Elf: Steven Serlin’s sleepless Liverpool nights
World’s Biggest Panto is coming to the home of The Beatles
Elf star Steven Serlin recalls sleepless nights in Liverpool as he returns with World’s biggest panto.
HIS journey from the winter wonderland of Santa’s North Pole toy workshop to the bustling streets of Manhattan in search of his long lost family endeared millions the world over to Buddy The Elf, the character made famous in the feel good festive movie starring Will Ferrell.
And while the Hollywood A-lister may have been tempted back to the role for Asda’s latest Christmas TV ad, that’s not going stop musical theatre star Steven Serlin making the part his own when he dons Buddy’s distinctive green tunic for Elf: The Christmas Arena Spectacular, which comes to Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena on 3 and 4 December.
Hailed as the ‘Biggest pantomime in the world’, the immersive production, which includes Santa’s magical sleigh ride and a giant snowball fight, brings the 48-year-old actor back to Liverpool, where he last appeared in Scrooge with the legendary Tommy Steele.
Taking a break from a digital treasure hunt with his children, Scarlett, 11, and Guy, 10, the father of two laughs as he recalls, “I remember my digs were in the area where all the clubs are and I didn’t sleep for a week. I also learned never to go out when Liverpool get beat at football. The stage doorman warned me, ‘Just go straight back to your digs and whatever you do, don’t tell them you’re an arsenal supporter.”
Elf tells the story of Buddy the Elf who is on a mission to find his family and a place to belong but as he travels from the North Pole to discover who he really is, things don’t run smoothly. Will there be a happy ending to his tale?
The production transforms the much-loved blockbuster movie into a supersized live arena spectacular featuring amazing film backdrops on a huge LED screen as well as a mobile stage that travels the auditorium ensuring everyone gets a close-up view of the action, which includes Santa’s flying sleigh, an indoor snowstorm, a giant candy cane journey from the North Pole and thrilling aerial cirque stars performing high above the heads of the audience.
With a book written by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan and an original score of great songs by Matt Sklar and Chad Beguelin that has delighted audiences on Broadway and the West End, Elf: The Christmas Arena spectacular also marks another reunion for Serlin, reuniting him as it does with producer Jon Conway, with whom he last worked on Boogie Nights, the smash hit 70’s musical starring Shane Richie. That was back in the nineties.
“From Boogie Nights to Elf, I’ve come full circle,” he reflects. “In Boogie Nights Jon started me on my journey playing comedy characters. It’s now what I love to do and what I have done ever since.”
Consequently, when Conway called him some 20 odd years later and suggested they meet up to read through the Elf script, Serlin jumped at the chance of adding such an iconic comedy role to his repertoire, especially as he is an avid movie buff although, that said, he does have a confession to make, at the time he had never seen the film.
He explains, “Buddy is a brilliant character but while I love going to the cinema (I am even in a ‘film geek’ chat on Facebook), weirdly I had never seen the movie. Even though my kids have watched it loads and I’d pop in and out as they did, I never got into the whole Elf-mania thing. So, recently, after I’d learned Act One of the script, I decided I would watch it, just to see what Will Ferrell did and how different our portrayals are and I have to say, I loved it.
“It takes a lot for me to laugh out loud, but I was in hysterics. I thought it was brilliant, so I’m pleased I watched it because now I’m going to put a little bit of Will Ferrell into the Steven Serlin Buddy.
“I get it now. I just hadn’t realised how big a thing Elf was, in fact, when I mentioned that to Jon, he said, ‘Just ask around,’ so I did and all the mums and dads I know said they loved it.”
Playing the guileless elf has allowed Serlin, who has carved a niche for himself in the role of pantomime baddy, to rediscover his inner child.
“I’ve built up a name and, as much as it kills me, I adore doing comedy panto baddies - I did 98 shows in two months last year. This production of Elf has that same panto quality about it, although, thankfully, there are not as many performances…”
He thinks for a moment before adding, “You know, Buddy isn’t a million miles away from Terry, the role I played in Boogie Nights all those years ago. They both have the same innocence; Terry used to say things without realising what he was actually saying and Buddy does the very same thing. I love his childlike nature and it’s so nice to play a character where I can do what I like, really, because he’s a kid.”
And, of course, he gets to wear those signature tights… ‘Yes,’ he says with a wry laugh, “I can’t wait,” before acknowledging the sheer scale of bringing the story to an arena setting.
“It is going to be a massive challenge and will be interesting working out how to play to thousands of people at once because I feed off the adrenalin and the energy I get from an audience.
“One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be fun. There is nothing like getting a laugh or getting applause in the moment especially on an arena stage and that’s the other draw for me, it’s so big.
“And as far as I am concerned, the bigger the better. I love being able to leap around being silly, it’s what every actor dreams of really.”
Elf: A Christmas Arena Spectacular, comes Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena on 3 and 4 December, www.worldsbiggestpanto.com
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