‘Elf’ Returns to Broadway for Holidays

The musical adaptation of the 2003 Will Ferrell film “Elf” will return to Broadway for this year’s holiday season.

Producers announced recently that the production will return to the Al Hirschfeld Theater beginning November 9, and is scheduled to run through January 6, 2013. The production premiered for the 2010-2011 holidays, but did not return the following season.

The previous production of the musical met with many harsh reviews from critics, though it was well received at the box office. Casting has yet to be announced for the new production, but the previous production starred Sebastian Arcelus, Amy Spanger, Beth Leavel, Mark Jacoby, Matthew Gumley and George Wendt as Santa Claus.

Producers describe the story of “Elf” like this:

“Elf” is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Buddy is raised unaware that he is actually 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. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner “Elf.”

Tony-award winner Casey Nicholaw, known for “The Book of Mormon” and “The Drowsy Chaperone,” is the director and choreographer of the musical. Matthew Sklar wrote the music and Chad Beguelin wrote the lyrics. The pair is known as the songwriters from “The Wedding Singer.” Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan, both Tony Award winners, collaborated on the book.