"Santaland Diaries" is an essay by

David Sedaris David Raymond Sedaris (; born December 26, 1956) is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "Santaland Diaries.” He published his first co ...

. It is a humorous account of Sedaris' stint working as a

Christmas elf In English-speaking cultures, a Christmas elf is a diminutive elf that lives with Santa Claus at the North Pole and acts as his helper. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with large, pointy ears and wearing pointy hats. T ...

in "Santaland" at

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

. Sedaris first read the essay on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

's ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 AM ...

'' on December 23, 1992. The piece was well received, and provided Sedaris with his first major break. Sedaris later published the essay in the collections '' Barrel Fever'' (1994) and '' Holidays on Ice'' (1997). A much longer version of the piece first aired on December 20, 1996, on the

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...

program ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...

.'' In 1996,

Joe Mantello Joseph Mantello (born December 27, 1962) is an American actor and director known for his work on Broadway productions of ''Wicked'', '' Take Me Out'', and ''Assassins'', having gained notoriety in the 1993 cast of ''Angels in America''. Early li ...

adapted Sedaris' essay for the stage as a one-man,

one-act A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...

play, which debuted (as ''The Santaland Diaries'') at the

Atlantic Theater Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their actin ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on November 7, 1996.

Timothy Olyphant Timothy David Olyphant ( ; born May 20, 1968) is an American actor. He made his acting debut in an off-Broadway theater in 1995, in ''The Monogamist'', and won the Theatre World Award for his performance, and then originated David Sedaris' ''Th ...

originated the role. Mantello's adaptation has since become a seasonal staple of regional, college, and high-school theatre.

Factual accuracy

Although Sedaris has claimed that the account is true, fact-checking by ''This American Life'' and others in the wake of the Mike Daisey Foxconn controversy has clouded the issue. In 2007, writing for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'',

Alexander S. Heard Alexander S. Heard is editorial director of Outside (magazine), ''Outside'' magazine and the author of ''Apocalypse Pretty Soon'', a book about millennial subcultures in the United States. His book, ''The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex ...

fact-checked various aspects of Sedaris's stories, including ''Santaland Diaries'', and found that several aspects were exaggerated and manufactured, although Sedaris did work in Macy's during the time period represented. Although some defended Sedaris by stating that his intention was to entertain, not provide accurate information as in the case of Daisey, NPR's executive editor of news programming has stated that a reader alert is warranted.

References

External links

"The Santaland Diaries" at NPR"Christmas and Commerce" at This American Life
1996 plays 1992 essays American essays Works by David Sedaris Macy's Santa's helpers Christmas essays Christmas plays {{1990s-play-stub