Lights up on ‘ELF,’ ‘Let Nothing You Dismay’ during holidays
In a madcap, busy holiday season for theater, almost every local company has a show running. Making its Atlanta debut next week courtesy of Broadway Across America is “Elf The Musical,” with out performer Spencer Glass as part of its large ensemble.
The stage version is not much different from the hit 2003 movie starring Will Ferrell, in which an elf named Buddy, after realizing he is a human being, leaves his adopted family at the North Pole to find his father in New York City. Casey Nicholaw, the out director who was in Atlanta recently with “Tuck Everlasting,” directed the first Broadway run in 2010.
As part of the ensemble, Glass plays eight different roles. He also understudies for Buddy and recently got to go on in the lead role. Glass describes the character as “a puppy dog. He’s a beautiful child living in a 30-year-old man’s body, a human born in America who accidentally made it to the North Pole,” he says.
The performer attended the Boston Conservatory, graduated in 2013, and afterward dabbled in roles here and there and also worked for Disney Cruise Line. This is his first national tour and he is understandably excited. It’s a short run, though, since it’s a production for the Christmas season. He will end his run in January. After that he has no set plans—it will be back to auditioning.
Glass feels “Elf ” is a show that LGBT audiences can appreciate just as much as anyone. He is particularly proud of the final scene, which involves a gay couple onstage.
Topher Payne’s new production, ‘Let Nothing You Dismay’
Synchronicity Theatre; Dec. 4–27 www.synchrotheatre.com
Threshold festival of new play readings
Actor’s Express; Dec. 5–6 www.actors-express.com
‘Madeline’s Christmas’
Horizon Theatre; Dec. 5–31 www.horizontheatre.com
‘Libby’s at the Express: Ho, Ho, Home for the Holidays and a Connie Sue Day Christmas’
Actor’s Express; Dec. 11–20 www.actors-express.com
November 27, 2015