Elf: Definitely NOT up a "Creek" on this one!
The Production:
Elf Jr.
Presented by Tates Creek Middle School
At the Tates Creek High School Auditorium
Photo by Daniel Roberts
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“It’s Almost Christmas And I’m Singing!”
Christmas just wouldn’t be complete without the humorous story of Buddy the Elf! Join the Tates Creek Middle School students, under the direction of Ryan Briggs, with music director Nicholas Breiner, and get into the holiday spirit! The beautiful sets and brightly-colored Elf costumes will have you singing “Fa La La” in no time flat! Buddy (Alex Losch) leads the cast in a happy-go-lucky portrayal. Although I would argue that his speaking voice is sometimes gruff, his diction is good with nicely delivered lines, and confident vocals.
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That Multi-Talented Jovie
You will love this production’s Jovie (Emma Carty) for her charming humbug attitude, her stylish dance skills, and her beautiful voice. But what you may not know is that Ms. Carty was also the production’s choreographer. Being only in middle school herself, she shows great potential in this field, particularly in the song and dance number “Sparklejollytwinklejingly”, and the sung Curtain Call. While there is room to grow in numbers such as “The Story Of Buddy”, Miss Carty shows great promise as a future choreographer in Lexington!
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Unique New York
This production of Elf holds in store some special moments such as:
•The Elves’ first appearance
•Buddy’s boredom-induced antics in the office
•The “fake Santa” chase.
Additionally, “If You Can Do That Santa” is a well-staged and well-delivered scene between Emily Hobbs (Shelby Matthews) and son Michael (Will Darragh). Music seems to run in the family, as Walter Hobbs (Ben Bratten) joins in the festivities with solid vocals in “Buddy the Elf”.
Unique to every show, every group, and every theatre, are challenges that cast and crew must work together to overcome. According to Director Ryan Briggs, the greatest challenge in putting on this production came this past Monday, when the cast began rehearsing in their performance space, and with full set at that! Although there seemed to be some moments of hesitation while moving large set pieces into place, the cast and backstage crew seem to have acclimated to their snowy surroundings quite well!
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Turn Up The Sparkle!
Photo by Daniel Roberts
I did note in the performance that I saw, that it took a while for the energy to heat up on stage. I would like to encourage all of the performers to UP their Sparkly-game from the get-go. Release the excitement right from the start and watch the energy and performance take flight during the course of the show. I promise that the feeling of a fantastic performance and a grateful audience will reward you! Tighten up those scene changes like you have somewhere to be, to keep the momentum going.
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Photo by Daniel Roberts
See The Show
Dec. 8 at 7pm and Dec. 9 at 2pm & 7pm at the Tates Creek High School Auditorium Tickets At The Door: $5/$7
