The biggest challenge for a stage musical version of the 2003 hit holiday Elf is finding the right person to fill the curly-toed shoes of the film’s inimitable star, Will Ferrell. Enter Grey Henson, a Tony nominee for Mean Girls who also dominated the recent corn-fed musical comedy Shucked. Henson, with his tall, stocky frame and wide-eyed, puffy-cheeked charm, projects the perfect sort of man-child energy to play Buddy the Elf — and he’s got stage charisma to burn. In the words of one of the show’s catchier songs by Matthew Sklar and lyricist Chad Beguelin, he’s the sparklejollytwinklejingley heart of Broadway’s new Elf, which opened Sunday at the Marquis Theatre in a production that threatens to topple the Rockettes from their perch atop New York’s forest of live holiday entertainment.
The story follows the familiar beats of the movie, centering on Buddy — who was raised by elves on the North Pole after sneaking into Santa’s sack as an orphaned infant — and his attempts to connect with his grinch of a dad (Michael Hayden), a work-obsessed children’s book publishing exec who never knew about Buddy and is mostly MIA from the Manhattan home he shares with his wife (Ashley Brown) and young son (Kai Edgar, a scene-stealer with a precocious belter’s voice). The 30-year-old Buddy also falls for a cynical Macy’s holiday-season worker, Jovie (Kayla Davion), who eventually (and improbably) warms to his filter-free pronouncements and misunderstandings about modern life.
There have been some updates to Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin’s book since the show’s original Broadway run in 2010. Gone are the throwaway jokes about Charlie Sheen, replaced by timelier references to TikTok, binge watching on Netflix, and motivational speaker Brené Brown. (Curiously, Jovie, now a Gen Zer played by a Black actress, still claims to be a big fan of Billy Crystal and the 1987 film Throw Momma From the Train.) The script is rife with in jokes aimed at grown-ups in the audience, including a Hobbit gag uttered by former Samwise Gamgee Sean Astin, who’s mostly unrecognizable behind his beard as the show’s mostly sidelined Santa (and also doubles as the even grinchier boss of Buddy’s dad).
The production, nimbly directed by Philip Wm. McKinley, gets a reindeer-fueled lift from Sklar and Beguelin’s bouncy tunes like the jazzy second act opener, “Nobody Cares About Santa.” The best scenes showcase Liam Steel’s witty and spirited choreography with the talented and limber ensemble. The opening number, with the chorus of elves kneeling in their clever shin-hiding costumes (designed by Tim Goodchild so they appear shorter than Buddy), will make you want to kick up your knees in appreciation. Another Macy’s-set routine, which incorporates everything from candy-cane poles to tinsel-string jump ropes to gift boxes turned into boots, is a show-stopping delight. (The sets, by Goodchild with animated video backgrounds by Ian William Galloway, colorfully evoke a multitude of setting with streamlined efficiency.) McKinley has more tricks up his sleeve in the Act 2 climax, including snow machines in the auditorium and a gravity-defying sleigh that hovers over the first rows of seats.
But Elf‘s most impressive special effect is Henson, who manages to make you forget Ferrell’s portrayal and forge a new path that feels like a stocking-perfect fit for a whole new generation of fans. It takes a special kind of guileless innocence to open your hand repeatedly right in the face of a man to explain how old you are. Or to tell your crush, “I’d like if you’d be less bitchy” — and not get slapped. But Henson has a winsome way of making even the most obnoxious or predatory line seem utterly innocuous — and hilarious. He really does want to go to bed with Tiara so they can cuddle and hold flashlights under the covers. He’s a dazzling performer who’s completely in his comfort zone here.
The show itself has flaws. Jovie and some of the other main characters remain wrapping-paper thin, and the first act ends on a jarring downer note after Buddy (in a departure from the movie) goofs up in a way that makes him seem more callous and immature than he really is. But why be a Cotton-Headed-Ninny-Muggins? ‘Tis the season when you should stop quibbling for perfection and instead let the holiday spirit envelop you like a warm hug from an oversize elf. And Henson’s Buddy definitely knows how to sleigh.
ELF
Marquis Theatre, Broadway
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (with intermission)
Tickets on sale through January 4, 2025
Culture Sauce 