Christmas has come early to the east coast. It may have only been late September but we were all in a festive mood for Elf The Musical by The Lowestoft Players, with Christmas tunes playing and an inventive set of LED screens, that projected festive scenes of New York onto the backdrop and meant the action could change at just a flick of a switch. It was so clever and, with the lighting as well, gave the whole show a bright and energetic feel. You certainly couldn’t help but feel happy.
Indeed Elf – the Musical is full of energy, from the opening number, when the chorus arrives as Santa’s elves with strong knees and a fun way to convey their limited stature, right through every song and scene, to an emotionally touching end.
Buddy has spent his whole life living with Santa and the Elves at the North Pole. He’s about 4 feet taller than everyone else, a terrible toymaker, and blissfully unaware that he is human. Santa sends him on a journey to find his birth father, discover who he really is, and help jaded New Yorkers remember the true meaning of Christmas.
The whole company was terrific, with some polished dance routines, and lively singing and the ensemble threw themselves into the variety of parts they played.
From the principles, special mention must be made of Ric Gardener-Collis who plays the lead Buddy with tremendous vigor and bundles of charm, he has a lovely singing voice and great physical comedy. I also really enjoyed Daisy Rodgers as cynical Jovie, world-weary of love and Christmas. Her delivery of the number ‘Never Fall in Love (With an Elf)’ was a highlight.
Paula Crisp and Dan Clark make a great pairing as Emily and Walter Hobbs and, on the night I saw the show, Bruno Ashford played Michael with great confidence. But what a gift of a part is Debs for Hannah Lucas, Walter’s put-upon, gossipy but kind-hearted secretary. She gets some great lines, which she delivers with impeccable comic timing, and has the best New York accent of the cast with just the perfect amount of American east coast twang.
The show is as sparkly as the lights on the Christmas tree, as warming as mulled wine and as sweet as a mince pie and cream. It’s tremendous fun and although a bit early for Christmas I’d absolutely recommend taking the whole family along.
Elf – The Musical is on from Friday 6th – Sunday 8th October at The Players Theatre in Lowestoft – for more details and tickets go to their website here.
SUFFOLK THEATRE 