From North Pole to Little Rock, Elf opens at The Rep

If you can still scrounge up a ticket — the Arkansas Repertory Theatre has been selling standing-room for $40 — you can see one of the final performances of Elf the Musical.
If you can still scrounge up a ticket — the Arkansas Repertory Theatre has been selling standing-room for $40 — you can see one of the final performances of Elf the Musical.

A wise elf once said, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

That elf was Buddy, and the story of his journey from the North Pole to New York City in search of his family comes to life onstage in musical form at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre on Friday. Complete with Santa, Jovie, Walter, Emily, Michael and a workshop of elves, this production of Elf has all of audiences’ favorite elements of the 2003 movie.

But it’s also intrinsically different because of the addition of a musical score. Written by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, Elf’s music has “a contemporary kind of pop, sort of tuneful catchiness,” says Ethan Paulini, who plays Buddy, “but the orchestrations are a real throwback to that old-school sound.”

“It creates opportunities for the story to be a little different in terms of the way these people who wrote the adaptation chose to use music to forward the story,” Paulini says. “It kind of changes relationships and dynamics. All this stuff you want to see from the movie is there, but it has a new way of arriving at it.”

Musical direction for The Rep’s production of Elf is provided by Mark Binns, whom audiences will remember from past Rep shows Memphis, Les Miserables and White Christmas.

Paulini says he doesn’t feel any pressure to be the Buddy people know and love from the movie. “Everyone keeps saying, ‘Everyone knows Will Ferrell doing Buddy,’ and I’m not interested in that,” he says. “There’s enough difference in the way they’ve adapted [the script] that the expectation is not that he’s the same Buddy. It’s the same story, and he has the same outlook on the world, but I’m not doing any kind of imitation at all.”

Opening night of Elf is Friday and is sold out. The musical’s run is through Jan. 4, and tickets are very limited. Visit therep.org for showtimes and ticket availability.

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