“The Santaland Diaries” to return to SAAC

For the third time, Crumpet the Elf will be taking the stage at the South Arkansas Arts Center for a one-night performance of “The Santaland Diaries.”

The play, which is for adults only, will take place on Dec. 15 in the Callaway Theater with a dessert and drinks buffet beginning at 7 p.m.

According to a press release, “The Santaland Diaries” is a hilariously sarcastic, deliciously cyclical way for adults to celebrate the holidays.

Crumpet the Elf will be portrayed by Thomas Brewster, who has been the character every year that the play has been presented. The play, which first came to SAAC in 2015 and then again in 2016, is a one-man show.

Brewster said Crumpet the Elf is his most favorite character he has ever played on stage at SAAC.

“I think part of the reason I like this character so much is because I can relate,” he said. “Because I have worked in retail before during the holidays, not as an elf, but there are responses that he gives within some of the examples of customer interaction [that are relatable].”

Although the play is a one-man show, Brewster said he doesn’t feel nervous. He added that it was kind of frightening the first year that he performed the play.

In August 2015, SAAC approached him about doing the play, which included a 30-page script that had to be memorized.

“It took nearly all of those four months to get it all down,” he said.

Brewster said the play was sold out the first year.

“There was such a response from it from those that had seen it, we decided to do it again the next year, only make it a little more widely available, so we actually did it on stage in the theater,” he said.

The play was not performed in 2017, but Brewster said even then there were discussions about bringing it back in 2018.

Brewster said attendees this year can expect crowd interaction from him.

“The crowd interaction makes for a better experience,” he said. “I will warn you it is R rated. I’m not necessarily super proud you know, it’s a character I play … but being able to play a character and just cut loose like that is entirely too much fun.”

Brewster has performed in many holiday and summer productions over the years at SAAC including “A Christmas Story,” “A 1940’s Radio Christmas Carol,” “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” “Willy Wonka,” and most recently “Sunset Boulevard” and “Singing in the Rain.”

The press release describes “The Santaland Diaries” as giving the audience a backstage pass to the secret lives of department store’s Santas and elves.

“Out of work and middle-aged, a writer in need of holiday cash decides to employ his gift for insightful observation in the trade of elfdom at Macy’s Department Store,” the release states. “Besieged by bratty kids with overzealous parents and donning a humiliating costume, he finds that his cynical self and his elfin alter ego, ‘Crumpet,’ are not exactly compatible. His remedy for the saccharine overdose he endures in his never-ending exuberant job is to tell all.”

The comedy is an essay written by David Sedaris and made famous when it was aired on National Public Radio in 1992.

“As long as it’s a draw and so long as I can comfortably pull of saying the line ‘I am a 33-year-old man applying for a job as an elf,’ I’m all for it,” Brewster said.

Tickets for the show are $20.

To reserve tickets to the “one night only” event, sponsored by Possibilities Salon and Antoon’s Jewelers, contact SAAC at 870-862-5474 or visitsaac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 E. Fifth St. in El Dorado.