Wayne Knight Set to Play 'Santa' in Broadway-Bound ELF!

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features and Jujamcyn Theaters announced today that television icon Wayne Knight will star as Santa in the hit musical ELF. Knight, currently starring in TV Land's "The Exes," is perhaps best known to audiences as Jerry Seinfeld's arch nemesis "Newman" on the Emmy Award-winning hit comedy "Seinfeld." Knight's credits also include Jurassic Park, Toy Story 2, Space Jam and "3rd Rock from the Sun," among many others.

ELF will also star 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 are reprising the roles they originated in the 2010 production of ELF. Additional casting will be announced soon.

ELF returns to Broadway this holiday season at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). Performances will begin on Friday, November 9, 2012. The production will play a limited engagement of 9 weeks for the holiday season through Sunday, January 6, 2013.

Ticket prices for ELF range from $49 to $160 (including a $2 facility fee) and are available online at www.Telecharge.com and by phone at 212-239-6200. Tickets will be available in person at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre Box Office (302 West 45th Street) beginning Monday, October 15th at 10am. Exclusive seat locations are still available to American Express card members. For more information and performance schedule, visit www.Telecharge.com.

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).

Scenic design for ELF is by Tony nominee David Rockwell (Hairspray, Catch Me if You Can), costume design is by Tony Award winner Gregg Barnes (Follies, The Drowsy Chaperone), lighting design is by three-time Tony Award-winner Natasha Katz (Once, The Coast of Utopia) and sound design is by Tony nominee Peter Hylenski (Rock of Ages, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever). ELF features orchestrations by three-time Tony Award-winner Doug Besterman (The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie). Hair and Wig Design is by Josh Marquette (The Book of Mormon, Gore Vidal's The Best Man) and Projection Design is by Zachary Borovay (Evita, Rock of Ages).

ELF played a successful holiday engagement in 2010, breaking the Al Hirschfeld Theatre's box office record three times during its run. The New York Times called ELF "A splashy, peppy, sugar-sprinkled holiday entertainment." USA Today thinks ELF is "Endearingly goofy," and New Jersey News Room finds ELF to be "Jolly holiday entertainment, decked out with a bunch of crowd-rousing songs." Variety declares "ELF is happy enough for families, savvy enough for city kids and plenty smart for adults!"

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.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.