I’ve never been shy to admit that Elf is my favourite Christmas movie. I first saw the 2003 film at the cinema with my after school drama teacher who needed a child to take to a “kids‘” movie, and I’ve rewatched it almost every year since. It’s a perfect festive treat for many reasons, and much of them can be attributed to Will Ferrell’s endearing performance as the suspiciously-tall Buddy the Elf, and the surprising amount of nuance and heart poured into a story about convincing a bunch of stony-faced New Yorkers to believe in the magic of Santa.
It’s a bit of a shame then, to head along to the Australian premiere of Elf: The Musical at the Sydney Opera House with literal bells on, as a musical fanatic, to find that they’ve over-sweetened the syrupy musical numbers, and all but lost the secret sauce that brings depth to the film. Of course, musical-ifying something always requires a certain degree of glitz, and this production is endearing in its own way – but unfortunately, Elf: The Musical makes some unimaginative choices, which can leave you with an artificially-sweet aftertaste.
The book, by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan, removes Papa Elf from the cast of characters (the lovable old elf who “forgot” to have children, and raised Buddy as his own) and instead has Santa Claus narrate the story. As Santa kicks off the show, there are hints that we may be in for some meta-theatrical, interactive panto fun. However, this isn’t developed any further, and Santa’s distaste for...
From immersive art that sees you wandering through a light-up underwater forest, to music festivals that take you from sunset well into the night – summer is when Sydney comes alive. Soak up the sun, then take it to the max over the long hot nights with parties, up late events, street markets and more. There’s no excuse not to be out and about.
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