Elf The Musical at PTC

Last night I went to see Elf The Musical at Pioneer Theatre and it gave me another big dose of Christmas cheer!  This musical is based on the popular movie starring Will Ferrell and it is a lot of fun.  Buddy (Max Chernin) has been raised as an elf at the North Pole because he crawled into Santa's bag when he was a baby.  After discovering that he is really a human instead of an elf, he decides to travel to New York City to find his Dad, Walter Hobbs (Christopher Gurr), and he ends up bringing Christmas cheer to his new family, his new girlfriend Jovie (Antoinette Comer), and all of the people of New York City.  The choreography is fantastic and I especially enjoyed "Happy All The Time" as the elves at the North Pole make the toys for Santa, "Sparklejollytwinklejingley" as Buddy helps the tap dancing employees at Macy's decorate the store, and "A Christmas Song" as Buddy takes Jovie ice skating in front of Rockefeller Plaza (it is really clever how this is staged).  I also liked having a curmudgeonly Santa Claus (Jason Simon) narrate the story as if he was reading from a book while sitting in an arm chair.  He was the source of much amusement with lots of fun references to popular culture.  Chernin is really endearing as Buddy and I loved his exuberance in "Just Like Him."  Comer is also strong as Jovie and I liked that she showed a bit of vulnerability in "Never Fall In Love (With An Elf)."  However, my favorite performances were by Mary Fanning Driggs as Emily Hobbs and Grant Westcott as Michael Hobbs.  Their voices blended really well together in the songs "I'll Believe In You" and "There Is A Santa Claus."  The costumes for Santa, Buddy, the elves at the North Pole, and the employees at Macy's are elaborate and colorful and the sets, which look like they are inside of a giant snow globe, are impressive.  I also noticed the lighting design (which doesn't always catch my attention) because it is used very effectively to create shadows and outlines to tell the story.  You would have to be a cotton-headed ninny-muggins not to enjoy this production and I recommend it for the whole family.  It runs at PTC through December 18 (go here for tickets).