ELF Thoughts???

[wicked1492]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 9:49pm

ELF starts previews tonight! I'm excited to hear what people thought! Do tell...

[liotte]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:00pm

I thought it was adorable. Fun songs, great acting, some fun dancing and ice skating, stayed pretty true to the movie. The set was also really good, using both set pieces and video images.

Should be very successful for the holiday run!!

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:02pm

I tried getting tickets for 3 different performances and it was all sold out! Does anyone know if there will be a rush or a lotto??

[tking001]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:04pm

I was at the box office last week and was told that since its such a short holiday run they're will not be a lottery and probably no student rush tickets. The girl at the box office was telling me how the rear mezz is sold out for almost the entire run.

I'm thinking they'll probably have SRO when it opens like Hair did

[dragonlp86]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:05pm

I'm eager to hear what people thought too! My ticket dates aren't until December 12.

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:26pm

Oh crud, they really did sell the cheap seats fast! Mezz S-T seems to be sold out for the entire run. And the discount codes available are for $90. TKTS here I come! Well--as long as word of mouth is good. I was really charmed by Beth Leavel at Broadway on Broadway. I wonder if they'd consider extending if it turns out to be a hit--maybe it won't end up as tied to the holidays as originally thought?

[Orangesaretuesdays]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:35pm

Well H2$ is going in in February

[Orangesaretuesdays]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:51pm

Do you have a song list?

[liotte]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 12:07am

[liotte]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 12:08am

[liotte]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 12:09am

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 12:11am

Can someone please post a curtain picture?

[grandpianoalex]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 12:33am

Does anyone know if this will be getting a Cast Recording?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 12:44am

I wonder if they'll try and add performances around Christmas and possibly do 9 shows a week. I know White Christmas frequently did 9 shows a week during December.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 12:55am

"Sparklejollytwinklejingley" may be the greatest title of a song ever.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 1:15am

Seeing this Saturday. CANNOT wait!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 1:34am

Well, sorry to be the Grinch, but I thought it was so BORING. It's just so uninspired. The direction is so boring. The sets look like a touring set. The lighting is boring. The acting was just typical musical theater acting you could see anywhere. The songs were forgettable. The show ended with them singing "Elf," so that should be an indicator. If you go to the theater a lot, I don't think you will enjoy this show, but whatever. It wasn't my cup of tea. For a holiday show there was just no joy in it. It just seemed so by-the-book.

I don't see why you would make this show into a musical anyways. Ferrell's performance in the movie is pretty iconic, and that's what we're all showing up to see. I thought Sebastian was fine, but to me, he just wasn't that funny. He missed a lot of comedic moments, and to me, his voice is just too nasal. He shouts more than he sings. His performance kind of got tiresome after about 2 hours.

The rest of the show didn't really make much of an impression. Sad to see Beth Leveal do so little, and most of her jokes didn't really land (the writing, not her delivery), but whatever.

I thought the story was sort of horribly written. I don't really remember the movie, but Amy Spanger's character does SO LITTLE. I thought their relationship was sort of the heart of the movie, but she's only in a handful of scenes here. She does have the best song of the evening, as dumb as it is. But she sort of disappears and comes back and is just "into him" again. It just seemed so slight.

My main problem with the show, and maybe it is the movie too, but there just doesn't seem to be a point where people are like "What, he's really an elf?" It just sort of happened over intermission. We come back and Spanger's character sings a song about "don't fall in love with an elf." And the parents are talking about he's an elf, but there's never a moment where the audience is let in on the fact that they all have come to terms with that he's an elf and elves are real.

Technically, I was disappointed. I wanted the sets to be better. They were so cheap and not detailed. It seems like they designed the show to tour easily, so everything is flown in or dragged on or something. I didn't care for the forced perspective. There was just not much thought put into any of it. There was no opinion taken on it. It was just an office. An apartment. A skating rink. Oh, and the skating ring was so tiny. Why not make the whole stage a skating ring so that way it can be a big ,cool dance number?

Speaking of, there was just no dancing. It was just kind of boring, and again, uninspiring. Same with the direction. When Spanger and Buddy have a big confrontation in ACT II under a light-up tree that looks like it was ripped straight out of his set for Legally Blonde, they just stand there and yell at each other. There's no sense of what is their physical objective in this scene? Doesn't she want to get away from him? Why would you yell at someone and then just stand there and wait for his answer with your arms at your side. It was just so awkward.

Anyways... just my thoughts.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 1:49am

^ That's really too bad considering they could have done so much more with the set! That's interesting what you say about it looking like a set built to tour. My guess would be that since it is a limited engagement they did not want to completely settle into the Al Hirschfeld and make renovations for the show.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 2:41am

How were the costumes?

[dave1606]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 9:24am

I went into this show really expecting to hate it, and after Women on the Verge I was starting to think that shows shouldn't open in NY without going out of town. However I wound up loving every second of this adorable show!

My biggest surprise was finding that the music was really good! I thought the majority of the songs really worked! I loved " I'll Believe in You", the second act opener "Nobody Cares about Santa" and "A Christmas Song." These songs were tuneful, forwarded the plot (looking at you Women on the Verge!), and some were very funny!

The sets were adorable, in the style of a Christmas pop-up book, and really fluid. The North Pole and Radio City were among the most impressive.

I was worried about Sebastian at first, but found him to be a perfect buddy. He plays the earnest character perfectly.
Beth Leveal sounded fantastic and does a lot with a smaller part. Amy Spanger nailed her song in the second act!

My only real issue with the show is that some of its humor needs to be adjusted. The schlocky brand based humor annoys me, and some of the adult jokes just need to be cut. (There is a Bulemia joke that has no place in the show. Besides that Elf is easily one of my favorite new musicals of the season!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 11:11am

I think it needed MORE bawdy humor. ELF has always been that movie that walks the line between kids humor and humor for adults. I found myself chuckling maybe once or twice, but other than that I was just kind of bored. It's not a bad show by any means, it's just not inspiring. It's just kind of there. It's not moving the world of musical theater forward, but it's not taking us back. It's just a by-the-book kind of show. I don't think the tunes were was catchy or memorable as Wedding Singer though. Actually, the day after, I can't really sing you any of the songs off the top of my head.

[Anakela]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 11:34am

My main problem with the show, and maybe it is the movie too, but there just doesn't seem to be a point where people are like "What, he's really an elf?" It just sort of happened over intermission. We come back and Spanger's character sings a song about "don't fall in love with an elf." And the parents are talking about he's an elf, but there's never a moment where the audience is let in on the fact that they all have come to terms with that he's an elf and elves are real.

But, he's not an elf? I mean, in the film, he's not an elf, he's a human who it just so happened was raised at the north pole... he's really an elf in the musical?

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 12:38pm

Anyone have a pic of the curtain?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 2:09pm

Sorry to disagree with you RippedMan, but as someone who does see a lot of theater I had a great time, and would recommend this to anyone. Are the sets kind of crappy? Absolutely. I could look past that though, and enjoyed the rest of the production. As far as holiday entertainment goes this beats White Christmas hands down.

The score is very tuneful, if a little generic, but it had me smiling and chuckling with the lyrics. The book does a few cringeworthy jokes (one made by the secretary about being able to drink all the hot chocolate she wants because she's bulimic comes to mind), but even when I was laughing at it, I could appreciate the campy puns. Meehan does throw in a line of self-promotion where Buddy compares himself to Annie with a nice wink to the audience.

The cast seems to be having a blast, and in a show like this that can make all the difference.

This might not sell any tickets on this board when I say this but it reminded me of a mixture of Big, 9 to 5, How to Succeed, Into the Light (truly), with a Subways are for sleeping dance sequence thrown in for good measure. It's about a grown up kid, who invades an office setting and must remind the adults what Christmas/life is all about. Amy Spanger plays the Christa Moore role in Big (she honestly could have performed "Stars, Stars, Stars" and/or "Dancing All the Time" and they would have fit right in). Beth Leavel (in a performance reminiscent of Liza in The Act) and Matthew Gumley are the neglected wife and son of Mark Jacoby. They might be "underused" because we know and like them as actors, but in reality the roles are just the right size for the plot.

I hadn't seen the movie (not a big Will Ferrell fan), and was apprehensive going into the theater, but couldn't have walked out with a bigger smile on my face.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 2:31pm

Whizzer, I am not a big Will Ferrell fan either but I watched the movie recently (finally!) and I loved it, it's really adorable and sweet...sounds like the show is exactly the right tone for the material, I'm excited to see it! :)