ELF Reviews

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 7:51am

I was looking for the Merchant of Venice reviews and stumbled across an early review of ELF on Backstage.

http://www.backstage.com/bso/reviews-ny-theatre-broadway/ny-review-elf-1004126698.story

I'd call it mixed-to-negative. Leaning more toward the latter. "Even the most fantastic cast possible couldn't rescue this mediocre show."

[DryMartini]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 9:42am

The AP is up via ABC News and is an out and out rave.

AP Reviews Updated On: 11/14/10 at 09:42 AM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 11:33am

I saw this yesterday, and mostly agree with that. I really enjoyed it. It's absolutely adorable. The only one I wasn't fond of was Amy Spanger. Sebastian Arcelus is absolutely adorable though. I hope this gets the positive reviews it deserves.

[singer73192]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 11:42am

If you would have ever told me that "Elf the Musical" would get better reviews than "Women on the Verge" three months ago, I would have thought you were crazy.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 6:34pm

Murray is obviously very negative.

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/Elf.html

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 6:35pm

Murray is such an idiot.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 6:40pm

Matt Windman doesn't like it either.

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/elf-a-lump-of-coal-for-broadway-1.2461159

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 6:51pm

Murray has the good taste and sophistication to recognize a dreadful, plastic piece of crap when he sees it.
Updated On: 11/14/10 at 06:51 PM

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 6:56pm

I haven't seen the show, so I can't comment on any of the review really, but I HAVE seen photos and clips, so I have to ask the AP writer: "Expensive looking?" Really?!

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 7:06pm

Hollywood Reporter is pretty negative.

Raiding the New Line vaults for stage musical material has so far yielded a hit in "Hairspray" and a miss in "The Wedding Singer." Where "Elf," an underpowered Broadway Christmas attraction adapted from the Will Ferrell screen comedy, falls in that commercial spectrum will depend on its holiday box-office pull. But as theatrical entertainment, it's flavorless candy.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/elf-theater-review-45233
Updated On: 11/14/10 at 07:06 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 7:20pm

The Faster Times is mixed.

And so “Elf” the musical, a harmless and occasionally charming stage adaptation that has now opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theater and runs just until January 2, more or less replicates the plot of the 2003 “Elf” movie starring Will Ferrell, about a human named Buddy raised by Santa’s elves who returns to Manhattan to find his father. The film reportedly grossed some $222 million; why tamper with success?

http://thefastertimes.com/newyorktheater/2010/11/14/elf-review/

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 7:21pm

Just watched the 9 minute video feature from BWW. Pleasant enough, but I don't need to see anymore.

[desiree armfeldt]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 7:30pm

I just watched the video too....I find Amy Spanger to be really disingenuous. Do they actually have ice on the stage? Does anyone know how that works?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 7:37pm

It's synthetic ice. Basically, a high-tech kind of plastic that you can skate on.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 7:54pm

* *½ out of four from USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/2010-11-15-elf15_ST_N.htm

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 8:06pm

New Jersey News Room is positive

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/movies/review-elf-musical-tunes-up-a-christmas-comedy

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 8:07pm

"White Christmas" got mostly negative reviews during its initial run in 2008, but it was a success.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 8:58pm

A financial success doesn't "prove" anything -- other than the majority of theater goers have no taste in many cases.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 10:04pm

http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/theater/reviews/15elf.html

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 10:13pm

Sounds like Isherwood spiked his egg nog good and hard. But then I'd be spiking mine plenty if faced with enduring this pablum.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 10:38pm

Entertainment Weekly liked it. They gave it a B.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20364394_20442141,00.html

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 10:41pm

It will be interesting to see if ELF can succeed in spite of these reviews, ala The Grinch and White Christmas. I think the real difference here is that both of those titles had a long history behind them, so there were at least two generations of nostalgia loving audiences to sell tickets to. I don't think ELF has that kind of loyalty, so it probably needed reviews more.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 10:47pm

Variety's review is Positive:

"Tuner is happy enough for families, savvy enough for city kids and plenty smart for adults. Nicholaw's staging successfully retains the many charms of the movie, and his choreography is filled with delightful touches, starting with the very first number, when he cleverly manages to make his 6-foot-plus leading man, Sebastian Arcelus, look twice the size of his dancing elves. Librettists Thomas Meehan ("The Producers") and Bob Martin ("The Drowsy Chaperone") retain the spirit and cheer of the film while cannily punching it up: Their Santa travels with an iPad tucked in his belt, which not only earns big laughs but illustrates that "Elf," which is only seven years old, has been given a knowing brush-up for Broadway.

The show seemingly has learned lessons from the overpowering screen-to-stage adaptations of "Shrek" and "The Little Mermaid," whose producers tried to overwhelm audiences with super-sized effects that all but drained their wares of magic. Here, the creators invite the audience to use its imagination --and auds are sure to respond. In fact, "Elf" is the antithesis of "Big: The Musical": Just about everything that went wrong with that big-budget fiasco goes right here."

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117944045?refcatid=33&printerfriendly=true Updated On: 11/14/10 at 10:47 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 10:47pm

It will be interesting to see if ELF can succeed in spite of these reviews, ala The Grinch and White Christmas. I think the real difference here is that both of those titles had a long history behind them, so there were at least two generations of nostalgia loving audiences to sell tickets to. I don't think ELF has that kind of loyalty, so it probably needed reviews more.

Do you know how hard it is to procure tickets to Elf from Thanksgiving to Christmas?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/14/10 at 10:56pm

Was anyone really expecting South Pacific with this?

It is a Holiday Tourist show.