Elf the Musical returns to London with a new cast and a festive home at the Aldwych Theatre
Debuting on Broadway in November 2010, it’s been a long road for Elf, the musical adaptation of Jon Favreau and David Berenbaum’s hit 2003 Will Ferrell vehicle. Since its premiere, the show has made two further returns to Broadway and three stopovers in London (in 2015, 2022 and 2023, respectively, all concluding their runs shortly after the New Year) as well as multiple US-Canadian tours. Now, the musical commences a new run – its first at the Aldwych Theatre – set to conclude on 3rd January 2026.
The production marks the return of director Philip William McKinley (a veteran of such varied productions as Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark and the 2006 revival of The Most Happy Fella) but touts notable new additions in the casting department. Stepping in for the previous leading duo, Matthew Wolfenden and Georgina Castle, are “theatrical power couple” Joel Montague (Urinetown) and Carrie Hope Fletcher (Cinderella), in the first production in which the two have co-starred. They play Buddy and Jovie, the North Pole-raised manchild seeking his real father in New York and the jaded Gimbels employee he seeks to woo.
However, their romance storyline runs parallel with the story of Buddy’s reconnection with his two families: Walter Hobbs, the embittered businessman who will not claim him as his own, and Father Christmas himself, who fears his job may be at risk from lack of belief in him. They are played, respectively, by Aled Jones and Martyn Ellis (who also plays the former’s boss, Mr Greenway). Filling out the remainder of the core cast are Rosanna Hyland as Buddy’s unofficial stepmother, Emily, Lucinda Lawrence as the battle-hardened commander of Walter’s office, and Dermot Canavan as the harried Gimbels manager who hires Buddy as an employee.
Throughout, this cast is showcased by the songs created by the composer-lyricist duo of Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin. Among them are Sparklejollytinklejingley, with Buddy’s Christmas mall makeover allowing Liam Steel’s choreography to coalesce with Tim Goodchild’s sets and costumes. Elsewhere, Jones is at the forefront of In the Way, a bustling office-set number illustrating Walter’s workaholism, while Nobody Cares about Santa cedes the floor to the ensemble (among them Zack Guest, Kyle Cox, Ryan Jupp and Dominic Lamb), as an assortment of despondent mall Santas decrying their falling standing in the world. Fletcher takes the sardonic solo Never Fall in Love (With an Elf), while Hyland and Samuel Sturge sing the mother-son duet There is a Santa Claus (Sturge is one of four young actors who will play Buddy’s half-brother Michael over the course of the show’s run, with Ayrton English, Harry Georgiou and Max Garlick also to be seen in the role).
Theatregoers, whether they know the film well or are coming to it fresh, can expect the show’s message of holiday togetherness, capped with climactic pyrotechnics as Santa’s sleigh takes centre stage.
Thomas Messner
Photo: Matt Crockett
Elf the Musical is at Aldwych Theatre from 28th October 2025 until 3rd January 2026. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
RSS