Elf the Musical

'Elf the Musical’, is based on the beloved Christmas film featuring Will Ferrell as the human brought up by elves.  It has been adapted into a musical with book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin and music by Matthew Sklar with lyrics by Chad Beguelin. 

The story begins in the North Pole with Santa Claus (played with twinkly-eyed authenticity by Alan Trevor who even dyed his beard white for the part!) narrating the story of Buddy the Elf.  I particularly liked the addition of a Lincoln City football shirt and other familiar references adding a local touch to the storyline. 

We are then treated to a colourful rainbow of grinning elves dancing and singing along with Buddy (a suspiciously tall looking elf) singing about being ‘Happy all the Time’  much to the annoyance of Santa and his spouse (Cheryl Barlow) Mrs Claus.  We quickly realise that something is not quite right about Buddy and an overheard conversation reveals the awful truth.  Buddy is human and, when he was a baby in the orphanage, he inadvertently climbed into Santa’s sack and has been at the North Pole ever since.  Santa quickly updates him in on his father from New York who is, horror of horrors, on Santa’s naughty list! 

Buddy makes the trip to New York to reconcile himself with his dad, Walter Hobbs (played with convincing cynicism by Ian Norton) and his new family.  However, his infectious joy for all things seasonal and his wide-eyed innocence seems to grate on the people he meets - who are largely jaded by the consumerism of Christmas and general grittiness of New York life.  Walter himself is an over-worked publisher of children’s books who has no time for his family or Christmas which just gets ‘In the way’.  We are given some idea of the challenges he faces singing bitterly that ‘money doesn’t grow on Christmas trees.’  I was particularly impressed with Walter’s perky over-optimistic secretary Deb (played with pitch perfect skill by Lisa Reilly.)

Where is the best place for an elf to go but Macy’s Toy Department and here we meet Jovie, Buddy’s love interest (played by Cally Stallard a lovely observation of a woman who has had her heart broken once too often) and the Department Manager (a wonderful performance from Daryl Smith who also played many other parts in the ensemble – definitely one to watch!) who is convinced that Buddy is from Head office but on the arrival of ‘Santa’ quickly realises that he is not who he thought he was.  Another wonderful performance was from the young lady playing the spoilt little brat who wanted a super violent computer game for Christmas!

Walter’s family - his wife Emily (a well-observed performance of a long-suffering wife from Emily Novell) and his son Buddy’s half-brother, Michael, singing their heart-felt duet ‘I’ll Believe in You’ (a fantastic performance and vocals from Ash Betts) were totally bemused by Buddy’s behaviour, and it takes a DNA test to convince them he is Walter’s son. Buddy seems to do everything wrong and even his up-beat optimism is put to the test and then Santa’s sleigh breaks down due to a lack of Christmas spirit.  Can Buddy reconcile with his father and save Christmas?

Obviously, such a show relies heavily on the lead character so did CAODS Buddy have the ‘sparklejollytwinklejingley’ vibe?  Absolutely! He was every inch an elf from his buckle belt down to his curly black boots!  Buddy, played by Christian Norton, is no pale imitation of Will Ferrell. His character is his very own creation and stays firmly away from the saccharine sweetness, instead presenting us with a fully rounded person who you can genuinely believe was raised by over enthusiastic elves. There were moments where you felt genuine sympathy for his character as he bumbles through each disaster, even letting down his girlfriend Jovie with painful honesty prompting her to sing ruefully ‘Never fall in love (with an elf).’  Christian’s vocals didn’t disappoint either able to be belt out a song stretching to a high falsetto whether leading the chorus or solo.  He also showed toe tapping dance and skating skills multitasking at its best.  

The costumes, created by Helen Symonds, were jewel bright steering away from the traditional red and green colour palette and a Buddy’s costume in keeping with the traditional Buddy from the film.  The animated back-drop projections enabled a minimalistic set and transported us seamlessly from Santa’s Workshop to New York city and Macy’s Department Store to The Empire State Building where Walter works.  

All in all, there was not a weak link in this show with everyone giving their all taking on many ensemble parts.  The choreography (Hannah Simmons) was excellent with some snappy 30s Broadway tap dance routines - the kneeling dancing elves were hilarious! It was also a delight to see the live orchestra under the expert direction of Kev Richardson and his back-stage choir providing extra vocal support for the ensemble numbers.

My favourite scenes, however, must be the hilarious routine featuring a host of unhappy fake Santa’s bemoaning that ‘Nobody Cares About Santa’ and a well-choreographed ice-skating scene representing the rink at the Rockefeller Centre.  Well done David Taylor and team for bringing to life this well-loved Christmas story - a pre-seasonal treat to charm even the most cotton-headed ninny muggins like theatre goer.  Son of a nutcracker what a show!

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