When my mother taught me to make Christmas cookies, she would always say, “You have to put a little salt in the icing so it’s not too sweet.” This wisdom applies not only to baked goods but also to many other holiday treats. And it holds true at Toby’s Dinner Theatre’s holiday production of Elf the Musical.
This sweet but snappy confection, based on the 2003 film starring Will Ferrell, debuted as a musical on Broadway in 2010, and the conversion is a natural fit. The story of a little baby who crawls into Santa’s sack, is raised by elves, only to discover he is human and goes in search of his real dad, is tailor-made for music.
Director and Choreographer Mark Minnick has made it a natural fit for Toby’s 360° stage, too, which is no mean feat, ensuring that all actors and dancers are visible to everyone in the audience. But it is in the dances that Minnick’s work really shines, particularly in production numbers like “Sparklejollytwinklejingley,” in which Buddy the Elf brings his love of Christmas and irrepressible good cheer to a bunch of overworked, jaded Macy’s elves, and helps them decorate the store in one night. Props to Anwar Thomas as the Macy’s manager, who first thinks Buddy has come from “Corporate” to check up on him, but ends up singing and dancing with tingly abandon.
The music, in particular, strikes just the right notes of salty and sweet in the production. Music Director Ross Scott Rawlings and his lively orchestra make the most of the score, which, while dependably cute, has a healthy dollop of jazz, especially in Act II. MaryKate Brouillet, as the hard-bitten leading lady Jovie, has a smashing bluesy number about her frustration with the leading man, which is all the funnier because the topic is “Never Fall in Love (with an Elf).” And the Act II opener provides the perfect combination of music, dance, and comedy when a host of frustrated fake Kris Kringles (including one who laments, “Oy vey!”) sing a snazzy, jazzy number, “Nobody Cares About Santa Claus,” complete with growling, muted trumpets and a chair dance worthy of Cabaret. And unlike the cliché of the fake Santa who is a scruffy bum underneath, these are all St. Nicks who care about the joy they provide and are disillusioned that no one in New York feels the magic anymore.
Although Shane Lowrey’s decoration around the perimeter of the auditorium is not as elaborate as for some other Toby’s productions (perhaps because the theater is undergoing an extensive rebuild), there are some lovely effects onstage, including elfin toy-transport trucks in the opening number, very handsome Art Deco desks in the Empire State Building offices, and a mobile Santa’s Sleigh made magical by Lynn Joslin’s lighting effects. And there is one adorable treat of a special effect involving the jolly guy’s flying ride that deserves to be left as a surprise. The costumes coordinated by Sarah King and Janine Sunday delight as well. The elves provide a kaleidoscope of color from their feathered felt Tyrolean hats to their curly pointed shoes. And Santa, rather than wearing the standard-issue white-trimmed suit that all the fake Santas sport, shows up in a resplendent embroidered St. Nick’s robe to complement Mrs. Claus’s gown, which seems to embrace all eras at once.
The performances carry on the theme of Holiday Cheer with a modern touch. The chorus morphs from “Happy All the Time” elves (to the point where even Santa finds them a bit much) to exhausted office workers (led by a snappy and sarcastic Asia Ligé-Arnold in “In the Way”) to jaded denizens of the Big Apple. Still, they’re all good-hearted and soon fall under Buddy’s bubbly spell and join him in a song and a dance.
One of the most compelling characters is Santa himself (Jordan B. Stocksdale), who manages to make a myth one of the most realistic roles in the show. He shows up to narrate the story in overalls and a Christmas sweater, keeps his Naughty/Nice list on an iPad, and shows good-humored frustration with Buddy’s relentless cheerfulness. But it is in Stockdale’s delivery that he makes the character most compelling. He manages a casual, naturalistic tone that contrasts fascinatingly with the fantasy all around him.
Buddy’s found family also captivates, because their characters change. The stepmother, Emily Hobbs (Janine Sunday), begins, understandably, irked at her husband, Walter Hobbs, for blowing off Christmas with her and their son, Michael (at this performance, the excellent Noah Frieman), yet again. But as Buddy’s Christmas cheer grows on them, Emily and Michael find themselves regaining their belief in Santa over the course of a couple of lively duets in which their voices soar beautifully together. David Bosley-Reynolds makes Buddy’s initially disappointing Dad not the greedy Scrooge of the movie, but simply an overworked executive who needs to be reminded what he’s working for.
Brouillet does a good job in her role as the disillusioned, unlucky-in-love department-store elf who falls for Buddy, at first to her annoyance. Her ups and downs are nicely played, and her big solo is a high point of the evening.
And as Buddy, the Elf who carries the show, Toby’s stalwart Jeffery Shankle delivers, as always. Shankle has been anchoring shows here for years, but pulls off Buddy’s elfin charm remarkably well. With his clear, attractive voice, broad range, moderate stature, and perennially youthful looks, he seems made for the part. As the classic “innocent abroad” character, he projects good humor in every situation, and his cheerfulness is always sweet but never cloying. The one moment when he might have done more was in the scene where he is writing his goodbye note (on an Etch-a-Sketch!), having been rejected by his father. Where he might have shown some genuine hurt to contrast with the chorus singing their “Christmas Song” and sent the audience into intermission with a sniffle, he still seems to project more of the cheerful bewilderment that he has shown before. There could have been just a hint of salty tears in the icing here. But perhaps this is a choice by Shankle to play Buddy as more elf than human, to reinforce the reassuring fairy-tale feeling that nothing really bad can ever happen to him. Overall, Toby’s Elf the Musical is a tremendously tasty treat for the holidays, sweet and tart and delightful for children and adults alike. It is currently sold out, but you might try calling the box office to see if any tickets have magically reappeared. After all, Christmas is the season for miracles!
Running Time: Two and a half hours with one intermission.
Elf: the Musical plays through January 4, 2026, at Toby’s Dinner Theatre, 5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia, MD. Tickets, including dinner and show (adult, $78–$96; child, $67–$70), can be purchased by calling 410-730-8311 or online.
The menu is here. The playbill is here.
Thursday – Saturday Evening: Dinner 6 pm, Show 8 pm
Wednesday Matinee and Sunday Brunch: Buffet 10:30, Show 12:30
Thursday – Saturday Evening: Dinner 5 pm, Show 7 pm
Note: Toby’s Dinner Theater is open while under construction. You must enter Toby’s from the front parking lot entrance on Symphony Woods Road, which is flanked by chain-link fences and construction cones. It is nevertheless the correct entrance. Additional parking is also available next door at the Symphony Woods Office Center, 5950 Symphony Woods Rd.
Elf the Musical
Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Based on the New Line Cinema film by David Berenbaum
