An Evening with David Sedaris
characteristic sharp humor, but perceptible generational differences
David Sedaris
Celebrity Series of Boston
April 12, 2024
Symphony Hall
On April 12, the Celebrity Series of Boston presented An Evening with David Sedaris, a two-hour show featuring the humorist's essays and other writings, both published and unpublished. Known for his caustic and sharp humor, Sedaris’ visit is part of a seven-month international tour this year to promote his new children’s book, Pretty Ugly.
Cindy House, a close friend of Sedaris and author of Mother Noise (an essay collection about life after addiction), performed the opener. She shared an essay about her relationship with her teenage son that touches on the generational gap between them. Most of the jokes seemed limited to being relatable to other parents her age, and her descriptions of her son seemed somewhat callous; however, it was a well-written short essay with a punchline in seemingly every sentence.
After House’s performance, Sedaris came onto the stage in an eccentric ensemble, which he noted before starting—plaid culottes and a torn, oversized jacket he described as giving off the impression that he “lost a fight with a bear.”
He started off with a piece about his hatred of dogs. This controversial take immediately drew laughs and loosened up the audience. But as he went on to list reasons, it seemed that he hated dog owners more so than dogs themselves: included on his list were dog owners bragging that their dog is a rescue and not cleaning up after their dogs in the airport. While this was a light opener, it also had a slightly whiny and judgmental tone, which may very well be characteristic of Sedaris' humor.
He told two stories about international travel, starting with a safari trip to Kenya and Tanzania and then to Pakistan with his partner, Hugh. Perhaps due to the generational gap, some of his takes leaned conservative, which may have put off some of his younger listeners (though there weren’t many). He scoffed at the concept of “cultural appropriation” and how he was shocked by the lack of women in the streets in Pakistan, joking that he thought it was “man day.” Discovering the low prices in Pakistan, he went on to pitch that Pakistan be advertised as a vacation spot for “thrifty misogynists.” The remark seemed off-color, but still landed well for most of the audience.
Next, he performed a piece about his language learning experiences, particularly the choice of sentences that different mediums deem the most necessary to learn. Duolingo’s odd choice of sentences is a worn-out joke, but he amusingly discovered a good icebreaker from one of these sentences: “How long have you known your dentist?” He then extended the bit to Pimsleur’s focus on alcohol consumption, and more peculiarly, to an old book called Teach Yourself Japanese, which covered particularly depressing and bleak scenarios. The essay wasn’t too long, and was mostly well-received. The essay, however, didn’t feel very fresh and novel, and felt more like padding for the rest of the show.
He continued with an essay published in the New Yorker about his long-term close friendship with Dawn, a woman as odd as Sedaris. This was the most charming part of the performance: Sedaris’ wry and sharp observations softened somewhat by his clear affection and fondness for Dawn. He talked about their love of long walks (to the extent of their toenails falling off) and their logistic approach to eating a tire in a year if forced to. Sedaris’ essays about his family and friends always seem to carry his sense of humor best; this one was no exception.
He wrapped up the performance with excerpts from his diary, which were sharp and compelling—one or two sentences for each bit that came in quick succession such that if one entry fell flat, there was one right after to make the audience forget about it. I liked this part of the performance the most; a key aspect of Sedaris’ work is the discomfort and secondhand awkwardness it evokes by carrying on one note for much longer than seems necessary. By doing so, this style seemed to overpower his spoken performance in a way that seemed more forgivable in a written essay. As he jumped from college essay advice suggestions to attempts to make ChatGPT produce quality content, the jokes landed more easily and did not have tension.
All in all, Sedaris’ sharp humor was evident in his readings of essays and short stories from his many books, including Me Talk Pretty One Day and Calypso. To some extent, his live performance was awkward, though this somewhat judgmental personality added to the humor, even if some of the jokes suffered from generational differences or stale punchlines.