Elf – 21 November 2024

When it comes to matters of theatrical preference, I have always had a thing for the dark and disturbing. When given a choice, a serious play about an important issue almost always takes precedence in my heart over a silly, comedic musical. The Broadway production of Elf, however, brought this dark, brooding skeptic into a much-needed delightful moment of laughter, joy, and relief. The updated references, particularly the theatre ones, had me in stitches. Costumes (Tim Goodchild) really stood out as innovative, exciting, and beautiful— especially the elves in the opening number. The sound (Gareth Owen/Peter Fitzgerald) was clear and crisp, and the blend of scenery (Tim Goodchild) and projections/video (Ian William Galloway/Mesmer Studios) was perfect such that enough of the show felt real and tangible while the right amount of it felt surreal and magical. Complete with an absolutely stunning sleigh ride and star drop, this production has an incredible amount of heart. The time flew by and provided me a sense of childlike wonder that reminded me that the power of theatre is not reserved for heavy dramatizations with vitally important messages that stand the test of time. Taking care of people who need a little cheer and making people sparklejollytwinklejingley is also inherently important.

Elf follows the story of Buddy the Elf (Grey Henson) as he finds out he’s not an elf, but actually a human adopted by elves, and ventures away from the North Pole to seek out his father, Walter Hobbs (Michael Hayden). Along the way, he discovers he has a brother, Michael (Kai Edgar) and a stepmother, Emily (Ashley Brown). In his attempts to spread cheer, he runs afoul of all of New York City—from the Macy’s Christmas elves to the store manager to the guy at the hot dog stand to the publishing company executives to the fake Santa Clauses (the scene with them all convening for Chinese food on Christmas was a hoot!) to the news reporters. But he also finds connection (and eventually, conception) with Jovie (Kayla Davion), and warms the hearts of characters like Deb (Jennifer Sanchez) and Mr. Greenway (Sean Astin). Despite Walter’s initial resistance to Buddy’s weirdness, the whole family is brought together when Buddy’s story saves his father’s job and then the whole family is able to save Santa Claus (Sean Astin) with their renewed belief in the Christmas spirit bringing everyone together.

The rights to Elf as a musical have been out for a while, and the edition for schools/junior theatre companies has been very popular. The 2024 Broadway production revealed that the writing is great, the characters are delightful, and the possibilities are endless with a Broadway sized budget. It’s easy to forget that a story is compelling when so many schools see a production or peruse a script/score and think, “we can do that one!” Schools say this because the content is safe. No one will get offended. The good jokes go over the students’ heads. There’s nothing serious or disturbing in the story. The ensemble costumes can be fun and they can stuff in as many additional ensemble members as they want. On Broadway, a production like that is actually an incredible risk. Will people come and see something cheesy with no real point to it? Will childless adults realize there are jokes directed at them and choose Elf over other Broadway productions? Will people who don’t celebrate Christmas or include Santa and elves in their traditions buy tickets? Can we make it magical and meaningful enough to recoup a huge investment in making the production look and feel magical? Will the right actors audition, or will they feel this might beneath them?

Even I, as a theatre critic at the start of my career, teetered on whether or not I wanted to review this show. I thought it was the one show this season that I might be okay with not seeing. I am delighted to shout to the chimney tops that I was wrong. I haven’t felt that jolly at a production in a long time. I genuinely enjoyed every performance—especially Grey Henson and Kai Edgar (I predict big things for this child. What a voice!). I thought the design elements were fantastic, right down on to the soap snow. In its way, it was meaningful with messages about parents loving and accepting their children, long journeys being rewarding, the power of believing in something hopeful, the ability of people to change, and the importance of never falling in love with an elf. In its presence in the 2024-2025 Broadway season, it is unique in its genre, superb in its execution, and well worth the risks of mounting this kind of content on a Broadway stage. I wish the entire team success in their run at the Marquis Theatre, as Elf is certainly one of the most wonderful show’s I have seen thus far this year.

I attended this production on a press pass from Vivacity Media Group.