Durango Arts Center’s Applause! performing arts program is bringing its production of “Elf the Musical, Jr.” to the DAC stage starting tonight.
With a cast of more than 40 kids – and only kids; no adults are in the show – the program has been working on this version of “Elf” made specifically for children since October,
“We’ve got some fantastic kids in it right now ... These kids are really showing up, says Applause! Program Director Jason Lythgoe. “Kids that I’ve had for the year all of the sudden, just, ‘Where did you come from? Where did that voice come from? You’ve been working over the summer, awesome, thank you!’ and these kids are so dedicated and into it, that it just makes my job so much easier.”
If you haven’t seen the 2003 movie “Elf” starring Will Ferrell, here’s the story: Buddy the elf discovers that he’s human, not an elf at all. Santa, who raised Buddy, tells him his story and sends him down to New York to meet his biological father, an executive at a children’s book publishing company. It’s up to Buddy to work his way into this new world.
“It’s just that fish-out-of-water story where everything kind of goes wrong, and then goes right at the end,” Lythgoe says.
katie@durangoherald.com
If you go
What:
“Elf the Musical Jr.”
When:
7 p.m. Dec. 9-10 and Dec. 16-17; 1 p.m. Dec. 10 and 17.
Where:
Durango Arts Center Theatre, 801 East Second Ave.
Tickets:
$12 DAC members and children ages 12 and younger, $15 general. Tickets are available at http://durangoarts.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=1833.
