‘World’s Biggest Panto’ star recalls how playing Elvis left him all shook up in Edinburgh but made him fall in love with Glasgow
Buddy The Elf, aka actor Steven Serlin, reveals how Glasgow won a place in his heart.
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 stripy tights and distinctive green tunic for Elf: The Christmas Arena Spectacular, which comes to Glasgow's OVO Hydro on 10 and 11 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 Glasgow, a city that’s very close to his heart after a fateful visit early in his musical theatre career.
Taking a break from a digital treasure hunt with his children, Scarlett, 11, and Guy, 10, the father of two recalls the story, which actually started with a performance in Edinburgh.
“Now Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities ever,” he explains, “and I did Elvis The Musical there. In the show there was a Young Elvis, a Middle Elvis and an Old Elvis - I was cover for Middle Elvis and it was at The King’s in Edinburgh that I first had to go on as the actor playing the role had gone off.
“I looked out and saw these three rockabillies in the front row - I was very young, and very nervous but everyone was very respectful except for these three rockabillies who were obviously big Elvis fans - they just stared at me and didn’t even clap. That killed me.
“Anyway, the next week we went to Glasgow and I had to go on again and it was the best thing ever - the audience went nuts. I went to The Griffin pub opposite the theatre after the show and as I walked in all the locals who had been at the theatre gave me a round of applause. Glasgow has been in my heart ever since. It was so lovely and I am really looking forward to playing The Hydro, it just looks so cool.”
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 Elfwas, 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 not 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 stripy 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 the OVO Hydro, Glasgow, 10 & 11 December, www.worldsbiggestpanto.com
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