If there’s one thing our weary nation can agree on right now, it’s surely that we need a little Christmas, whether you celebrate the religious holiday or merely savor the seasonal spirit. Happily, Santa Claus has just planted an early present right smack in the middle of Times Square, and it’s “Sparklejollytwinklejingley.”
That’s the title of one of the fetching tunes in “Elf,” and it’s as good a word as any to describe the shot of pure joy offered by the new Broadway revival of this musical, based on the 2003 screen comedy. The film, as most know, starred Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human male raised as one of Santa’s little helpers after his mother died. We follow along as he travels to New York City to track down his biological father.
For the stage musical, David Berenbaum’s screenplay was adapted by the late, great Thomas Meehan — whose many theater credits included the books for “Annie,” “The Producers,” and “Hairspray” — and Bob Martin, co-creator of “The Drowsy Chaperone” and “The Prom,” with Mr. Martin’s “Prom” collaborators Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin respectively crafting the music and lyrics.
The result is a rare thing: a musical comedy based on a contemporary hit movie that succeeds on its own giddy ingenuity. And director Philip Wm. McKinley, with support from an excellent cast and design team, serves that blithe creativity fully in a smart, ebullient production that truly provides — with apologies for the cliché — fun for the whole family.
Buddy is played here by a “Mean Girls” and “Shucked” alumnus, Grey Henson, whose distinct comedic presence — somehow dry and loosey-goosey at the same time — is perfectly suited to the role. Mr. Henson has an ideal partner in mischief and merriment in Sean Astin, a veteran movie actor who makes a delightful Broadway debut juggling the parts of Santa, whose narration frames Buddy’s tale, and one Mr. Greenway, the Scrooge-like corporate boss who makes life miserable for Buddy’s dad, Walter Hobbs.
Walter’s inevitable journey to doting family man and believer in Christmas from grumpy absentee dad is nicely charted by Broadway vet Michael Hayden, while Walter’s warmer, wiser wife, Emily, is played by a characteristically charming Ashley Brown, whose glorious soprano voice and witty acting should have made her a leading ingénue earlier in this century.
At the preview I attended, the Hobbs’s 12-year-old son, Michael, was played by Kai Edgar, whose performance was at once uncannily poised and adorably enthusiastic. (Michael Deaner alternates in the role.) Kayla Davion brings a refreshing earthiness to Buddy’s love interest, a Macy’s holiday worker named Jovie, and other performers shine in parts ranging from a spunky secretary (the lissome Jennifer Sánchez) to a forlorn hot dog vendor (Kalen Allen, who also brightens winningly to play Jovie’s manager).
The script has been cleverly tweaked, and now includes contemporary references such as Peacock and TikTok. (Santa has become a fan of both, apparently.) And Tim Goodchild’s scenery and Ian William Galloway and Mesmer Studios’s video design summon a winter wonderland, with scrumptious simulations of Christmas-in-New York landmarks from Macy’s to Rockefeller Center.
The show closes with a swell of special effects that might have, in another production, come across as empty spectacle or sensory overkill. But it’s a perfect way to wrap up this “Elf,” after two and a half hours that fly by like Santa on his sleigh. Catch it while you can.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
