On Friday February 13th, the MTI office will close at 1 PM ET and remain closed through Monday, February 16th in observance of President’s Day. Office operations will resume on Tuesday, February 17th. Please be advised that we are experiencing delays in scanning returned materials and are five business days behind in sending out shipments. The shipping date(s) listed in your MyMTI account might not indicate the actual date your materials will ship. We apologize for the inconvenience and greatly appreciate your patience.
Show History
History
Inspiration
Elf The Musical, with a book by Tony winners, Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Thomas Meehan (The Producers), music by Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer), and lyrics by Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), is a musical comedy based on the 2003 holiday film of the same name. The original film starred Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel and quickly became a Christmas classic. The musical brought together the vintage comic styles of Martin and Meehan, with the high-energy contemporary music of Sklar and Beguelin.
Productions
Elf premiered on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 24, 2010, after an industry reading the year before. It ran for a limited engagement during the holiday season, until January 2, 2011, after 57 performances. During the 2012 holiday season, the production company, NETworks, launched a "mini-tour" of the musical, traveling all the way from Rhode Island to Florida.
Following the huge success of the original production, Elf returned to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 9, 2012, and ran until January 6, 2013, with a revised book and a completely new opening number. The changes in the musical carried through to two separate national tours that started in 2013, one union and one non-union. Outside of Broadway, the show has seen a fair amount of engagement. The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle produced its first regional production, while the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, housed the international premiere.
Cultural Influence
- Elf broke box office records at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre three times during its first run.
- The original run of Elf was the third-best selling show in the 2010 Thanksgiving weekend, behind Wicked and The Lion King.
Trivia
- Elf was nominated for a Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Musical in 2011.
- Celebrities that have starred in Elf include: George Wendt (Santa), Wayne Knight (Santa), Beth Leavel (Emily), Sebastian Arcelus (Buddy), Amy Spanger (Jovie), Mark Jacoby (Walter), Jordan Gelber (Buddy), and Matthew Gumley (Michael).