Elf the Musical

Curtain Call Productions made a welcome return to the Crewe Lyceum stage with their Christmas production of ‘Elf the Musical’, which was directed by Gail Montague. The stage was dominated by a video wall, which allowed animations to be shown, showing the different locations from the North Pole to outside the Empire State Building. Other furniture was brought on to show each location, such as the workbenches of the elves and the desks of the publishing company. Backcloths of Central Park and the North Pole were flown in near the conclusion of the production. These looked very good. The overall pace of the production was good and the production moved along nicely. There was great work done with individual characters throughout. What was nice to see was that this work carried on into the ensemble, such as one of the Fake Santas flirting with one of the waitresses. Small things that may go unnoticed, but added so much to the overall production. The costumes were very good, particularly the elf costumes in the North Pole, with the long capes to hide the legs of the performers. The costumes for the finale were very good as well.

The musical director for ‘Elf the Musical’ was Malcolm Forbes-Peckham. The vocals from the cast were very good, and it was great to see Malcolm directing the performers on stage through their numbers. The ensemble numbers were particularly strong and a joy to listen to.

Gail Montague also choreographed this production, with Joel Montague choreographing the finale tap routine. The routines were fun and full of energy. The cast attacked the routines with aplomb.

Technical elements were good throughout this production. The sound balance was great throughout – every word could be heard. The lighting was good as well, with scenes lit appropriately. It would have been great to have some smoke for the ice rink in ‘A Christmas Song’, but understand there were issues with this. The flying sleigh was a spectacle in itself, and was a magical moment for all those in the audience.

Sam Dale stepped into the elf shoes as Buddy the Elf. This was an endearing performance from Sam, who led the cast very well. There was a lovely innocence to Sam’s portrayal, which suited the character well. The humour was there throughout Sam’s performance, and he had a great vocal.

Playing Jovie was Heather Clark-Wilkinson. Heather gave a convincing performance as Jovie, with her feelings for Buddy becoming slowly apparent. Heather’s performance of ‘Never Fall in Love (With an Elf)’ was heartfelt and performed very well.

Gareth Butler impressed as Walter Hobbs. There was a good initial reaction to meeting from Buddy, and Gareth was able to convincingly display Walter’s character softening during the production.

Natalie Kent played Emily Hobbs. This was a very good performance from Natalie, as the character of Emily goes through a lot during the production! She was calm and measured in her actions, and she worked well with her on-stage family, creating a believable relationship with Tobias as her on-stage son.

Tobias Dinsdale did very well as Michael Hobbs. This was a confident performance from Tobias, and he performed to a high standard alongside the older members of the cast. His vocals were good, performing his duet with Natalie very well, further showing their mother-son relationship.

Chris Ridge provided good support as Store Manager. He had a good command of the stage, and Chris gave the impression of being a manager through his use of voice and presence. He had pleasing vocals, able to display them in ‘Sparklejollytwinklejingley’.

Malcolm Lord gave a jolly performance as Santa. As the narrator of the production, Malcolm got the audience on side straight away. There were some great comic moments in Malcolm’s performance, and had a good vocal.

There were some lovely cameo performances throughout. Barbara Tomlinson was great as Deb, providing lots of comedy. Rob Earl gave a good performance as the no nonsense Mr Greenway. Christopher Barker and Khoner Almond made a good duo as Chadwick and Matthews, as they came up with a range of potential Christmas stories. The drawing on the flipchart added to the comedy of the scene. Mary Bolide worked well with Malcolm as Mrs Claus, giving a kindly and loving character.

The ensemble was well-drilled in what they were doing. Whether it was the happy all the time elves in the North Pole to the disgruntled New Yorkers to the down on their luck Fake Santas; the commitment from every single person was great. Luke Dipple was a standout from the ensemble. Full of energy and character.

Overall, this was a very good production. There were some strong performances, top-notch vocals, and fun choreography. It was full of Christmas magic.

Thank you to Curtain Call Productions for their kind invitation and hospitality. All the best for your next production.

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