Elf - The Musical 2010 - Articles Page 1.8

Run Time:
2 hours, with one intermission
Opened: November 14, 2010
Closing: January 02, 2011

Elf - The Musical - 2010 - Broadway History , Info & More

Based on the beloved 2003 hit movie, Elf features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, with a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin. Elf is directed and choreographed by Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw. Elf is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child transported to the North Pole. Buddy is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth and Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and his half-brother doesn’t believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Get Elf - The Musical Email Alerts

Be the first to get ticket offers, news, photos & more.

FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Elf - The Musical

Elf
7 / 10

The sugarplummy supporting cast includes Cheers veteran George Wendt (as a wizened, wisecracking Santa), a nicely sarcastic Amy Spanger (as Buddy's unlikely and underdeveloped love interest), and a strong-voiced Matthew Gumley (as Buddy's much younger half-brother). Elf is a modest show with modest charms, but director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw keeps the production humming along, particularly in the fleeter second act. One can imagine the show having a second life in high schools and regional theaters (visions of licensing fees will no doubt be dancing in the creators' heads). For now, though, Buddy and his pals seem very much at home on Broadway.

In This Merchant All That Glistens Is Gold: The Merchant of Venice, Elf and The Pee-Wee Herman Show
4 / 10

Elf's tone can shift wildly, from naïve kids' humor to knowingly grown-up material. Many of the jokes don't land, whether dated ('Who's Billy Crystal? He sounds magical!') or just awkward, like Santa's line when he rushes in late for Act II ('Sorry, sorry, just made a quick trip to the cocoa cart, if you know what I mean,' which is either scatological or nonsensical but either way not funny). Everything seems flat, except a few production numbers and the show's one redeeming feature: Its star, Sebastian Arcelus, who manages to be the only one onstage having the consistently high-energy good time a show like this would seem to require. It's a Christmas miracle.

Photo Flash: ELF on Broadway Opens Tonight!
by Robert Diamond - November 14, 2010


Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit, ELF features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan (The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone). ELF is directed and choreographed by Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python's Spamalot). The official production shots have been released and appear below!

TV: Sneak Peek at ELF on Broadway!
by Robert Diamond - November 12, 2010


Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit, ELF features songs by Tony Award nomineesMatthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award winnersThomas Meehan (The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone). ELF is directed and choreographed by Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python's Spamalot). We've got the first official footage from the show which opens on Sunday night, click below to play!

Photo Flash: ELF on Broadway - First Production Shots!
by Jessica Lewis - November 8, 2010


Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit, ELF features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan (The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone). ELF is directed and choreographed by Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python's Spamalot). The official production shots have been released and appear below!

TV Special: Elf Shorts Part I: Music, Lyrics and Book
by Craig Brockman - November 3, 2010


Tis the season to find your 'inner elf' and BroadwayWorld is going to help! For the next few weeks, we're presenting a special series featuring the cast and creative in a close up look at putting this 'magical' show together called 'Elf Shorts.' The first feature highlights the book writers, Tony Award-winners Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin along with Tony Nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin who wrote the music and lyrics. Click to learn more about taking this hilarious movie from the big screen to the Broadway stage!

Photo Coverage: Meet the Cast of ELF!
by Robert Diamond - October 8, 2010


Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features present ELF, based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit. ELF will feature songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan (The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone). ELF will be directed and choreographed by Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python's Spamalot).

Photo Coverage: ELF Box Office Opens!
by Monica Simoes - September 26, 2010


On Saturday, September 25th at 12:30pm the new Broadway musical ELF celebrated the opening of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre box office. ELF star Sebastian Arcelus (Buddy) presided over the festivities. As an extra special treat, direct from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®, a giant elf balloon took a detour from its usual parade route to fly above the Al Hirschfeld Theatre for this very special occasion. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you photo coverage below.

ELF Box Office Opens 9/25; Parade Balloon To Fly Above The Theater, Prizes Offered
by BWW News Desk - September 25, 2010


Get in the holiday spirit early! On Saturday, September 25th at 12:30pm the new Broadway musical ELF will celebrate the opening of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre box office (302 West 45th St) and you won't want to miss it. ELF star Sebastian Arcelus (Buddy) will be presiding over the festivities.

ELF Box Office Opens 9/25; Parade Balloon To Fly Above The Theater, Prizes Offered
by Gabrielle Sierra - September 22, 2010


Get in the holiday spirit early! On Saturday, September 25th at 12:30pm the new Broadway musical ELF will celebrate the opening of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre box office (302 West 45th St) and you won't want to miss it. ELF star Sebastian Arcelus (Buddy) will be presiding over the festivities.

UP ON THE MARQUEE: ELF Complete!
by Jessica Lewis - September 21, 2010


As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features will present the new Broadway musical ELF, starring Sebastian Arcelus, Amy Spanger, Tony® Award winner Beth Leavel (Emily), Tony® Award nominee Mark Jacoby (Walter), Matthew Gumley (Michael), Valerie Wright (Deb), Michael McCormick (Mr. Greenway), Michael Mandell (Store Manager) and six-time Emmy® Award winner George Wendt (Santa) this season.

Spanger & Arcelus Join ELF!
by Robert Diamond - September 13, 2010


BroadwayWorld.com has confirmed that completing the cast of ELF the musical will be Sebastian Arcelus as Buddy and Amy Spanger as Jovie.

RIALTO CHATTER: Sebastian Arcelus to Star in ELF as Buddy; Two New Scenes?
by Robert Diamond - September 13, 2010


Although there's been no official announcement yet, while talking to the Rockland Journal News about the upcoming ELF muscial, Thomas Meehan tells the paper that 'In casting Sebastian Arcelus ('Good Vibrations') as Buddy, Meehan says director Casey Nicholaw didn't want someone who would deliver a Ferrell impersonation. 'We wanted someone who would make it their own,' he says.'

UP ON THE MARQUEE: ELF!
by Jessica Lewis - September 7, 2010


As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features will present the new Broadway musical ELF, starring Tony® Award winner Beth Leavel (Emily), Tony® Award nominee Mark Jacoby (Walter), Matthew Gumley (Michael), Valerie Wright (Deb), Michael McCormick (Mr. Greenway), Michael Mandell (Store Manager) and six-time Emmy® Award winner George Wendt (Santa) this season. Full casting, including the lead roles of Buddy and Jovie, will be announced shortly.

Twitter Watch: ELF Joins Twitter!
by Jessica Lewis - September 2, 2010


Twitter Watch shines a BWW spotlight on ELF, the new Broadway musical opening at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 14, 2010. The show has just opened its Twitter account and BroadwayWorld brings you their first Tweet below.

Leavel, Jacoby, Wendt & More to Star in ELF on Broadway; Production Team Announced
by Robert Diamond - August 11, 2010


Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features announced today that the new Broadway musical ELF will star Tony® Award winner Beth Leavel (Emily), Tony® Award nominee Mark Jacoby (Walter), Matthew Gumley (Michael), Valerie Wright (Deb), Michael McCormick (Mr. Greenway), Michael Mandell (Store Manager) and six-time Emmy® Award winner George Wendt (Santa). Full casting including the lead roles of Buddy and Jovie will be announced shortly.

Other Productions of Elf - The Musical

2010   Broadway Original Broadway Production
Broadway
2012   US Tour NETworks National Tour
US Tour
2012   Broadway Broadway Return Production
Broadway
2013   US Tour NETworks National Tour
US Tour
West End West End
West End
2015   US Tour 2015 Holiday Tour
US Tour
2017   Off-Broadway Madison Square Garden Return Engagement
Off-Broadway
2022   US Tour US Holiday Tour
US Tour

Videos