‘Elf’ Kicks Off National Tour November 5

During the 2010 and 2012 holiday seasons, “Elf: The Musical” entertained Broadway crowds, but this year the production will spread the Christmas cheer around the U.S. by embarking on a national tour.

Not too much is known about the tour as yet, other than the limited trek is expected to run from November through January 5. Sam Scalamoni will direct the traveling production, and Connor Gallagher will choreograph. No cities or venues have yet been announced.

The musical is based on the 2003 film “Elf” that featured Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel. Music for the musical version is by Matthew Sklar and lyrics are by Chad Beguelin. The songwriting team also is responsible for the score of “The Wedding Singer.” The book of the musical is co-written by Tony Award-winners Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan. The former is best known for “The Drowsy Chaperone,” while the latter worked on “Annie,” “The Producers” and “Hairspray.”

Here’s how the musical’s official website describes the show:

ELF is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. Buddy 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 and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and his step-brother 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.

The production was last performed on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theater, and the limited engagement ran November 9, 2012-January 6, 2013. That production starred “Seinfeld” and “Jurassic Park” veteran Wayne Knight in the role of Santa.