The Santaland Diaries

He wears yellow velvet knickers, a forest green velvet smock, and a perky little hat decorated with spangles. This is his work uniform. Yes, it’s Crumpet the Elf from The Santaland Diaries, David Sedaris’ sardonic look at his employment as an elf at Macy’s during the holiday season.

This hilarious one-man show has been one of Tennessee Rep’s most requested holiday productions. Out of work, our slacker decides to become a Macy’s elf during the seasonal crunch. At first the job is simply humiliating, but once the thousands of visitors start pouring through Santa’s workshop, he becomes battle weary and bitter. Taking consolation in the fact that some of the other elves were television extras on One Life to Live, he grins and bears it, occasionally taking out his frustrations on the children and parents alike.