Review: ELF, Dominion Theatre, London, November 5 2015

Originally a movie, Elf the musical is the story of Buddy The Elf's search to find his real father. As a baby, Buddy crawled in to Santa's sack and found himself at the North Pole. Raised by elves, he makes it to age 30 before realising he is in fact human, and heads to New York City to find his real father.

The casting for Elf is as close to perfect as you can imagine. Ben Forster manages to portray the very excitable Buddy with great humour that doesn't grate on the audience. He has a number of big belting songs and is more than capable of delivering them. Kimberley Walsh also has an incredible voice and is the perfect fit for cynical and sarcastic Jovie. The script is hilarious and contains some excellent one-liners.

There has been some controversy over the ticket prices for Elf the musical. While I don't think any show can justify such high prices, you can see that the production values here are huge. With huge elaborate sets, stunning costumes, special effects and a Santa that defies gravity, you can see that a lot has gone into this staging.

Unlike a lot of movies turned musicals, the songs in Elf the musical really hold their own. It is packed with infectious songs from start to finish. It is the perfect seasonal show for the whole family - although it does feel a little wrong being festive this early in the year...

Elf runs at the Dominion Theatre until January 2nd.

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