When John McAdams uttered that sentence during The Santaland Diaries, a one-man show presented by Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken, my husband completely lost it. At that point, the laughter had been building up from many such sardonic and witty lines, written by David Sedaris, adapted by Joe Mantello, directed by Chris O’Connor, and performed by McAdams.
The monologue is a reflection on Sedaris’s time as an elf (known as Crumpet) in Santaland at Macy’s in New York City. That line was a response to… well, actually, I won’t give it away. (My biggest pet peeve is knowing endings of movies, TV shows, even punchlines.) You just need to go see the show. It’s absolutely packed with laugh-inducing moments, and McAdams is skilled at channeling the Sedaris voice (which I was fortunate enough to catch in person at the Community Theatre in Morristown last year—I’d say Sedaris is one of a kind, but McAdams hits his sarcastic humor just right).
Not only that, but you get to watch the performance in Shades Bar and Restaurant (720 Monroe St), so the drinks are flowing, and the atmosphere is more of a social gathering than a stuffy theatre event. The show runs through December 21, tickets are $25, and you can find out more information at Mile Square Theatre’s website.
And don’t worry. With the exception of a few beers, nothing actually gets killed during the performance.