“We came away feeling a lot more ready for Christmas than we were before the show. It was a childlike, family fun, feelgood fable that I hope becomes a regular Christmas feature in Sydney. “
Julia Newbould
Four santa sleighs
Sydney Opera House
Sydney
Playing until Sunday 29 December
I love when something has become a classic in my lifetime and that’s what Elf, the 2003 Will Ferrell movie, is now. It’s a Christmas classic with the underlying themes of love, family, and the Christmas spirit.
Elf the musical may yet become a classic – many people at the Sydney Opera House opening night came because of the pull of that film who enjoyed the musical, and the children around me aged from four to 12 were enthralled throughout the two-hour production.
Santa, one of two roles played by musical star Lara Mulcahy, acted as the narrator of the story from in front of the cosy fireplace – one of the clever backdrop scenes on stage. She was soon joined by the elves who were working, cracking jokes (mostly for the adults in the audience) and all with Buddy the Elf, until it was revealed that Buddy is really a human. It’s a visual gag of him thinking he is an elf, despite his 6’2” frame, until he hears the truth in the workshop, and he is horrified at the revelation.
Santa reveals that his father is a businessman in New York City – and Buddy starts the journey south to find him.
The journey is depicted by changing scenery and vehicles as Buddy makes his way to New York through several lands until he finally reaches his destination through the Lincoln Tunnel. It’s all great visual fun for children and for adults alike.
Simon Burke, as Buddy’s dad Walter Hobbs, is outstanding. The versatility of this performer is incredible as only weeks before he was deeply involved in the incredible ensemble cast of the two-part drama The Inheritance, where he shone as well. As Walter, he sings and dances and has the right amount of Scrooge-iness to be believable. His wife is played to perfection by Katrina Retallick. And as for Buddy, Gareth Isaac, he is definitely spot-on and able to live up to the Will Ferrell legacy. He has the right goofiness in appearance and gestures.
The rest of the cast is excellent, well-choreographed, and with just the right of Christmas sparkle not to make it too twee.
The musical numbers are big and fun and almost had the audience singing alone at one point – when the spirit of Christmas was needed to recharge Santa’s sleigh. In fact, if the words had been on screen I’m sure the audience would have sung along in full voice.
The office scenes in New York are terrific with the multi-charactered cast moving seamlessly from playing elves to being office workers and then skaters outside the Rockefeller Plaza and anything else that came along.
The musical retains many of the favourite parts of the film which is exactly what the audience wanted to see but there are added scenes and deleted scenes, potentially because of political correctness.
We came away feeling a lot more ready for Christmas than we were before the show. It was a childlike, family fun, feelgood fable that I hope becomes a regular Christmas feature in Sydney. It was a little long for the young ones but they seemed to make it through the evening performance.
Director Eric Giancola has done as magnificent job as has video designer David Bergman. The Opera House Concert Hall was a great venue with the staging, including conductor
Julia Newbould, Theatre Now
