ELF The Musical playing at The Paramount Theatre. Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Need a little help getting into the holiday spirit? Look no further than Elf the Musical, now playing at Seattle’s Paramount Theater. Theatre in itself is magical, the way a story is brought to life with props and backgrounds is really amazing. Add a Christmas theme and you’ve got a delightful package that is sure to be remembered for years to come.
My daughter and I were gifted 2 two tickets to see the show on opening night in exchange for our review. It isn’t often that I get one-on-one time with each of my three kids so this was pretty special.
The Paramount Theatre is one of my favorite places in Seattle. We enjoyed taking in all the beautiful details of the building before the show while also enjoying a slice of Peppermint Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory down the street. I imagine this dessert would be Buddy the Elf approved!
Our seats were awesome. We had a great view, but truly, all the seats in the house offer a lovely view of the show. If you aren’t familiar with the story or haven’t seen the movie (New Line Cinema 2003), here’s the synopsis:
Elf is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Sant’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities caus him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner ELF.
The set and costumes were fun and whimsical. We loved how the elves were actual performers wearing shoes on their knees which were acting as their feet. This couldn’t be an easy task but it was executed well, giving the illusion of elf sized stature. Santa was very authentic looking and of course Buddy was wonderful in his green elf outfit and tights. The singing and music was festive, beautiful and FUN! There was even a scene where it was snowing on set!
The musical features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer) and Chad Beguelin (Disney’s Aladdin, The Wedding Singer).The production features direction by Sam Scalamoni and choreography by Connor Gallagher. Casting is by Stewart/Whitley.
ELF will be at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre for only ten performances. The remaining schedule for the Seattle engagement is:
Thursday, December 7 7:30pm
Friday, December 8 1 pm and 8:00pm
Saturday, December 9 10am, 3:00pm and 8:00pm
Sunday, December 10 1:00pm – An ASL/AVIA Interpreted performance
6:30pm – An Open Caption performance
For tickets to these performances, call the TTY line at 888-331-6774.
Tickets start at $30 and are available on-line at STGPresents.org, Ticketmaster.com, by calling 1–800-745-3000 or in person at The Paramount Theatre Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm).
ELF is part of the 2017/2018 KeyBank Broadway at The Paramount series, presented by Seattle Theatre Group, with support for the eighth year from KeyBank as the series title sponsor. Brotherton Cadillac is the official auto sponsor, The Roosevelt Hotel is the official sponsor hotel and Delta Airlines is the official airline sponsor of KeyBank Broadway at The Paramount.
Additional information about ELF is available at www.ElfTheMusicalOnTour.com.
A fun family musical.