An Evening with David Sedaris

Celebrity Series of Boston
Symphony Hall, Friday, November 2, 2007

The Celebrity Series of Boston presented humorist and best-selling author David Sedaris on Friday, November 2 at Symphony Hall, filling the chamber with waves of laughter in place of the customary melodies. Standing behind a podium on an otherwise bare stage, Sedaris conducted the audience through a selection of his personal essays and diary entries about his life growing up, living in New York, and traveling abroad.

The tone was set for the unexpected when a 17-year old audience member strode out onto the stage to introduce Sedaris. During a pre-show book signing, he asked her if she'd like to announce him and then paid her $20 to do it. Without fanfare, he launched into the first reading of the night which related his fascination with a former teacher's guttural pronunciation of the word "Nicaragua," blending into tales of living in France and speaking that foreign language poorly. Still, he was extremely annoyed when a visiting friend who spoke fluently corrected him at every turn. Being competitive as well, he employed his limited knowledge of Japanese to impress the friend's wife and try to get the upper hand.

As part of a new story for his upcoming book, Sedaris described 75-year old Helen, his arrogant neighbor in the Thompson Street apartment he shared with his partner Hugh in New York City. With each little tidbit of information he gave about her, she became more vivid. His language is remarkably audiovisual so that we could both hear her ("She sounded like a man…a hit man") and see her ("It was like dropping the batteries into a particularly foul toy"). We were treated to his rendition of a story appearing in The New Yorker in a couple of weeks and it would be worthwhile to pick up the magazine just to read about his grieving seatmate on a transatlantic flight.

His bestsellers include "Barrel Fever," "Naked," "Me Talk Pretty One Day," and "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim," and he performs original radio pieces on This American Life, distributed by Public Radio International. While unexpected things happen in his tales, they are real life stories told realistically and with a certain folksy, yet urbane flavor. The experience of sitting in his audience and hearing them told live - well, to use a little of David's second tongue, that's the n'est plus ultra! The man makes his living as a writer and social satirist, but his talent on the stage brings to mind more than a hint of Mark Twain and Will Rogers. David and his sister Amy have collaborated to write several plays under the name "The Talent Family," and his reminiscence about working as a department store elf provides sacks of laughs in The Santaland Diaries.

David Sedaris plugs books by other authors and strongly recommended "The Easter Parade" by the late Richard Yates, its main selling point being that it is incredibly depressing according to him. He was also generous with the time he took to answer questions from the audience. Having made no secret of the fact that he is seeking British citizenship, someone asked him why. He glibly replied that it's "easier than becoming a French citizen." More to the point, he added, "Of all the people who said they were going to leave the country when George Bush got elected, I'm the only one [who did]." Fortunately, he comes back to visit.

Celebrity Series of Boston is New England's leading presenter of music, dance, and the performing arts from around the world. For more information, call 617-482-2595 or www.celebrityseries.org

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