Based on the film of the same title, Elf has a score by Wedding Singer songwriters Matthew Sklar (music) and Chad Beguelin (lyrics) and a book by Tony Award winners Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Thomas Meehan (Annie, Hairspray, The Producers).
The holiday run, which will run through Jan. 6, 2013, will reunite members of the original 2010 Broadway creative team. Elf premiered at the Hirschfeld Theatre in 2010.
Casting will be announced at a later date.
Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, The Drowsy Chaperone) is the director and choreographer of Elf. The musical comedy broke records at the Hirschfeld box office three times over the course of its 58-performance run in 2010 and grossed $1,572,835.50 million during Christmas week.
Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in association with Unique Features is presenting the nine-week return engagement. Elf is the third holiday offering announced to play New York City this season. The new musical A Christmas Story!, by Dogfight songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, will play Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre beginning in November; and the national tour of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical will play the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in December.
Elf has designs by Tony winners David Rockwell (scenic design), Gregg Barnes (costume design) and Natasha Katz (lighting design) as well as Tony nominee Peter Hylenski (sound design), Josh Marquette (hair and wig design) and Zachary Borovay (projections). Tony winner Doug Besterman provides orchestrations.
The 2010 cast featured Sebastian Arcelus (Jersey Boys, Wicked) as Buddy, Amy Spanger (Rock of Ages, The Wedding Singer) as Buddy's love interest Jovie, Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone, Mamma Mia!) as Emily, Mark Jacoby (Sweeney Todd, Show Boat) as Walter and George Wendt ("Cheers," Hairspray) as Santa.
According to producers, "Elf is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Buddy is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and his step-brother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner Elf."
A cast album preserves the original Broaday production.
Here's a look at the 2010 production:
