ELF
☆☆☆☆
The musical adaptation of the hit 2003 film Elf is an
early Christmas treat for both adults and children
alike.
CREDIT: Alastair Muir
Ben Forster is perfect as Buddy. He was a young
orphan child who had crawled into Santa's bag of
gifts on a Christmas Eve many years ago and was
transported to the North Pole where his poor toymaking abilities, and human size, makes him realise
that Santa Claus is not his real father and he's
actually not an Elf. So Buddy, with the help of
Santa, finds out who his real father is, and decides
that it's time to leave the safe confines of the North
Pole to discover where he really came from.
Arriving in New York with tall buildings and lots of
people, Buddy’s astonished and excited about this
world he didn't know existed. He wanders into
Macy's department store, all decorated for
Christmas, and is mistaken for a store elf before
being put to work decorating.
A visit to his father's office - a children's book
publishing company right inside the Empire State
Building - Buddy's first encounters the funny and
wonderful Deb (Jennie Dale), the company
secretary. But once he meets his father, Walter
Hobbs (Joe McGann), it's a bit of a letdown for
Buddy as his father denies and doesn't even want
Buddy around. During a night at the Hobbs' Central
Park apartment, with Mrs. Hobbs (Jessica Martin)
and their young son Michael Hobbs (Ewan
Rutherford on the night I saw it), Mrs. Hobbs has a
test done to see if Walter is the true father of Buddy.
Elf is a musical delight in a perfect home at the very
large Dominion Theatre, Tottenham Court Road,
allowing the show to have huge sets, including
Santa's North Pole workshop, complete with elves
(played by adult actors on their knees with dangling
fake legs - an optical illusion for the eyes), to Mr.
Hobbs office - complete with the elevator, to Macy's
department store, both inside and outside, to the
Hobb's gorgeous living room, with a very large
window facing Central Park, and finally taking us to
the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center. The
musical numbers are fun with most of the story
taking place in the first half. The second half neatly
wraps up all of the drama.
It's just the start of November and Christmas is less
than 50 days away, so what better way to kick off
the festive season than to make a visit to see Elf?
Take the kids, the in-laws, the neighbours - you will
all thoroughly enjoy yourselves, and will marvel at
the end how Santa and his sleigh rides over the
audience. There's not an ounce of coal in this show,
and it will put you in the Christmas spirit.
TIM BAROS
Elf is currently playing at
Dominion Theatre, London until
2nd January 2016.
www.elfthemusical.co.uk
26 THEGAYUK | ISSUE 17 | DEC 2015