Interview: Simon Lipkin on the Joys of Christmas and Playing Buddy in ELF THE MUSICAL

The time has come. Halloween is over, the leaves are falling, we've turned our clocks back, and Mariah Carey has defrosted. It's the Christmas season! As part of the celebrations in London, a new production of Elf the Musical will be arriving in the West End. BroadwayWorld spoke with Simon Lipkin, who will be starring at Buddy the Elf this winter at the Dominion Theatre.

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How did you first get started with Elf?

So I was in the middle of filming a TV show for CBBC called The Beaker Girls and I had a phone call asking me if I'd be interested in doing it. It's easily in the top five Christmas films of all time, Elf. I hadn't seen the show but I gave it a listen and fell in love with the music. I've been a lover of musicals since I was a little kid and this score has a proper Broadway vibe to it. Then I read the script and I was in, I was hooked! And here we are.

So being a fan of the movie definitely impacted whether you want to do it or not?

Yeah, for sure. It had this weird kind of 50/50 split - It made me excited but also incredibly nervous. How do you walk in the footsteps of Will Ferrell? He's literally one of the greatest comedy actors of all time. So that was kind of scary, but at the same time really exciting to figure my own way of doing it.

How much inspiration do you take from Will Ferrell's interpretation of Buddy?

If you're going out with a straight impression, you just sound like the person, it's sort of okay. But a really good impression is when you encapsulate the spirit of that person. So I think that joy is trying to encapsulate the spirit of what he created. But then, at the same time, absolutely doing my version of it. Because it wouldn't be honest if I just tried to do an impression of what he did. So you try and get on board with that man-child, eternal kid thing, and that silliness and joy. Hopefully, five minutes into the show getting going, they'll just think that, "That dude's Buddy!" It's a bit disappointing when someone's just doing an impression rather than playing the part.

It's more fun to see them take it and make it their own. I was a bit hesitant about the musical at first too, but it does its own thing. It changes stuff.

Yeah, it very much does its own thing. And there's all the stuff that you want! Don't worry, you're getting "Santa, I know him," "Hello, Buddy the Elf, what's your favourite colour?", the narwhal . . . all of that stuff's in there. But then there's a lot of stuff that is its own thing because it's not a movie doing jump cuts. It sits way more and you get to delve into characters a lot more and hear them sing.

What's it like becoming Buddy and bringing that childlike innocence to the stage?

The thing is, I'm not doing much acting! I still have my childhood imagination. So actually, it's quite freeing to get to be the version of me that I have to keep slightly set back in public. It's really fun to be able to go, "You know what? I want to do something real weird here, and no one's gonna judge me." It's refreshing and lovely. And I think it's the whole point of the story, not necessarily to that extreme, but be who you want to be, be unashamedly you. And that's okay. Because you will go through life sometimes feeling like you are an other. And at some point, you'll realise that, actually, that is the best thing about you. The more that you embrace that, the more that will make your life exciting. It will mean that the people that you love and the people that love you, will love you 100% for who you are. So I think that's a beautiful message, especially for little kids watching.

Definitely! What's new about this production that audiences can look forward to?

Well, there are songs! It's a musical, so there's a lot going on. But it's a brand-new production so the direction is different, the choreography is different. It's an amazing team to work with. They're so creative and they've got that Broadway pedigree behind them, which brings real front-footed energy and, and showbizzy Broadway style to it. I think it will be an exciting couple of hours in the theatre for people. And there are some really exciting things that happen that I'm not allowed to tell you! But you're gonna see me on rollerskates - I can't rollerskate, so that's a new thing that I'm learning for this. And luckily, you won't be able to see The Bruises and hopefully, they will have gone by the time we open. I do a whole section of a dance routine with a skipping rope, so I'm channeling my Legally Blonde.

Your Brooke Windham?

Yeah, I'm channeling my Brooke Windham except I'm fatter and Jewish, so that's that! There's a lot! And obviously, we're so lucky. This cast is unbelievable. I sit there watching. I just watched Becky Lock this afternoon do her duet with the little boy in the second act, and it's astounding how good it is. Her voice is incredible. Georgina Castle, who plays Jovie, is amazingly good. And Tom Chambers . . . it's brilliant, brilliant people.

What is it like performing as a Jewish actor in a very Christmas-heavy musical?

Well, I have to keep my shoulders down! And genuinely, during one of the speeches today, I unconsciously said, "Oy." But it makes no difference whatsoever. I know Christmas is hugely religious for some people, but the spirit of Christmas is not a religious thing. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from we could share in that Christmas spirit. So I don't think it makes a difference. Except sometimes I need that section of the book explained to me [Laughs].

Did you have to do a lot of preparation, listening to Christmas songs?

It's all original music so no, we didn't need any. I love Christmas. I love it so hard. And a lot of my career, weirdly, I do these things like the Nativity movies and we've done the show, so I've done a lot of Christmas stuff. A lot of Christmas stuff.

And you think it's that spirit of Christmas that just keeps pulling you in?

Yeah, for sure, it's a beautiful thing. It's just joy. Literally everyone is happy around that time of the year. It's gonna be so nice to be able to make people even happier. Especially at the moment - We desperately need happiness. It's pure escapism. "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear."

Do you have a favourite part of the show?

You know what? I have not danced in a long time, and I'm dancing hard in this thing. I love all of that - I love doing all of the showbiz numbers. But I love the really real scenes with me and Jovie. There's this beautiful thing at the end of Act One where we go skating at Rockefeller Plaza. It 's just like this beautiful little scene, and then we skate. It's just so pure and lovely. So the actor in me really likes those bits, and then the little stagey boy in me really likes the bit where I climb to the top of a pyramid that spells "Merry Christmas," throw my arms in the air whilst everyone presents and points at me!

Living the dream!

You can't help it! But yeah, there are some brilliant, fun bits to do. I love the opening. I'm offstage very little - I think there are two songs in the entire thing that I'm not in, and I'm in pretty much every single scene. So the moments where I just get to sit at the side and watch everyone else do their thing, that's fun. It's amazing to celebrate brilliantly talented, wonderful people.

What is it like being almost constantly on stage?

Exhausting! I'm hoping no one notices that! We did the first run-through of Act One a few days ago and I was wearing a white t-shirt. About halfway through the run of Act One, it was completely see-through. I was having a white t-shirt competition with myself and I still lost! [Laughs] That's the worst thing. I had to hug one of the guys, I hug a lot of people, and you could see them in their eyes going "No, I really don't want to hug you right now!"

Who is the character that you'd want to play if you weren't playing Buddy?

Maybe Walter? No. Michael? No. Santa? Scrap that! The store manager - The guy who's just exhausted trying to get his job done, who has to listen to me scream "Santa!" in his face a lot. Him! I like him.

Do you have a favourite prop from the show?

I have this adorable little satchel that's got a little "B" on it! It's like this green thing with a leather strap. I love that little thing. I'm not excited for the spaghetti with the maple syrup. I'm not excited for that.

Have you tried it yet?

No, I don't want to! I'm on quite an intense diet and workout plan and that is going to really play with my macros... But I also came up with a nice thing. Because I don't leave the stage I have to have water somewhere to keep going. And he drinks syrup. You know, "Remember to drink plenty of syrup throughout the day." So I've got a little syrup bottle and I keep my water in there. So it looks like I'm having a little cherry syrup!

Finally, how would you describe Elf in one word?

It is one word! Sparklejollytwinklejingley.

Elf the Musical is at the Dominion Theatre for 8 weeks only, from 14 November - 7 January 2023.

 

 

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