The holidays are upon us and BroadwayWorld is continuing our favorite annual tradition of celebrating the holiday season with a Twelve Days of Christmas countdown. This year we are featuring some of our favorite members of the 2024 Broadway scene to share some of her most cherished holiday songs, films, and performances. This year’s coutdown is sponsored by Elf The Musical- running on Broadway through January 4 at the Marquis Theatre.
Elf The Musical is the hilarious and heartwarming tale of Buddy, a young orphan whose life is changed forever when he mistakenly crawls into Santa’s sack of toys one Christmas Eve. Raised by elves at the North Pole, Buddy’s enormous size and limited toy-making abilities make him realize he may not quite fit in! When he discovers he is actually human, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, and in turn, helps the Big Apple and the people he meets rediscover the true meaning of Christmas. Featuring a mistletoe-tapping score and a knockout cast – including a “terrific” (Deadline) Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings) as Santa Claus and a “delightful and exuberant” (The New York Times) Grey Henson (Mean Girls, Shucked) as Buddy – this is one holiday charmer you won’t want to miss.
Sean Astin and Ashley Brown are currently sharing the stage at the Marquis Theatre in Elf, in which they play Santa and Emily Hobbs respectively. What they like to watch during the holidays might not be such a surprise…
“Oh, it’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ for me,” Astin told BroadwayWorld. “We watch it on Christmas Eve and it’s an absolute staple. But I also have to say…Elf! If we don’t watch it at least twice… it’s not Christmas! You know what I mean?”
“The go-to song for me is ‘Oh Holy Night’. It’s the first solo I ever sang as a child in church and so that is the song that definitely has to be played,” added Brown. “And honestly, I know that sounds silly, but I have to watch Elf every year! It’s just it’s part of the season!”
Astin is making his Broadway debut in Elf. Astin is known for classic characters: Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rudy in Rudy, Mikey Walsh in Spielberg’s The Goonies, Doug Whitmore in 50 First Dates, Bob Newby in Netflix’s Stranger Things and most recently Tyler on ’S The Conners. Astin is the son of luminary performers, Patty Duke and John Astin.
Brown’s Broadway creditis include: originated Mary Poppins (Outer Critics, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations), Beauty and the Beast (Belle). Off-Broadway: How I Learned to Drive. National tours: Mary Poppins (Garland Award), The Sound of Music (Mother Abbess) and On the Record. Chicago Lyric: Oklahoma! (Laurey) and Showboat (Magnolia). Encores!: The Golden Apple (Mrs. Juniper/Madame Calypso). The Muny: The Sound of Music (Maria) and Cinderella (Marie/Fairy Godmother). Concert: Ragtime (Mother).
