(Image: Prudence Upton)
From Northwest Associated Arts
On the heels of yesterday’s sold-out Benaroya Hall appearance, David Sedaris surprised Seattle audiences by announcing his return to the Emerald City for eight workshop readings at the Broadway Performance Hall from January 14-20, 2017. Before the publication of each new book, Sedaris selects one or two cities to host these special week-long “workshops” to put the finishing touches on his manuscript before publication. His newest book, titled “Theft by Finding,” will be released in June 2017.
Sedaristas are expected to pounce on this unique opportunity to hear Sedaris read from his soon-to-be-published work in the intimate 295-seat setting of the Broadway Performance Hall. Each night is a unique and different experience. All workshops begin at 7pm with an additional 2pm matinee on January 15, and each will include a short Q & A.
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
I saw one of these trial readings in January and was pretty disappointed. Sedaris has been good for some laughs over the years, but his latent bitterness is coming to the surface. His observations are often keen, but his judgment is slipping. But it wasn’t Sedaris I was disappointed with when he told a string of ethnic jokes and ridiculed the handicapped–it was the overwhelmingly white and presumably “liberal” audience that guffawed along as he perpetuated stereotypes about “Polacks” and Puerto Ricans. Sad that maybe he left town thinking, “Well, they laughed at the racist stuff! If liberal Seattle laps that up I guess I can safely leave it in!” Now more than ever we need to focus on empathy and inclusion, not cheap jokes targeting some perceived “other.”