If you go
› What: Christian Family Theater’s “Elf the Musical Jr.”› When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19, 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20.› Where: Lundy Hall Theater at Brainerd United Methodist Church, 4315 Brainerd Road.› Admission: $12 in advance, $15 at the door; $10 groups of 15+.› Email: contact@cftchattanooga.com.› Website: www.cftchattanooga.com.
In “Elf the Musical Jr.,” Buddy helps his dad pitch a new book to company executives during the song “Buddy the Elf.” In front, from left, are Max Stoll as Michael Hobbs, Hunter Landreth as Walter Hobbs and Caelan Austin as Buddy. Behind the table are Alyssa Boring, Harrison Stoll, Tori Humenik, Olivia Kelly and Braxton Warren.Forgive the young actors of Christian Family Theater if they’ve been a little elf-obsessed lately. Blame it on the elf-evaluations necessary to get into character for their holiday production, “Elf the Musical Jr.,” to be presented in three performances this weekend.
Rehearsals have left no room for elf-doubt, elf-denigration or elf-criticism, except for the constructive kind.
If that sounds elf-aggrandizing, it’s not. For this musical about a boy’s quest to find his true identity, it’s all about elf-acceptance, elf-advancement and elf-motivation.
“The story encourages each of us to approach each day with goodwill, wonder and cheer,” says Drew Cohen, president of licensing agency Music Theatre International, in a news release.
The musical is based on the the 2003 feature film “Elf,” about a young orphan who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is given the name Buddy and raised by elves. Buddy lives happily unaware that he is actually a human until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth.
With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and his stepbrother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of the holidays.
The musical features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin and a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin.
Dale Dye is directing the cast of 25, with musical direction by Judy Reich and choreography by Christi Barr.
“These young actors have worked very hard to put together a great show for our community,” says Dye.
And that sounds like the best kind of elf-affirmation.
Buddy the Elf (Caelan Austin) asks for forgiveness after he forgets to show up for his date with Jovie (Alyssa Whitesell) in “Buddy the Musical Jr.”