Local fans of beloved gay storyteller David Sedaris all went into a collected swoon with the news that the insanely popular writer noted for his humorous and numerous books detailing pretty much every incident in his life will be work shopping his next book, apparently titled “Theft By Hiding” in Seattle. Apparently, the humorist does this for every new book…he selects a couple of cities to “try out” his new material before completing his final draft prior to publication. As Sedaris makes much of his living from live performances of his stories at large concert halls across the world, it’s rather important that his tales work well when read aloud.
Mr. Sedaris was in Seattle last night for his yearly gig at Benaroya Hall and announced from the stage he would return to Seattle to give 8 workshop readings at Broadway Performance Hall on Capitol Hill from January 14 – 20, 2017. Tickets are already on sale for these very special events which will include a Q&A at each performance. As the BPH is a small-ish space (295 seats) it’s probably wise to snag tickets ASAP if you want to participate in this unique opportunity.
Some more poo:
David Sedaris is the author of the books Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, Naked, and Barrel Fever. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Ira Glass’ This American Life. He lives in England with his partner Hugh.
Northwest Associated Arts (NWAA), KNKX 88.5fm and The Stranger present David Sedaris. General Admission seats are $50. Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2705407
If you’re still in love with David Sedaris and his saucy tales, this is a Must Do kind of thing. He is a gifted writer and story teller.
That said, we also have to say we enjoyed the first couple of books (Barrel Fever and Naked) more than the later work. The early material is fresh and very funny and feels far more engaging…it’s about the struggles of a young artist trying to succeed. Now, the stories tend to be about the struggles of being very rich and very successful (“It’s hard owning multiple homes in France and England!!!”) Or, manufactured stunts to generate copy (“Hey! I’ll go to Japan to quit smoking! Like normal people do!”)
Why doesn’t he just write a novel? His sister, actress/comedian Amy Sedaris has frequently snarked on David’s imaginative version of their family history. And, his fiction pieces in Barrel Fever are hysterically funny.
Also, where’s the Netflix or Amazon Studios web series based on the stories about his family? Who wouldn’t want to watch the hell out of that?
Get on that, man….