Performances at 2pm AND 7pm on Saturdays

Arts Express Theatre presents “Elf the Musical”

Bringing holiday humor, warmth, and magic, the beloved holiday film turned smash hit stage musical, Elf the Musical, flies into the Arts Express Theatre at Park Place beginning December 2. This modern-day holiday classic for the entire family is playing three weekends, December 2-18. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., with matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Based on the cherished 2003 New Line Cinema hit, Elf features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Skylar (The Wedding Singer) and Chad Beguelin (Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway), with a book by Tony Award winners, Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone). Lauded by the New York Times as “Splashy, Peppy, Sugar-Sprinkled Holiday Entertainment” and “Endearingly Goofy” by USA Today, the original production broke box office records three times, and was also nominated for a Drama League Award.

This hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy follows Buddy the Elf (Kevin Orduno) in his quest to find his true identity. As a young orphan, Buddy mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa's permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father.

Buddy lands a job at a big department store and soon asks his favorite co-worker, Jovie (Isabel Shea) out on a date. Buddy is elated to find his birth father, Walter Hobbs (Michael Stewart), stepmother Emily Hobbs (Tiff Jensen), and half-sister Michelle (Zailey Roper), but Buddy doesn’t quite get the reception he was hoping for. Faced with the harsh realities that his father is on the naughty list and his half-sister doesn't even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

With such feature hits as "Sparklejollytwinklejingley,” "A Christmas Song,” "Nobody Cares about Santa,” “Never Fall in Love", and “There is a Santa Claus,” this modern-day holiday classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner elf. After all, the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

The production is directed by veteran director Chris Will, with music direction by Zach Wetzel and choreography by Simone Jolivet-Manuel.

For tickets, visit https://www.arts-express.org/ or call the Arts Express Theatre Box Office at (520) 319-0400.