Santa hits town
If you don’t believe in Santa Claus, you certainly don’t believe in his sleigh or in those “eight tiny reindeer.” You don’t believe in the cheery pack of elves who cobble together all those toys, either. Tired of cynicism? Fed up with denial? You could do a lot worse, then, than to visit the Curran Theatre, where Santa shows up big time in a Broadway musical that has just hit town. His sleigh shows up, too, but though his reindeer have been put out to pasture in favor of modern technology, scads of elves busily fill the stage, especially one called Buddy.
Except that he’s not an elf.
The show is called, you guessed it, Elf. Based on the 2003 Will Ferrell holiday movie, it premiered in New York in 2010, and its polished roadshow production just landed here under SHN auspices.
Buddy turns out to be human, a fact kept from him until, grown up, he learns it by accident in the midst of the Workshop bustle just before Christmas. One big clue that Buddy missed: he’s twice as tall as any other elf in Santa’s employ, though he is its best basketball player. Turns out he was adopted by Santa, and now that he’s learned the truth, he heads to New York to seek out his biological father, Walter Hobbs, and reclaim his human heritage.
Is it smooth sledding? Hardly. For one thing, he knows there’s a Santa while almost no one else believes in the big guy any more, including Walter’s 12-year-old son, Michael, Walter’s wife, Emily, and Walter himself, a harried book publishing CEO hanging onto his job by peddling shoddy holiday goods. For another, he’s geeky and goofy (imagine Danny Kaye in the role). He’s likable, but he still makes people’s heads spin. Fortunately one of those heads is attached to a spunky young woman named Jovie, who is so tired of predatory men’s come-on lines that she takes to Buddy, and romance blooms on the Rockefeller Plaza skating rink.
Elf isn’t The Sound of Music, but, thank goodness, it’s not It’s a Wonderful Life either. Sentiment is tamped down in favor of contemporary notions of a good time, and the lightfooted, easygoing result is pleasing to watch, even if you won’t be humming its tunes when you leave the theater. Lean, limber Eric Williams plays Buddy with relaxed comic stylings and, as Jovie, Maggie Anderson deploys a powerhouse voice and a perky sense of timing. Ken Clement is Santa, Jesse Sharp is Walter, Lexie Dorsett Sharp is Emily, and Tyler Altomari, who alternates the role with Harper S. Brady, inhabits young Michael like a trouper; he looks as if he’s having the time of his life. Heading a game supporting cast, Whitney Hayes is the ebullient Deb, and Jerrial T. Young is the Macy’s store manager.
Sam Scalamoni directed briskly, and Connor Gallagher devised the lively choreography. Elf is currently playing on Geary Street, accompanied on SHN’s holiday roster by Kinky Boots at the Orpheum. for tickets/information call 666-746-1799 or visit shnsf.com.
–ROBERT HALL