Horizon Theatre to Stage THE SANTALAND DIARIES, 11/20-12/31

Returning for its 17th anniversary production, Horizon Theatre Company turns "ho ho ho" into "ha ha ha" as it reprises its popular production of The Santaland Diaries by award-winning satirist David Sedaris, November 20-December 31. The perfect laughter-spiked antidote to the holiday blues, Creative Loafing calls this non-traditional, adult-only, Christmas comedy "a fiendishly exhilarating, politically incorrect send-up of the holidays."

Sardonic, satirical and sarcastic, the merry misanthrope, played for the 17th year by Harold M. Leaver, recounts the tale of his stint as a Macy's Department Store elf named Crumpet. Adapted from David Sedaris' best-selling book Holidays on Ice, this holiday tale is a modern classic, made famous when it aired on National Public Radio. Joining Leaver this year as Crumpet's sidekicks are Enoch King, returning for his 10th stint in The Santaland Diaries after appearing in Horizon's productions The Waffle Palace and Uprising, and for her fourth year, LaLa Cochran, most recently seen in the Horizon and Aurora Theatre co-production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, the original cast of The Waffle Palace at Horizon and Good People at the Alliance Theatre.

The Santaland Diaries runs November 20 - December 31, 2015. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m. There will be no performance Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or December 1. Tickets are $25-$40. Upgrade to the VIP experience for $15, which includes reserved seating and a complimentary holiday beverage. Tickets and information are available at horizontheatre.com or 404.584.7450.

Welcome to this wicked wonderland and exposé of all things elfin. 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. 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-endingly exuberant job is to tell all - giving us a backstage pass to the secret lives of Santas and elves. Though definitely not your traditional stocking stuffer, this caustic Christmas carol is a laughter-spiked antidote to the holiday blues. The Santaland Diaries serves up holiday cheer and sneer - and a rebel without a Claus.