[NEohioPAL]Berko review: SANTA LAND DIARY (Cleveland Public Theatre)

[Roy Berko]

Cute, but not wonderful ‘SANTA LAND DIARIES’ at CPT

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Dance
Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Want a fun holiday job?  How about working as one of
Santa’s elfs in a major department store?  Think of it
this way: you’d be surrounded by lots of toys, be in a
winter wonderland setting, listen to cute kids tell
their wishes to a wise Santa, and hobnob with “the”
man--the guy in the red suit.

When David Sedaris was 33-years old and desperate for
a job while waiting for his big break in New York, he
saw an ad for a Santa’s helper at Macy’s Department
store.   A perfect holiday job, he thought.  Oh, how
wrong he was.

Sedaris, who is a National Public Radio humorist and
author of such delightful books as ‘NAKED’ and ‘ME
TALK PRETTY ONE DAY,’ delves into his own life for his
stories.    This is the case with ‘SANTA LAND
DIARIES,’ a story which is both humorous and sardonic.
 It can be viewed locally on stage at Cleveland Public
Theatre.

Andrew Tarr, who portrays Sedaris in this one-person
show, is quite entertaining.  However, he misses that
extra spark that is needed to get all the laughs out
of the piece which includes comments about Santas,
parents, kids and coworkers.  The Santas run from the
insane to the philosophical.  He recounts tales of
maniacal parents whose main goal in life is to get the
“perfect” holiday picture and have their kids enjoy
themselves even if the parent has to beat the kid into
being the happy.  The kids range from the pleasers to
the “pee-ers.”  Co-workers vary from the dwarf to the
ditz who wants to be an elf “all year long.”

Director Mindy Childress Herman needed to work with
Tarr on comic timing.  Some of the necessary pauses,
stresses and facial gyrations, which make for comedy,
were not well-keyed.   That is not to say Tarr isn’t
entertaining.  He is, but he could have been
hysterical with the right guidance.

Capsule judgement:  “Santa Land Diaries” is a creative
piece which gets a pleasant production at Cleveland
Public Theatre.  P.S.  It is not for the kids!

For tickets to the show, which runs through December
23rd, call 216-631-2727.


Roy Berko's theatre blog, which includes his reviews of plays and dance programs from 2003 through 2006, can be found at http://royberkinfo.blogspot.com  
      Information regarding his consulting and publications and older theatre and dance reviews can be found at www.royberko.info.  
      Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


 
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