Review: ELF THE MUSICAL at FMCT

Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre Presents: Elf The Musical

Elf The Musical is based on the hit 2003 Will Ferrell movie that fast became a holiday classic. The musical made it's Broadway debut in 2003. Elf tells the story of Buddy Hobbs who was raised by Elves at the North Pole and goes on a journey to find his real dad.

This show is pure Christmas joy. This is so much fun for the whole family and every member of the cast and crew did such an amazing job. I also really enjoyed that there were so many new faces to the FMCT stage. For so many this was their first FMCT experience.

One thing to note, the show this year is at The Hjemkomst Center and as of this writing all 13 shows are completely sold out. I heard a rumor they might add a couple more so keep checking the FMCT site. Plus there could always be last minute cancellations.

Now the standouts for me.

First up we have Buddy played by Jake Sells, in his FMCT debut, is absolutely wonderful. He channeled his inner child, and his inner Will Ferrell, to really shine as Buddy. Jake really shows us the world through the eyes of Buddy. That childlike wonder and happiness can't help to put a smile on your face. Some of my favorites from him were "Happy All The Time", "World's Greatest Dad" and "A Christmas Song". I can't wait to see Jake on stage again soon.

Emily Kautz as Jovie, in her 2nd FMCT production was another joy on stage. She played the part perfectly and I loved her scenes with Jake. Her solo on "Never Fall In Love (With An Elf)" was beautiful and she was also great on "A Christmas Song (Reprise)".

John Indrehus as Walter Hobbs is another great casting choice. This is John's 2nd FMCT performance and his first time sharing the stage with his real life son, Roman. John took a long break from theatre in his adult life, but it doesn't show. He was right at home with many of these stage veterans. He has some great solo's on "In The Way" and "The Story of Buddy".

Tracy Frank makes her FMCT debut as Emily Hobbs, but is no stranger to the stage. Tracy plays the role of mom and wife wonderfully (I am betting her real life husband and kids would agree) and she has some great scenes with Roman (Michael Hobbs) including on "I'll Believe In You" and "There Is A Santa Claus"

Roman Indrehus was great as Michael and this definitely one of the veterans on stage. I have been lucky to see Roman in a past FMCT production and some Horizon Middle School productions. His energy and enthusiasm is infectious on stage. As mentioned above his performances with Tracy on "I'll Believe In You" and "There Is A Santa Claus" were both wonderful.

I definitely have to give a shout out to Santa Claus himself played by Paul Bougie. I have known Paul for about 15 years and never knew he was involved in theatre, as this is his first production in over 20 years. Paul was great as Jolly Old St Nick and I really enjoyed his singing on "Happy All Te Time". Here is hoping that the theatre bug bites and we see Paul on stage again soon.

There are so many great supporting and ensemble members in this production and I wish I could mention them all. The Fake Santa's were hilarious, all of the Elves were superb, the store workers and office workers all added so much to the story. I loved the "ice skating" scene and the tap dancing numbers.

A HUGE shout out to Brian Cole and the 18 member orchestra providing the live music.

Director (and Choreographer) Dawn Gunderson has definitely managed to bring a ton of Christmas cheer to FMCT. This show is so much fun and I wish they would add 10 more shows so more and more people could see this. Congrats to every single person involved in this show. I seriously hope everyone who reads this will try to get a ticket. This time of year everyone needs to smile, and this show will definitely put a smile on your face!

Photo Credit: Judy Lewis

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