The bustling crowd congregates in the Legacy auditorium shortly before the doors open to enter the magical Christmas setting of Elf Jr. the Musical. Each seat quietly fills as the lights dim and the cast bursts into uplifting musical numbers, all eyes and ears on Santa Claus.
Santa Claus and Buddy the Elf, senior Christian Hachat and sophomore Austin Wright burst into a musical number which sets the tone for the entire musical. Wright and Hachat complete the opening scene with the iconic sitting on Santa’s lap.
“You said I was a human!” student Buddy the Elf cries out as the elves around him try to weasel their way out of an explanation, this scene stages the entire purpose of the musical: a family holiday quest.
Following the opening scene, the audience meets Walter Hobbs, played by sophomore Cameron Miller, and his comical family, which have a grudge against Walter working through Christmas. This prompted a soulful duet by Emily Hobbs and Michael Hobbs, juniors Kathryn Pedroza and Zachary Cerda, who lead the crowd to cheer the students on and keep eyes intently fixated.
“I got your letter, it’s on the iPad!” student Santa Claus yells at Michael and Emily.
The audience burst into laughter as the musical had been adjusted to today’s technology, bringing the audience to giggle throughout the hour-long show.
A series of pitch-perfect solos about personal sorrows around Christmas time come and go, each joined by the whole cast by the end of the song.
Applause and laughter drift through the audience at the end of each musical performance, the cast showed what a true family looked like which spread to the audience. Closing out the musical for the night, the cast joined together in one final hurrah, which brought a feel-good ending for the musical and a warm reminder for Christmas this month.
