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The Coal City Theatre Department is set to bring the holiday spirit to life with its upcoming production of "Elf, Jr." this weekend at the Coal City Performing Arts Center. The musical tells the story of Buddy, an orphaned infant who crawls into Santa's bag one Christmas Eve and grows up at the North Pole. Despite not being adept at elf tasks like toy-making, Buddy excels in other areas such as basketball and singing.
Buddy's world changes when he learns he is actually human and that his father is a non-believer on Santa's naughty list. With Santa's blessing, Buddy travels to New York City to find his father and learn more about himself. In New York, Buddy discovers he has a stepmother and a 12-year-old brother who also doubt Santa's existence. Throughout his journey, Buddy works to unite his new family and spread Christmas cheer.
The production features a cast of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from Coal City Middle School. Tyson Harding plays the lead role of Buddy the Elf. Other key roles include Maddox Meents as Walter Hobbs, Olivia Ferrari as Emily Hobbs, Derek Maxwell as Michael Hobbs, Connor Rodriguez in dual roles as Santa and Mr. Greenway, and Penny D’Arcy as Jovie.
Additional cast members include Jonah Micetich, Jackson Hollis, Cora Bill, Marina Figge, Emma D’Orazio, Brantley Brooks, Payton Boyd, Katherine Veronda, Bradley Street, Ben Stalter, Tess Jeschke, Patrick Doerfler, Aidan Morgan among others.
"Elf Jr." will be performed on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets can be reserved online or purchased at the door before each performance. The musical is based on the New Line Cinema film written by David Berenbaum with music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin.
