BWW Flashback: ELF Wraps Holiday Broadway Run Today

ELF, based upon the hit movie starring Will Ferrell, returned to Broadway this holiday season at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 9, 2012. The seasonal production wraps up its 9-week limited engagement today, January 6. Below, BroadwayWorld takes you through the show's joyous journey to Broadway with photos, videos, and more.

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features and Jujamcyn Theaters brought Elf to the Hirschfeld stage, with Jordan Gelber (Avenue Q, All My Sons) as everyone's favorite elf, 'Buddy.' Leslie Kritzer (Sondheim on Sondheim, A Catered Affair) portrayed 'Jovie' and Mitchell Sink played 'Michael' in his Broadway debut.

ELF also featured "Seinfeld" star Wayne Knight (Santa), Tony Award winner Beth Leavel (Emily), Tony Award nominee Mark Jacoby (Walter), Valerie Wright (Deb), Adam Heller (Mr. Greenway) and Michael Mandell (Store Manager). Leavel, Jacoby, Wright and Mandell reprised the roles they originated in the 2010 production of ELF. The company also included Rory Donovan, Jason Eric Testa, Timothy J. Alex, Catherine Brunell, Callie Carter, Andrea Chamberlain, Jay Douglas, David Hibbard, Jenny Hill, Stacey Todd Holt, Emily Hsu, Nancy Johnston, Josh Lamon, Ariel Reid, Jonathan Schwartz, Eric Lajuan Summers, Jen Taylor and Lee Wilkins.

Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit which starred Will Ferrell in the title role, ELF features a score by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar (Music) and Chad Beguelin (Lyrics)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 Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Monty Python's Spamalot).

ELF is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported back 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. With Santa's permission, 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 step-brother doesn't even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner ELF.

Prior to the show's opening night, BroadwayWorld brought you first look at the production - check out the photos and performance highlights below!

The cast also appeared at the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, November 22. Check out the cast of ELF perform 'The Story of Buddy The Elf' below!

BroadwayWorld was also there on the show's much-anticipated opening night, bringing you a look at the cast's first bows during the limited-engagement!

ELF previously played a successful holiday engagement in 2010, breaking the Al Hirschfeld Theatre's box office record three times during its run. The show also embarked upon a national tour in 2012, with most of the cast returning for the Broadway engagement.

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