcake
gifts will soften even Scrooge’s heart.
His idyllic remembrance, however, is marred
by the realization that this was their last Christ
mas together. Much to his dismay, Buddy is sent
to military school to further his education and
provide him with better role models. Through
the years, Sook becomes ill and confused until
one “leafless birdless coming of winter morning,
when she cannot rouse herself to exclaim, ‘Oh,
my, it’s fruitcake weather!’ ”
In 1966 Memory was filmed for television
starring Geraldine Page and narrated by the
author. He adapted it for the stage as a one-
man show in 1980, four years before his death.
“There was nobody like me before, and there
ain’t gonna be anybody like me after I’m gone,”
Capote said. But the similarities between him and
Sedaris are striking. Both are small, Southern,
lisping gay men who also happen to be very, very
funny. Both use autobiographical material in their
work, and both are as famous for their unusual
personalities as they are for their literary gifts.
Portland gay actor Steve Wilkerson plays all
the characters in both pieces, and the decision
to cast one performer for the entire evening
strengthens the link between these two fasci
nating writers. Portland Center Stage’s Decem
ber production promises to be both hilarious
and touching. J H
P ortland C enter S tage presents The SantaLand
Daries and A Christmas Memory through Dec. 23
at Neumark Theatre, l III S.W. Broadway. Gay
and lesbian audience night is Dec. 10. Tickets are $12-
$47 from the box office or 503-274-6588.
FLOYD S klaver is a Portland free-lance writer.
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