“Elf: The Musical” choreographer Connor Gallagher says the production is one of the most complicated that he has ever choreographed. The production is based on the Will Ferrell film, “Elf,” with lots of song and dance added to the charming story of an orphan raised by elves.If You Go• What: “Elf: The Musical”• When: 7:30 p.m. today and Friday, Nov. 6-7• Where: Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Ave.• Admission: $20-$74.50 adults• Phone: 423-642-TIXS• Website: ChattanoogaOnStage
Santa and Buddy share a moment inside Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole in “Elf: The Musical.”When the producers of the “Elf: The Musical” set about to create a Broadway adaptation of the film “Elf,” they knew they were unlikely to find someone who could play the lead role as Will Ferrell had in the movie. So they didn’t try. Instead, they created a piece that focuses on the story and threw in a lot of high-energy song and dance.
“This is one of the most complicated shows I’ve ever choreographed,” says Connor Gallagher, who did the original choreography three years ago and reworked it for an updated version that will be at Memorial Auditorium tonight and Friday, Nov. 6-7.
The scene in the toy store when the elves are getting ready for a visit from Santa, for example, “has people and packages flying through the air all over the place,” Gallagher says. “There is a lot going on.”
Gallagher also has choreographed “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” “Bunnicula,” “The Fabulous Lipitones” and “Fat Camp.” He says it’s been interesting to look at “Elf’s” choreography again. “You always discover new things and new ways of doing it.”