Elf: The Musical
Dominion Theatre
4th November 2015
3 Stars
Book Tickets
They say Christmas starts earlier every year and anyone who has been to the Dominion Theatre recently would be hard pressed to disagree. With fireworks being dusted off in readiness across the capital, there was a different sort of festivity in the air this week thanks to Elf the Musical.
I seem to be in the small subsection of humanity who has never seen the original film, and so didn’t really know what to expect. Although I had heard positive murmurings about the Broadway production, I had seen a brief preview of this show at West End Heroes last month that left me cold (and not in a Christmassy way).
The story revolves around Buddy, a human who lives in a world of elves. He discovers that he doesn’t belong at the North Pole and so goes to New York to meet his real family, who all naturally think that he has lost his mind. The production follows the affable Buddy’s learning curve, as he gets a job, falls in love and gets thoroughly confused by human life.
Although the production can’t claim credit for the bulk of the script, Elf is a heartwarming affair, with some touching highs and lows. As well as the obvious morality tale, the play also nicely skewers life in the big city and how bizarre some of the absurdities of urban life can be.
The score was functional and festive but not generally remarkable. There are a few high points; World’s Greatest Dad is fun and energetic and is later reprised to good effect. A later song called Buddy the Elf is also catchy, although its lyrics aren’t particularly inspiring; essentially a synopsis of the production until that point.
The strongest element of the whole night is Ben Forster as Buddy; it’s a masterful performance that has the audience eating out of his hand. Not only does he have a five-star singing voice, he is achingly likeable and amusing. He combines Buddy’s naivety and innocence with a depth and inner resolve; it could well be the best musical performance I’ve seen this year.
Kimberley Walsh seemed less convincing as Buddy’s love interest, Jovie. Whilst her singing voice is clearly excellent, she seems to lack the magnetism in her acting needed to make the part work. She seemed somewhat plain and one-note; you almost felt like Buddy could do better.
Amongst the rest of the cast, Graham Lappin puts in a fine comic performance as the store manager struggling to deal with an unusual new employee. Joe McGann was perfectly grouchy as Buddy’s father, Walter Hobbs, although his singing voice was a touch on the gravelly side.
The choreography seemed oddly muted and generic; except for some clever use of sacks by the dancing Santas in Nobody Cares about Santa Claus. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but a lot of it seemed less inventive than what you might see elsewhere, especially the tap sections.
However, the staging was truly epic, with a colossal set, complete with a vibrant big screen that is well used to add atmosphere. There’s also more to Santa’s sleigh than first meets the eye, with a finale that brought smiles to the faces of many of the children in the audience.
Elf is set to be a Christmas hit with adults and children alike. Whilst it lacks the magic of a family classic like Matilda, Elf will put even the biggest Scrooge in a fun and festive mood.
Elf runs until 3rd January 2016 at the Dominion Theatre, Book tickets now.
