Elf the Musical

Well Phoenix. You have done it again. I had never seen this show on stage before and I could not stop smiling from beginning to end. This was a festive show for all the family starting in the North Pole and moving on to New York.

Opening the show we had Santa Claus (Donald McInnes) who was a perfect fit for the part with his friendly manner and  charm. We were then introduced to Buddy the Elf (Brendan Pell-Culshaw) who captivated the audience with his child-like energy and excitement displaying his great versatility as an all-round performer. On arriving in New York we met Buddy’s father Walter Hobbs and his wife Emily Hobbs perfectly played by (Sam Mitchell) and (Emma Oates) respectively, together with their young son Michael Hobbs (Finley Christian) who displayed great talent and is someone to watch out for in the future. At Macy’s department store we are introduced to Jovie confidently played by (Harriet Thompson) showing great depth of character and a fine voice. There were many great characterisations from Deb (Andrea Cross), Macy’s Manager (Jack Hodgson), Mr Greenway (Andy Green), Fake Santa (Jonah Thompson), Chadwick (Steve Pashley) and Matthew’s (Derek Conlon) plus all the other smaller but necessary parts were well played.

This is is a great company show and I must take my hat off to the production team of Director (Ian Walker), Musical Director (Damian Bell), Choreographer (Jessica Mellows), Asst. Choreographer (Lily Renton) and Stage Manager (Ian Coley). Under the musical direction of Damien and his musicians there were some great solo and company performances and these were brought to life by some excellent choregraphy from Jessica and Lily. It must be a choreographers dream to have so many great numbers in one show to work on. The culmination of this is down to Ian and I am always impressed how he blends everything together and brings the characters to life with his great direction. The stage manager is always an important position in any show and Ian Coley had the overall responsibility in this particular instance, the surprise of “the sleigh” was well worth the waiting for. The costumes were wonderful and the sets worked well and Santa’s sleigh was something else. A truly magical moment.

Congratulations Phoenix for yet another fabulous show. The audience loved it. Thank you to everyone front and backstage for a wonderful evening.

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