Show History

History

Inspiration

Elf The Musical, with a book by Tony winners, Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Thomas Meehan (The Producers), music by Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer), and lyrics by Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), is a musical comedy based on the 2003 holiday film of the same name.  The original film starred Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel and quickly became a Christmas classic.  The musical brought together the vintage comic styles of Martin and Meehan, with the high-energy contemporary music of Sklar and Beguelin.

Productions

Elf premiered on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 24, 2010, after an industry reading the year before.  It ran for a limited engagement during the holiday season, until January 2, 2011, after 57 performances.  During the 2012 holiday season, the production company, NETworks, launched a "mini-tour" of the musical, traveling all the way from Rhode Island to Florida.

Following the huge success of the original production, Elf returned to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 9, 2012, and ran until January 6, 2013, with a revised book and a completely new opening number.  The changes in the musical carried through to two separate national tours that started in 2013, one union and one non-union.  Outside of Broadway, the show has seen a fair amount of engagement.  The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle produced its first regional production, while the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, housed the international premiere.

Cultural Influence

  • Elf broke box office records at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre three times during its first run.
  • The original run of Elf was the third-best selling show in the 2010 Thanksgiving weekend, behind Wicked and The Lion King.

Trivia

  • Elf was nominated for a Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Musical in 2011.
  • Celebrities that have starred in Elf include: George Wendt (Santa), Wayne Knight (Santa), Beth Leavel (Emily), Sebastian Arcelus (Buddy), Amy Spanger (Jovie), Mark Jacoby (Walter), Jordan Gelber (Buddy), and Matthew Gumley (Michael).