ELF THE MUSICAL Is Now Available For Licensing Through MTI

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) has announced the hit, holiday show Elf The Musical is now available for licensing in the U.S. and Canada for 2019 and 2020. Due to contractual obligations, after 2020, the show will go back into the MTI vault.

Based on the cherished and hilarious 2003 New Line Cinema hit, Elf The Musical features songs by Tony Award nominees, Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer) and Chad Beguelin (Disney's Aladdin on Broadway, The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone).

Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf 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 realities that his father is on the naughty list and his half-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.

The show's creators Bob Martin, Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin stated, "Son of a nutcracker! We are all feeling Sparklejollytwinklejingley about the rights being released by MTI and we can't wait for theatres to bring this bit of holiday magic to their stages!"

Elf The Musical premiered on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 24, 2010, running for a limited engagement during the holiday season. Following the huge success of the original production, the show returned to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 9, 2012 for another holiday run. Elf The Musical has enjoyed several successful tours and regional productions, playing to packed houses all across the country and throughout the United Kingdom. Elf The Musical JR., the 60-minute version adapted for young performers has been licensed over 2,000 times since it became available in 2015.

"Over the past few years, our customers in high schools and community theatres have eagerly waited to present Elf The Musical to their audiences," said MTI's President and CEO, Drew Cohen. "The demand for this show has been intense, due in part to the unprecedented success of the several regional productions that have taken place, which is why it is so gratifying to make this musical, which has already become a holiday classic, available for licensing. This fish-out-of-water comedy has an important message about staying true to yourself in the face of adversity and Bob, Matt, Chad and the late Tom Meehan have done a superb job translating Buddy's journey from screen to stage."

For more information about MTI and licensing, please visit www.mtishows.com, call (212) 541-4684 or email licensing@mtishows.com