Jordan Gelber, Leslie Kritzer to Star in ‘Elf’ on Broadway

Back in August it was announced that “Elf” would return to Broadway for the holiday season, and now we know that Jordan Gelber and Leslie Kritzer will star in the show.

Gelber, known for his work in “Avenue Q” and “All My Sons,” will perform the central role of Buddy the Elf, while Kritzer will star as his girlfriend, Jovie. Kritzer has previously been seen in “A Catered Affair” and “Sondheim on Sondheim.” These roles of Buddy and Jovie were portrayed by Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel, respectively, in the original 2003 movie of the same name.

Other casting for the show features “Seinfeld” and “Jurassic Park” star Wayne Knight as Santa and Tony Award-winner Beth Leavel as Emily. Mark Jacoby, a Tony-nominee, will play Walter, Emily’s husband. Valerie Wright will portray Deb, Adam Heller will be Mr. Greenway and the store manager will be played by Michael Mandell.

Other members of the large ensemble include Timothy J. Alex, Callie Carter, Catherine Brunell, David Hibbard, Jay Douglas, Jenny Hill and Lee Wilkins. Mitchell Sink will make his Broadway debut as young Michael.

The production will play at the Al Hirschfeld Theater from November 9 through January 6, 2013. The musical first premiered during the 2010-2011 holiday season, though it was not performed last year.

Here’s how producers describe the story of the “Elf” musical:

“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 his 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.