Beloved humorist and New York Times bestselling author, David Sedaris, will land feet first on April 17th during a stop at the Altria Theater as part of his “An Evening with David Sedaris” 43-show US tour, featuring all-new readings and recollections.
Maybe you have been a fan of Sedaris since 1992 when his essay “Santaland Diaries” was broadcast to the nation on National Public Radio. Maybe since his first collection of short stories and essays, Barrel Fever, appeared in 1994. It could’ve been his 1997 Christmas collection, Holidays on Ice, that got you in-the-know. Or the title, Me Talk Pretty One Day, is what coaxed you into pulling out your Master Card at Barnes & Noble all those years ago.
Maybe you’re only familiar with his younger sister, Amy Sedaris (his main writing collaborator), from back when you watched Strangers with Candy on Comedy Central in the 90s. On a whim you could’ve bought one of her cookbooks and gave it to your mother for Christmas. Recognized Amy’s voice on BoJack Horseman or her face on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. She was Peli Motto in The Mandolorian and The Book of Boba Fett. If you dig Star Wars, that might be where you know her from.
Or, maybe you don’t have any idea who any of these people are or what any of this shit is.
Admittedly, I only found out about David Sedaris after randomly picking up a paperback copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day a few years after it was published in 2000. It is one of the funniest books I have ever read and I’ve been a fan ever since. Sedaris’s humor is often autobiographical and often self-deprecating. Favorite topics have included his family life and growing up middle-class in Raleigh, North Carolina, his Greek heritage, obsessive and odd behaviors, drug use, education, and homosexuality. He also talks frequently about his partner, Hugh Hamrick, and their homes in France, London, New York, and the South Downs in England.
Since Me Talk Pretty One Day, Sedaris has released eight more collections of essays and short stories, including, The Land and Its People: Essays, which comes out in hardcover via Little, Brown, and Company on May 26th. For the tour, he will also be promoting his newest books A Carnival of Snackery : Diaries (2003-2020) and Pretty Ugly, which is a children’s book. Satire and sardonic wit are languages in which Sedaris is fluent.
Brought to you by one of Richmond’s premier booksellers, Fountain Bookstore, “An Evening with David Sedaris” will also feature a Q&A, and a book signing directly after the show. Seeing Sedaris live isn’t the same as simply watching a man stand on stage reading from his book for an hour or two – that sounds awful. When I saw Sedaris in 2008, I considered it the first comedy show I had ever attended. The audience laughed the entire time so I don’t know what else you would call it. It certainly wasn’t a lecture or a sermon. “An Evening with David Sedaris” is a perfect name for it.
It’s assumed that not much has changed in the 18 years since.
Americans could really use something to laugh at in these very unfunny times, and I can’t think of anyone better to make the people double-over. Watching a man cheerfully poke fun at himself and the human condition makes it easier for all of us to do the same. We could all use a good laugh right about now, even if it is at our own expense. Comedy brings people together when there are so many things out there to divide us. Seems like it’s one damn thing after another.
Tickets are available at the Fountain Bookstore website HERE and on the Altria Theater site HERE. Books by David Sedaris are also available for purchase from Fountain. Tickets are already on sale, so please don’t hold your breath. If you are unfamiliar, go see him for yourself. It’s much better than hearing about it from someone else.
An Evening with David Sedaris
Friday, April 17th Altria Theater
Doors at 7:00. Show at 8:00
Tickets: HERE
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