Elf the Musical by Marisa Sehested

On November 2^nd, 2010 the musical Elf made its Broadway debut. The play begins with Santa (George Wendt) telling us the story of “Buddy the Elf”. The audience witnesses Buddy’s upsetting discovery as he finds out he is not an elf, but a human being. Buddy than travels to New York City to find his real father (Mark Jacoby) and during his trip he falls in love with a saleswoman named Jovie (Amy Spagner).

When asked about Will Farrell who played Buddy in the 2003 Elf movie, Sebastian Arcelus, who plays Buddy in the musical, answers “I had to do him justice.” Areclus was put under a lot of stress to live up to Farrell’s acting. “I had to be true to myself in this role and kinda’ self edit with it. Even though Buddy is funny, he is serious,” he adds. Sebastian’s hard work did pay off in this play as well as his singing skills. From singing songs like “Sparklejollytwinklejingley”: and calling people “cotton headed ninny muggings” he really nailed this role. After joking about his costume, a green suit and bright green tights, he replies, “It actually felt natural after all of the rehearsals. I felt like I really fit the character.”

Loosely based on the movie, the plot is slightly different. The musical does introduce new scenes that were not in the movie. A big scene that will be missed is the “fight” between Buddy and his father’s short boss after Buddy called him an “elf”. Many people were displeased with the removal of this funny scene. Thankfully, the scene with Buddy telling the Santa in the mall that “he sits on a throne of lies” and is an imposter is still in the play. The play does feature some cheesy songs that can get a little annoying even though they are trying to satisfy the holiday mood. The elf’s costumes are cute, but are bright and loud. A few things to look forward to during the play are the synthetic ice rink and when the snow begins to fall in the theatre at the end of Act II.

Seeing Elf is a perfect outing for any family. Children will love the cheery songs and funny scenes as the adults will love the “adult jokes” shared during random scenes. Hopefully these innuendos will fly right by the kid’s ears.

Overall Elf is a must-see for this time of the year, especially since it will end on January 2^nd 2011. Buy those tickets fast and get your Christmas sprit going! As Buddy always says, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear!” And in this case, seeing the musical!