If there’s two things that Buddy the Elf is, it’s compulsively congenial and completely unaware of personal space.
In “Elf the Musical,” the audience is immediately reminded of those qualities as Santa and Buddy (Jack Ducat) banter about an extemporaneous hug and boisterous greeting. Though the inspiration from the modern-day Christmas classic is evident throughout every scene, the Phillip Wm. McKinley-directed musical’s infectious lyrics, jolly jigging, and heartwarming message of holding tight to the magic and marvel of Christmas still offers its own fresh dose of “Sparklejollytwinklejingley.”
Crossroads Live North America and Temple Live North America, along with Regions Bank Broadway in Atlanta, introduced the national touring musical on Dec. 16, at the Fox Theatre for a limited, one-week run in Atlanta. The book, by Tony Award-winners Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, offers an exceptional canvas for the cast, but the actors brought an uncanny grasp of the sarcasm, innocence, and chutzpah of the fantastical tale.
Ducat’s Buddy is both lovable and layered as he embarks on his journey to find his dad after Santa breaks the news that he is a human orphan, not the tallest elf in the North Pole. Santa shares the story of how Baby Buddy was found in one of his toy-filled sacks after Buddy’s mom died. The final bit of revelation: Buddy’s dad is alive, doesn’t know he exists, and lives in a faraway place called New York City. Santa, played by Andrew Hendrick, peppers the origin story with swift quips for the adults at the expense of Starbucks and New Jersey.
As Buddy adventures to NYC, the elaborate, chroma key version of the city’s taxis, towering buildings, and bright lights ignites the fantasy for the children in the audience. In the upbeat numbers “Happy All the Time” and “World’s Greatest Dad,” Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin’s music and lyrics encapsulates the idealistic, earnest spirit of the show’s star.
After meeting his dad, Walter Hobbs (Jeff Brooks), a stern, workaholic, and children’s book publishing executive, the production sets into Buddy’s paradoxical story and its conflict with the dark reality of the holiday doldrums he finds with his dad and new life in New York. Buddy does find a kindred merriment in his new little brother Michael, played by Camden Kwok, who sparkles in every number and scene he graces. He later finds an advocate in his stepmom, Emily (Yara Martin), once she confirms through DNA he is, in fact, Walter’s son.
Fans of the 2003 film will be delighted by the stage show re-imagining the adorable love story with Buddy and Jovie (Felicia Martis). The musical also punches up some of the classic scenes, like Buddy outing a Macy’s Santa as a fake with an elaborate dance sequence decked with all the holiday adornments. The cast, perhaps through ad-libs, modernizes the dialogue with a touch of Gen Alpha colloquialisms like “clock it” and various references to TikTok, which seemed to delight the 12-year-old viewer who accompanied me to the theater Tuesday night.
The show rises above its already side-splitting laughs from the movie with a production that features dazzling dynamics and formations choreographed by Liam Steel and memorable melodies like “Nobody Cares About Santa,” which Ducat sings with conviction, sorrow, and angst. The standout “A Christmas Song” serves as a reprise later in the show, reminding Jovie and the audience that the holiday is “like magic, if things go wrong.”
Plenty goes wrong for Buddy and his crew, from his dad disowning him for his antics and ruining a much-needed manuscript to Santa’s newfangled sleigh getting stuck in Central Park. Buddy’s child-like charm and Christmas spirit save the day for Santa, and influence his dad to lighten up and ditch his stressful job to make more time for the family.
The second act of the show is slightly less inventive than the first act, with a bit of a rush to the finish. Yet, the illuminated set design in the show’s final scene, as the city’s renewed Christmas spirit literally lifts Santa’s sleigh to its fairytale glory, makes for the perfect finish and all the reason to catch this holiday spectacle before it takes off like Dancer, Blitzen, and the rest of the gang.
Catch Thursday night’s 7:30 p.m. show or shows happening 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, or the last shows of the Atlanta run at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are on sale now at foxtheatre.org/elf or by calling 855-285-8499.
