The Santaland Diaries

Since debuting on Morning Edition two decades ago, this all-too-true story of David Sedaris’ stint as an elf at Macy’s has become, at least among the public-radio set, an unlikely Christmas classic—and rightly so. Reporting from the beast’s belly, Sedaris casts his withering gaze upon latter-day Christmas’ commercialism and pageantry while still reminding his audience what the holiday’s really about. With source material this good, it’s hard to go wrong. Portland Center Stage’s fifth production of Joe Mantello’s one-man adaptation stars Jim Lichtscheidl, a Minneapolis actor making his Portland debut. Replacing Portland favorite Wade McCollum, Lichtscheidl has some big, jingle bell-adorned shoes to fill, but he proves more than up to the task. Lichtscheidl’s metamorphic impressions of the colorful personalities with whom Crumpet the Elf must contend might even surpass Sedaris’ own. Nobody, though—and I mean nobody—does Billie Holiday like Sedaris does.

Where: Gerding Theater
Phone: 445-3700
Address: 128 NW 11th Ave.
Website: www.pcs.org