Elf JR The Musical

The sets were lovely and worked really well with minimum disruption from scene to scene. The set painting and artwork was fabulous. The lighting was gorgeous and complimented the scenes and the sound was great. I loved the depiction of the Rockefeller centre with the ice rink and Christmas tree. Macy’s store and the snow added to the Christmassy feel. The costumes, props and make up were stunning and worked well with the characters. This show certainly got me in the Christmas spirit,

The production team did a fantastic job with brilliant direction, fabulous music and harmonies from the cast and lovely chorography which the cast delivered really well.

The cast were absolutely wonderful, all smiling and truly looking like they were having a ball. Ben Birkett played Buddy fantastically well with great vocals and totally believable acting as the Elf who is actually human. My favourite scene in the whole show was at the end of Act 1 in Walter Hobbs office where dressed in a suit Ben still showed every characteristic of Buddy the Elf. The timing in this scene was perfectly executed. Brilliant job Ben.

William Vickers was brilliant as Santa from his jolly voice and perfect diction to his wonderful stage presence, Marcus Wesley was great as Walter Hobbs, changing character slowly through the show with super vocals and command of the scenes he was in. His scene with Ben as mentioned above in his office was superb as he never broke character or laughed once during that scene which must have been really hard to control.

Jovie was beautifully played by Mia Eckersley with lovely vocals and totally believable characterisation. Her annoyance initially followed by a softening feeling towards Buddy was lovely to watch.

Lizzie Lomas was great as Emily Hobbs with gorgeous vocals and believable acting and her scenes with Rosie Beaumont as Michael Hobbs were full of warmth as Rosie shone in her role. Their songs together sounded stunning with beautiful harmonies.

Oscar Eckersley was great as The Manager of Macy’s and supported the other members of the cast really well and Amy Fitzgerald was super and very funny as Deb the secretary to Walter Hobbs.

The supporting members and chorus all characterised their parts well and their joy was infectious to the audience who thoroughly enjoyed the show. Well done to everyone involved including the production team and backstage staff as the whole show was beautifully put together. 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.