The Ringwald Laughs at the Commercialism of Christmas

In 2007, Ferndale-based encouraged us to laugh at the real humor behind the holidays – the retail hell, the family squabbles, all that eggnog. It came perfectly wrapped in a two-for-one package – The SantaLand Diaries and Season's Greetings – penned by Humorist David Sedaris and adapted by Director Joe Mantello.

Three years later the show is a Christmas standard at , thanks to Who Wants Cake? duo Joe Plambeck and Joe Bailey. Plambeck takes the lead as a young man forced to take a part-time job as a reluctant Santa's helper (read: Elf) for the holidays in The SantaLand Diaries, while Bailey transforms into Mrs. Jocelyn Dunbar capturing the hilarious highlights of a rollercoaster year in her annual letter to friends in Season's Greetings. Here's what Plambeck and Bailey had to say about the roles they've made famous:

Patch: For those audience members who are familiar with Sedaris' works from National Public Radio or have read Holidays on Ice, how would you describe this adaptation for the stage?

Joe Bailey: What the stage production does is it pares down a bit of the prose, streamlines it, and adds the visual element. So it's absolutely perfect for those folks who may have been curious about David Sedaris but don't like that pesky reading thing.

P: How do you prepare for the role of Crumpet in The SantaLand Diaries?

Joe Plambeck: The main element of preparing for Crumpet is making room in my brain for all of his words and thoughts. It was pretty daunting the first year to memorize the script, but every year since it has become easier and more fun to revisit. Also, I get to really unleash any and all of my sarcastic and bitter feelings about dealing with retail and the general public – which is certainly a blast and a nice outlet. And finally, I get myself accustomed to wearing candy cane striped tights once again.

P: About that elf costume - are you used to it now?

JP: The costume has always been a lot of fun. I change right on stage, which is always a fun spot to hear the audience's reaction. Folks usually get quite a chuckle out of not only my outfit, but my obvious disdain for it as I reveal each aspect.

P: What brings you back to this role and this show year after year?

JP: The biggest thing that brings me back to doing this show every year is the response and demand from our audiences. People seem to love having something a little sarcastic and dark for the holidays with the overload of cheer and joy that seems to be everywhere else.

P: Because of the nature of Season's Greetings, Joe (Bailey), you had to memorize a very lengthy script. How long are you actually on stage and is there any trick to working under those parameters?  

JB: I'm not onstage as long as Mr. Plambeck, which is good (for me). My piece is about 40 minutes long. Really I have found the best way of getting through it is to just make sure that I connect with the material and connect with the audience. And to take my time!

P: What is it about Sedaris' work that resonates, especially around the holidays? 

JB: The SantaLand Diaries is arguably his best known work. When we first decided to do this show three years ago people were so excited because the audio version, read by David Sedaris himself, had long been a holiday tradition for so many of them.  

I first discovered, or I guess I should say was led to, David Sedaris when I was working at a Borders in Los Angeles and a customer came in asking for his collection Barrel Fever.  She was appalled that I hadn't heard of him and insisted I stand at the information desk and read that book.  I did –sorry Borders! – and I've been enamored ever since.

The SantaLand Diaries and Season's Greetings is showing 8 p.m. Saturday Dec. 18, 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, and 8 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday Dec. 20-21, at The Ringwald, 22742 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, MI. Tickets are $10-$20, call (248) 545-5545 or visit whowantscaketheatre.com.