Not all elves are created equal

“The Santaland Diaries:” Dec. 8-9, 11, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m., The Moose Exchange, (203 W. Main St., Bloomsburg). $12, BYOB. Info: 570.784.8181, bte.org

There are two sides to the Christmas coin: Those who worship every stinkin’ thing about it and those who love to proclaim how much they despise its commercialism.

But whether you spend the 25th day of December watching “Rush Hour” movies in silent protest or walking around in a fiber-optic reindeer sweater complete with jingle bells, “The Santaland Diaries,” a play that follows the exploits of a department store elf at Christmas, has a broad enough appeal to draw in curmudgeons and revelers alike.

Cashing in on this insider’s knowledge, the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble will be staging a BYOB production of the one-man show, which is based on an essay of the same name by David Sedaris, Dec. 8-11 at the Moose Exchange in downtown Bloomsburg.

“I’m already laughing out loud in rehearsals,” said Elizabeth Dowd, the show’s director, when she checked in with the Weekender recently. “And I’m not a laugher, I have to say that. That’s worth noting, that I am looking so closely at the structure that allows the audience to laugh that I get very focused on little things and I don’t crack up. But I’m just delighted.”

“The Santaland Diaries” was adapted for the stage by actor and director Joe Mantello in 1996. It’s a first-person account, told from Sedaris’ perspective, of working as an elf at Macy’s in New York during the holiday season. The one-act play is peppered with tawdry tales of the clandestine inner-workings of the store as well as encounters with rude parents and shoppers.

“It’s Christmas through the lens of shopping and Black Friday and the whole Macy’s commercialism of Christmas,” said Richard Cannaday, the current ensemble director at BTE and star of the play.

According to Cannaday, though, it isn’t all wry commentary.

“As I’ve become an adult, Christmas is a lot more about my kids and traveling and cooking meals and semantics, that kind of thing, rather than the magic of Christmas,” he said. “So this (play) is definitely saying, look, Christmas is magical if you let it be. And David spends a lot of the show not letting the magic of Christmas affect him.

“But by the end of it, he comes to see that there’s something special about the idea of Santa Claus and family and stuff. So it’s actually a pretty sweet thing underneath all the sarcasm and bitterness.”

Some of the material in the show, while not lewd, is definitely intended for adults. The general consensus among ensemble members seems to be that the family-friendly holiday show that’s also being offered this year, “Holiday Memories,” is a good counterbalance to the mature humor of “The Santaland Diaries.”

According to Syreeta CombsCannaday, communications director of the ensemble and wife of Cannaday, the organization is using that notion to its advantage by offering a “Naughty & Nice” deal on Sunday, Dec. 11. For $50, theatergoers can see “Holiday Memories” at 3 p.m., “Santaland Diaries” at 7:30 p.m. and have dinner at Marley’s Brewery and Grille (18 West Main St., Bloomsburg) in between.

AFFINITY FOR ELF CULTURE

Anyone who’s read the essay version of “The Santaland Diaries” or listened to Sedaris recite pieces of it on NPR knows his voice, as he lends a special sense of acrimony to whatever he writes or reads. Partly because of that, the intention with the upcoming BTE production is not to mimic him.

“We’re not interested in having me do an impression of David Sedaris, because that might get a little grating,” Cannaday explained. “I think that sustaining a really specific character for that long might detract from the monologue itself.”

In fact, the entire production seems to be aimed at putting the audience at ease. Because it’s a direct address show, meaning there’s one actor who basically speaks to the audience the entire time, Dowd, who has previously directed this show twice before at BTE, noted that they’re working on creatively breaking up the material as much as possible.

“I have sort of little musical interludes where the audience gets a break from words,” she elaborated. “And then the idea is that you’re just kind of turning the page, because the script goes from him first deciding to apply as an elf to his last day.”

That flow is part of what has made memorizing the script easier for Cannaday, who was already slightly familiar with it from past productions both at BTE and in some of his other theatrical ventures.

“David Sedaris has such a great writing rhythm,” he explained. “All of the thoughts lead from one to the next, it’s never really coming out of nowhere, so it hasn’t been that huge a challenge to memorize. I think the major difference is that it’s really easy to psych yourself out and really, not having a scene partner to fall back on. But for the most part, the writing is so good that it hasn’t really been an issue.”

Dowd noted that Cannaday, who was one of the major proponents of doing the production this year, seems to have a knack for the material.

“I really am watching him going, ‘Oh, this guy has the chops to be a standup comedian,’” she said. “He has such an ease and he’s got such a nice deadpan delivery that just makes the text really pop.”

And if all else fails, CombsCannaday is looking forward to watching her husband don an elf costume for all to see.

“Twelve dollars, you get to bring your own bottle and watch Richie run around in tights? I’m sure it’s going to sell out,” she said, laughing.

To his credit, Cannaday is fearless when it comes to the festive duds.

“I have a connection to the piece because I’ve played the Easter bunny in the past,” he said. “When you’re an actor looking for work, you will suspend all shame, and so the funny costume doesn’t really bother me all that much … I’m pretty naturally exuberant, so to find that middle ground between David, who’s completely repelled by the idea, and me, who sort of embraces it, is pretty fun.”

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