Elf Broadway Stars on How Musical Differs From Will Ferrell Movie

From Waitress to The Notebook and even Mean Girls — whose screen-to-stage adaptation was then adapted into a movie musical earlier this year — Broadway is no stranger to drawing on iconic films for stage productions.

Elf: The Musical is the latest in this long line of silver screen-to-Broadway adaptations. While the show shares characters, a story arc and even dialogue with the 2003 holiday movie that stars Will Ferrell — as much as he looks and sounds like the comedian, Buddy the Elf is, in fact, played by Mean Girls alum Grey Henson in the show — the new musical differs from the film in a few key ways.

“It’s really important to remember that the mediums are very different for a reason,” Sara Bareilles — who scored the Broadway adaptation of Waitress, which premiered on stage in 2015 — told Us Weekly exclusively while supporting the opening night of Elf: The Musical at the Marquis Theatre on November 17, 2024. “One of the things we discovered in adapting Waitress was that things that we had to not be precious. You have to give some breathing room from exactly what happened in the movie in order to make it work on stage.”

The most prominent difference between the Broadway show and the film is that it’s a musical, featuring a score by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin. The story also differs with a few key elements: most notably, that the show is narrated by Santa Claus (played by Sean Astin) rather than Papa Elf.

Below, the cast of Elf: The Musical — on Broadway now until January 4, 2025 — tells Us how they drew from the film’s characters in their performances and how they think the musical’s story differs from the original beloved holiday classic:

Grey Henson as Buddy the Elf

With a tall, stocky frame reaching over 6 feet, curly, ginger-tinted hair and a childlike charm suited perfectly for Buddy the Elf, Henson, 34, certainly bears a strong resemblance to his character’s film counterpart, Ferrell.

“Someone told me 10 years ago that I would be the perfect Buddy the Elf in a musical, so it’s always been in the back of my mind,” Henson told Us on opening night. “This might be the best and only role I should ever play.”

Henson shared that while he didn’t directly study Ferrell’s performance to inform his own interpretation of Buddy, the comedian’s influence was inevitable.

“[Will’s] performance is so deeply injected into my veins because I know the movie so well, as we all do, so I don’t even have to think of the performance to let it inspire what I do with it,” he shared. “But what’s so special about doing adaptations of shows is that it’s inevitable that you’re going to do it differently because I’m a different person. … You can’t escape being authentic.”

Kayla Davion as Jovie

Jovie, Buddy’s romantic interest in the story, was first played by Zooey Deschanel in the film — which leaves some big shoes to fill. But Kayla Davion was up for the challenge — and ready to infuse her own personality into the role.

“What drove me to this project was the text. It doesn’t give a classical musical theater vibe. There’s nuance to it. It’s elevated,” she told Us at the opening. “I knew that I would be able to play Jovie as myself, which is the most important to me, especially as a Black woman stepping into the role that you haven’t seen typically as a Black woman. So, I wanted to make sure that the text would actually fit me. And it does! I love it.”

While the two Jovies certainly differ, Davion said that the heart of the performance staying the same is all that matters.

“It’s understanding that the foundation is built on love and it’s about finding love and what that means to you,” she said. “In terms of myself, I have different comedic timing than [Zooey] does. Which is beautiful. I love being able to step into the role and use my comedic timing, knowing that that’s OK.”

While she has never met Deschanel in person, Davion said it “would be so amazing” if she did: “Tell her I say, ‘Hit me up’ please!”

Michael Hayden as Walter Hobbs

As the grumpy, work-obsessed father who learns to believe in Christmas spirit, Walter Hobbs is a big part of the heart of the story. While Michael Hayden, who takes on the role in the musical, acknowledges that some aspects of his character had to be changed for the stage, he still took inspiration from the late James Caan’s performance in the film.

“James Caan performs him very well in the film, but this is a stage musical, so there has to be a bit more scope to the character,” Hayden told Us. “I think they’ve done that, but they haven’t lost the essential humanness and that edgy, frustrated [man] who comes kicking and screaming to his heart opening up at the end, and that’s a lot of fun to do.”

Ashley Brown as Emily Hobbs

“There’s definitely the essence of the movie that everybody knows and loves, and I think that’s what makes it special is that everybody is getting what they want,” Ashley Brown, who plays Emily Hobbs, a role originated by Mary Steenburgen in the film, told Us. “They want to see the story they know, but the lines they’ve added [and] the music just puts even more heart into it.”

She continued: “Of course, it’s silly and funny and we all love it so much, but I think the music and all of the dancing and everything adds more heart.”

Kalen Allen as Store Manager

With a Christmas album (Christmas Memories), a Netflix Christmas movie (Meet Me Next Christmas) and now, Elf: The Musical, Kalen Allen might be the biggest Christmas fan in the cast. While the iconic Central Park scene in the movie — where Santa’s sleigh is finally able to fly thanks to Christmas spirit — can’t be replicated in the exact same way for the stage, Allen thinks the musical’s interpretation of that scene is just as magical.

“It does not matter how many times I’ve watched that movie, at the end, when the sleigh flies over them, I burst into tears,” Allen, who takes on the role as the Macy’s store manager in the musical, told Us on opening night. “In our show, there’s a moment very similar at the end, and I watch the kids react and even the adults and see so much wonder in their faces. There’s nothing like it.”