The Original Broadway Cast Recording of the new musical ELF, the Broadway musical for every 'Buddy,' will be released digitally and in stores on today by Ghostlight Records.
ELF features an all-new score that Variety calls "crowd-rousing" by Tony nominees Matthew Sklar (Music) and Chad Beguelin (Lyrics), and a book by Tony winners Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin. To hear song previews and pre-order the CD, visit http://sh-k-boom.com/elfthemusical.shtml.
"ELF is a delectable, glistening gift to anyone who enjoys musical theatre," said Sheldon Harnick, legendary Broadway lyricist. "For those of you who have yet to see ELF, I'm certain that it won't be long before you have the opportunity. This is a show that is sure to turn up in a good many places every Christmas. But you needn't wait until Christmas to enjoy the CD; as you'll hear, ELF is a score for all seasons."
The track list for ELF is as follows:
1) Overture
2) Christmastown
3) World's Greatest Dad
4) In The Way
5) Sparklejollytwinklejingley
6) I'll Believe In You
7) In The Way - Reprise
8) Just Like Him
9) A Christmas Song
10) World's Greatest Dad - Reprise
11) Nobody Cares About Santa
12) Never Fall In Love (With An Elf)
13) There Is A Santa Claus
14) The Story Of Buddy The Elf
15) Nobody Cares About Santa - Reprise
16) A Christmas Song - Reprise
17) Finale
The cast album was produced by David Lai and Matthew Sklar, and recorded and mixed by Isaiah Abolin. The CD booklet contains ELF's full album lyrics and special liner notes by Sheldon Harnick.
ELF opened on Sunday, November 14th, 2010, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Previews began Tuesday, November 2nd. The New York Times calls ELF "A splashy, peppy, sugar-sprinkled holiday entertainment." USA Today thinks ELF is "Endearingly goofy," and Entertainment Weekly said about ELF that "even the biggest Cotton-Headed-Ninny-Muggins will leave the theatre with a warm festive glow!" Variety declares "ELF is happy enough for families, savvy enough for city kids and plenty smart for adults!" ELF was produced on Broadway by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features.
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.
ELF's original cast and recording features Sebastian Arcelus as ‘Buddy,' Amy Spanger as ‘Jovie,' ' Tony® Award nominee Mark Jacoby as ‘Walter,' Michael Mandell as ‘Store Manager,' Michael McCormick as ‘Mr. Greenway,' Valerie Wright as ‘Deb' and Matthew Gumley as ‘Michael.' The production also stars Tony® Award winner Beth Leavel as ‘Emily,' and six-time Emmy® Award nominee George Wendt as ‘Santa.'
The original cast recording also includes Timothy J. Alex, Callie Carter, Cara Cooper, Lisa Gajda, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Blake Hammond, Stacey Todd Holt, Emily Hsu, Jenny Hill, Nancy Johnston, Marc Kessler, Matt Loehr, Matthew Schechter, Michael James Scott, Noah Weisberg, Lee Wilkins, and Kirsten Wyatt.
Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit, ELF features a new 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® nominee Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python's Spamalot).
