You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town! And, by town, that is to say, Akron, OH. And by Santa Claus (who is too busy bossing around Elves in the North Pole during Christmas cruchtime), his special helper that is bringing the character to live in Elf the Musical, Andrew Hendrick, is tackling the iconic role, as well as the role of Mr. Greenway when the sleigh flies into LeBron James’ place of origin on November 11 and 12, at EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall.
The all-new production promises to be a festive start to the holiday season. (Is it that time already!?) The man bringing Santa Claus and Mr. Greenway to life joined CleveRock via a Zoom call to give theater fans a preview of the show.
Hendrick is no stranger to Akron, having passed through town several times to perform in various shows.
“I was actually just in Akron earlier this year, in March, with the tour of Come From Away, and then was in Cleveland, let’s see, last summer with the same show,” he recalled. “And then, I’ve been touring for about 12 years, so I’ve been through Akron maybe three or four times at this point.”
As for his role for his upcoming visit?
“I play Santa Claus,” Hendrick said with pride. “That is a big role to take on. It’s important. Everybody knows and loves Santa Claus, so I am just hoping that I do it justice in our show. I mean, Santa really is kind of like a father figure to Buddy the Elf. Buddy grew up with Santa. Santa has acted as dad his whole life. I’ve been just trying to find the colors of bringing people the Santa that they know and love, but also a character that has been written into this story and has deep meaning to the characters in the show. I also play a character named Mr. Greenway, who is the kind of complete opposite of Santa. He is the mean boss of the company where Buddy’s father works. It’s not really a character you might recognize from the movie. If he does appear in the movie, it’s in a very minimal way.”
The cast is wrapping up tech rehearsals in Springfield, OH, a mere 172 miles southwest of Akron. Hendrick and his castmates visited Young’s Dairy in nearby Yellow Springs, but, unfortunately, the town’s most famous resident, Dave Chappelle, and his comedy club, YS Firehouse, was dark during his time in the area. (Young’s Dairy is a fine consolation prize. (IYKYK!) The tour opens November 1 in Springfield (where Mr. Chappelle is not confirmed to be in attendance), 10 days ahead of shows in Akron.
“It is going great,” he said excitedly of the rehearsals. “It is a massive show, so we are just kind of in the process of figuring all of the things out. Tech is kind of that time when the rehearsal period usually is in a studio, not on a stage. The cast is learning the dancing and the choreography, and then we get to tech, and that’s when all the other elements get put in place. We start wearing the costumes and our shoes, and the lighting gets done, and we’re wearing microphones, so the sound is there. This particular production has the entire back wall as an LED screen wall. Many little magical moments occur with that. Those are being put into place, and we’re rehearsing on our actual set and on our actual stage.”
“It’s less about the actors at that point and more about putting all of the other technical elements of the show together,” Hendrick continued. “That’s what the last week and a half or so been, is really kind of just putting the finishing touches on the show today, crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, what will be our first pass running the entire show without stopping it, just because as you run the show, we’ll go hold here, if there’s a safety issue, or this set piece got caught on something backstage and we need to figure out how to make that traffic work and any number of things. This show has a lot of choreography, and some of it is actually up on tables and desks. So, it’s ensuring that the tables are locked in a way that’s safe for someone to dance on them. Some things you might not even think about when you watch the show, but it’s like, ‘Oh, that desk has to have hydraulic brakes so that it is literally impossible to move, so that somebody can do a cartwheel off of it.’ Safety is always the number one priority for us. Then, of course, we also got to work with our band and our orchestra for the first time a couple of days ago, and they sound incredible. It’s just really fun watching everything come together.”
Now that tech rehearsals are in full swing, the performers and creative team are seeing the show all come together. Audiences will soon have the same opportunity. This actor ain’t spilling too much tea:
“I’m not going to give too many details because you just have to get a ticket and come see it,” Hendrick said coyly. “But at the end of the show, Santa’s sleigh flies. It is cool! It snows in the entire theater, not just on stage. I remember seeing this production on Broadway last year, so I’m not sure if your readers are aware, but this is a brand-new production of the show. The show has been around for a couple of years now, probably for about 10 or more years in its original version. This is a brand-new version of the show: New set, new costumes, a new creative team, new choreography, and it’s based on the Broadway revival that was last year! Even if you’ve seen Elf the Musical come through at some point in the last 10 years, what you’re seeing with our production is a brand new production of the show. And, when I tell you they put a lot into making that magical moment at the end of the show happen, I am not joking! We spent an entire day and a half in the tech process just on that maybe minute and a half part of the show! ”
“It really is a feat of the cast, the crew, lighting, music; it’s all like everybody working together to kind of create one giant spectacle of a moment,” he continued. “I couldn’t possibly describe how incredible it is, so you just have to come see it. Another one that’s not as secretive, is there’s a song in the middle of Act Two called ‘There Is a Santa Claus,’ when the family that Buddy the Elf is living with, his younger brother and his stepmother, kind of all of a sudden realize that they believe in Santa Claus. Then, they sing this really heartwarming song about it called ‘There Is a Santa Claus.’ And, to me, that’s just that moment gives me goosebumps, like a kid who’s not sure whether he believes in Santa Claus and a mother who is definitely too old to believe in that kind of stuff. All of a sudden, they see something and they go, ‘Oh my God, it’s real!’ It’s a really, really wonderful moment in the show. So that’s my favorite song in the show!”
There are noticeable differences in this stage show. (There have to be, right!?) The challenges don’t end with playing two characters (with opposite personalities, no less). Performers ont only have to act the part on stage, they have to dress the part!
“It’s been a real challenge going in and out of the makeup for it, because I start the show as Santa Claus, and then I take it all off and I’m Mr. Greenway. And then, top of Act two, I’m back as Santa Claus, and then in the middle of Act Two, I’m Mr. Greenway. And then at the end of Act Two, I’m Santa Claus again. So it’s been our wig, makeup, and wardrobe team on this show are absolutely incredible,” Hendrick said. “We’ve actually spent a lot of time in our rehearsals figuring out exactly how all of the quick changes are going to work. If I had the time to run back to the dressing room and change, that would be lovely. But at one point in the show, I have about 55 seconds to go from one character to the other. If you’ve ever seen NASCAR or something where the car pulls into the pit and they take all the wheels off and they put new wheels on, and it’s like eight seconds, that’s what it feels like. I run off stage, and then there are eight people around me changing things. It’s truly just one of the coolest things about theater! ”
Given the cultural phenomenon that is the original film, it must have been a complicated story to translate into a live show.
“We have to use theater magic,” Hendrick confirmed.
Finals thoughts from “Santa”:
“It’s an incredible honor. It really is to know that, to know that there are a lot of kids who are seeing Santa in a show, and that it gets to be me,” Hendrick wrapped up. “It’s really fun!”
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