NEWS
Santa’s Elves Invade the Armour Street Theater—in a Prelude to the Christmas Season
The story of Santa’s comedic elf is an entertaining, popular, pre-Christmas drama. The Davidson Community Players (DCP) Connie Company’s musical version about the junior elf seeking identity is a brave undertaking considering the amazing number of continual set changes that take place on a darkened stage throughout the lively one-act play.
A resounding round of applause goes to the efficient young set crew headed by its Chief, Luke Tyrell. They include Mallory Hixon, Emerson Bishop, Dylan Underwood, Jordan White, Amelia Rizzardi-Leazer, and Avery Baker. Bravo! Job well done.
Under the direction of Katie Mullis, DCPs Connie Company has been staging elf, Jr. The Musical for a couple of weeks at the Armour Street Theatre in Davidson. The show’s book was written by Tom Meehan and Tom Martin with music and lyrics by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin.
In his first role with the Connie Company, Devin Slade remains continually on-stage playing the leading role of Buddy the Elf, who leaves Santa’s workshop at the North Pole in search of his parentage. Along the way, he falls in love with Jovie, played by Cassidy Wade.
“elf jr The Musical”
Buddy finds the Hobbs family in New York and identifies Walter Hobbs, performed by Hudson Hughes, as his father. Dakota Kepley plays Mrs. Emily Hobbs; their son Michael Hobbs is played by Nicholas Underwood.
Santa Claus is performed by Seth Bernier who also plays the role of Mr. Greenway. Charlie is performed by Liam McSorley, Shawanda by Lacey Barnes, and Deb by Libby Rhea.
Cole Knight performs as Manager, Luke Tyrell as Chadwich, Hadley Ashcraft as Charlotte Dennon, and Stella Comiskey as Emma Van Brocklin.
Anaya Davis plays two roles, Sarah, and Saleswoman—so does Kennedy Bishop, who plays Darlene Lambert and Sam.
There are five cleverly costumed actors who play and dance as #1 through #5 Elves, including Paige King, Maxwell Rizzardi-Leazer, Caleb Urbanek, Elliet Franklin, and Valentina Gallicano. Sydney Feres and Eliza Fitzgerald make up the Ensemble.
“elf jr The Musical”
The beautiful costumes in elf Jr. The Musical, designed by Beth Killion, are magnificent. Well-executed dances were choreographed by Jenna Tyrell, with music directed by Vicki Clayton Harvell.
elf Jr. The Musical is a lively show with lots of fun! If you still can get a ticket to the remaining performances, it is worth a try. An additional performance has been added at 4 o’clock, Friday afternoon, in addition to the scheduled 7:00 p.m. show. Saturday and Sunday performances are at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.
Connie Fisher
Connie Fisher, neé Consuelo Carmona, is a Davidson resident who grew up in Mexico City where she became a journalist and acquired a taste for the theatre. Her preference for work behind the scenes led to an interest in writing reviews—Yale Rep among her favorite troupes. Connie is the author of Doing it the Right Way, the biography of an Italian hatmaker. Her prose appears with 87 other international writers in The Widows’ Handbook. An active, founding member of Lake Norman Writers, Connie just released her latest book, "The Mongrel, Bi-cultural Adventures of a Latina-Scandinavian Youth," a memoir about her years growing up in Mexico.