Review Roundup: ELF on Broadway

Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit, ELF features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), 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).

ELF opened on Sunday, November 14th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). 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!

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times: The score is generic, true, but it is also polished, hummable-tune laden and professional. Mr. Beguelin's lyrics, at their best, have a bright comic zest and are well-matched to Mr. Sklar's gently swinging music. The boogie-woogie "Nobody Cares About Santa," featuring a chorus line of professional Santas sharing a Christmas Eve meal at a Chinese restaurant, is a rowdy parody of the rival Rockettes show at Radio City.

Elyse Gardner, USA Today: Every year seems to bring at least one entry, snowing banal good cheer on theatergoers (sometimes literally, as anyone who has walked out with a head full of confetti knows). In this year's model, Elf (* *½ out of four), which opened Sunday at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, that cheer is at least served with a light heart and endearingly goofy humor.

Thom Geir, Entertainment Weekly: The sugarplummy supporting cast includes Cheers veteran George Wendt (as a wizened, wisecracking Santa), a nicely sarcastic Amy Spanger (as Buddy's unlikely and underdeveloped love interest), and a strong-voiced Matthew Gumley (as Buddy's much younger half-brother). Elf is a modest show with modest charms, but director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw keeps the production humming along, particularly in the fleeter second act. One can imagine the show having a second life in high schools and regional theaters (visions of licensing fees will no doubt be dancing in the creators' heads). For now, though, Buddy and his pals seem very much at home on Broadway. B

Mark Kennedy, Associated Press: Who needs Will? That might be the typical reaction from theatergoers after seeing the Broadway musical "Elf," a show that remains true to the 2003 Will Ferrell movie but stands on its own with great sets and design, a funny adapted script and a collection of hardworking actors. It simply doesn't need Ferrell in tights.

David Rooney, Reuters/Hollywood Reporter: Raiding the New Line vaults for stage musical material has so far yielded a hit in "Hairspray" and a miss in "The Wedding Singer." Where "Elf," an underpowered Broadway Christmas attraction adapted from the Will Ferrell screen comedy, falls in that commercial spectrum will depend on its holiday box-office pull. But as theatrical entertainment, it's flavorless candy.

Michael Sommers, NJ Newsroom: No masterpiece but often a fun show, this cheerful old-school musical faithfully traces the film's saga of Buddy, a gangling 30-year-old reared by Santa's elves at the North Pole, who decides to find his father in far-off New York City.

Jeremy Gerard, Bloomberg News: The mischievous wit for which Thomas Meehan ("The Producers" and "Hairspray") is known seems to have been rubbed too smooth by his co-writer, Bob Martin, the nostalgist behind the musical "The Drowsy Chaperone." The songs are by Matthew Sklar (music) and Chad Beguelin (lyrics), the team behind the awful "The Wedding Singer," and they hardly do better here; the tunes are instantly forgettable and you can predict every rhyme a mile away.

Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News: Meant to be the season's big happy hummable holiday event, the show never gets there; it feels unfinished and unready for New York. Director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw's resolutely middling production didn't have a regional tryout, but it could be a touring company that shuffled into town.

Steven Suskin, Variety: Broadway producers have been trying for years to come up with durable seasonal programming: family-suitable musicals that can be pulled out of the warehouse every November, recast as necessary, and play two sold-out months with minimal effort. This biz plan hasn't quite worked for such efforts as "White Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," but the producers of "Elf" just might have found the key. Based on the 2003 New Line comedy starring Will Ferrell (which grossed some $220 million), this tuner is happy enough for families, savvy enough for city kids and plenty smart for adults.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, NY Post: Too bad they all feel underused. The show looks good, thanks to Gregg Barnes' colorful costumes -- the elf outfits are particularly snazzy -- and David Rockwell's evocative sets. But Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin's score, while efficient, lacks the juice they brought to the underrated "The Wedding Singer." Casey Nicholaw's direction and choreography are similarly restrained, and only rarely summon the inspired mayhem the show needs.

David Sheward, Backstage: Spanger and the rest of the cast do their level best to Make Up For the deficiencies of the script and score. Arcelus is an ideal Buddy. He doesn't attempt to imitate Ferrell but provides his own winning and sunny presence, without going overboard into sugary sweetness. George Wendt plays Santa with the understated dryness he gave to Norm on "Cheers." Mark Jacoby can't do very much with the one-dimensional role of Walter, Buddy's all-business father, but he turns in his usual professional job. As Walter's wry wife, Emily, Beth Leavel deserves a medal for lending much-needed depth and spark to the bland proceedings. In supporting roles, Michael Mandell as a grumpy store manager and Valerie Wright as a sarcastic secretary stand out. But even the most fantastic cast possible couldn't rescue this mediocre show.

Matt Windman, AM New York: For Christmas this year, the elves in Santa's workshop ought to build us a better new musical than "Elf," which is hardly worth adding to anyone's holiday wish list.