Mills Masquers Staging Holiday Production Of 'Elf Jr., The Musical'
Before leaving the North Pole Buddy says goodbye to his fellow elves and Santa. Front row (from left): Ellie Mintle, Liam Harrill, Kadence Sherry, Cooper Cyr, Cameron Wells, Emma Palma, Lydie Ploeger, Khloe Sherry and Metaleen Holman. Back row: Grace Whigham, Callie Durfey, Madden Durbin, Lilly Waller, Quinn Cosgrove and Avery Ridge.
The Mills Masquers’ final installment of the 2022 season hits the stage Friday with a six-night run of the Christmas favorite, “Elf Jr., The Musical.
The Jr. designation means that none of the actors can be over the age of 18. Some 35 students from the age of six to 17 make up the cast of this show featuring five different schools in southwest Iowa.
Elf Jr. is the story of Buddy, who by a switch at birth, grows up at the North Pole with Santa and the rest of the elves. It is only by the slip of a tongue that Buddy discovers that he is not really an elf, so he sets off for New York City to discover his real family.
Buddy is played by Cameron Wells, a sophomore at East Mills High School, who is making his Mills Masquers debut. Cameron perfectly plays Buddy’s hilarious attempts to fit into the human world.
While in New York, Buddy not only meets his real family, but also falls in love with a human named Jovie, played by Nicole Vanatta. Nicole was in last Christmas’ production of “Yes Santa, There is a Virginia.” We get to hear her sing this time around, including the catchy tune, Never Fall In Love With An Elf.
Buddy’s family includes Walter Hobbs, played by Isaac Roach, Emily Hobbs, played by Olivia Lane, and his little brother, Michael, played by Ryan Albright. Cooper Cyr is the perfect foil to Buddy as the diminutive Santa Claus and Wyatt Borchert is Mr. Greenway, Walter’s boss in search of the perfect Christmas story.
Other office workers and Macy’s employees include Rylee Irvin, Peyton McCann, Brylee Durbin, Aviana Kovamees, Lilly Fritz, Jocelyn Vanatta, Jesse Gaunt, Abigail Roach, and Cheyenne Vanatta.
Ethan Roach is the Macy’s manager, Norah Cosgrove is TV reporter Charlotte Dennon and police officers are CJ Horton and Aaron Abler.
No Christmas story from the North Pole would be complete without a cast of elves and we’ve got a bunch of them, including Grace Whigham, Libby Waller, Avery Ridge, Metaleen Holman, Madden Durbin, Callie Duffey, Liam Harrill, Quinn Cosgrove, Khloe Sherry, Kadence Sherry, Emma Palma, Ellie Mintle and Lydia Ploeger.
The show is directed by Jeff Mitts and Jeannie Lorimor with musical direction by Susan Steinke. Kerri Drake is the costumer. Students are also part of the crew including stage manager Abby Lincoln and Will Cook in the light booth.
Elf Jr., The Musical is produced in with MTI Broadway Junior Collection, based on the book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin and the film by David Berenbaum. Music is by Matthew Solar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin.
Show dates include the opening weekend of Friday Dec. 9 and Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m., which is the only matinee of the run. The second weekend includes at 7:30 p.m. shows on Thursday, Dec. 15, Friday, Dec. 16 and Saturday, Dec. 17.
With a large cast, tickets will go fast.
Show goers can purchase tickets by going to the Mills Masquers website at www.millsmasquers.com.