Eastside Connection student Brandon Kosten, 12, did not expect to get the lead role as Buddy the Elf in this year’s Christmas play “Elf: The Musical Jr.,” but he said he was ecstatic to learn that the role was his.
“My favorite part is how cheesy I get to be,” Kosten said during a rehearsal Wednesday at the school.
The musical production is based on the movie “Elf” starring Will Ferrell and is about a whimsical, eccentric elf that travels to New York City to find his father, played in the stage adaption by student Jacob Dejong.
Buddy’s family, including his younger brother, played by Hunter Elowsky, learn to love the new member of their family, while simultaneously getting the people of New York to renew their spirit of Christmas.
Kosten, along with 20 other Eastside students and roughly six stage crew members in the sixth through eighth grade, will debut the performance Thursday at 7 p.m., with additional shows at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets cost $3 and can be purchased at the door or before the show in the Eastside office.
The proceeds from the show will help to raise money for a stage curtain.
Bartlett said running the play without any sound or stage equipment made for a challenge, but through the generosity of parents and other schools the show will go on. As for the missing curtain, lunch tables stretched out over the stage will serve as a substitute.
Following last year’s performance of “Aladdin,” Bartlett said she wanted something with a Christmas theme that would be fun for the students to participate in.
“Not very many middle schoolers have a chance to get to do a play like this or even a musical for that matter, so this is a really cool opportunity,” Bartlett said.
As for the cast of characters ready to take to the spotlight, the students’ chosen roles could not be more perfect, according to Bartlett.
Students also get the experience to become confident, she said.
Seventh grader Marika Ruppart said that due to stage fright she did want to act in the play, but still wanted to help. Last year, for the “Aladdin” production, Ruppart joined the stage crew to manage behind the scenes aspects of the production.
Ruppart and the stage crew team will clear props and assist with the light and sound elements of the production.
Dressed in a red velvet suit and wearing a curly white beard, Braden Manigold, 12, assumed his role as Santa during rehearsal. Besides his role, Manigold said he most likes hanging out with his friends after school.
“I love acting,” Manigold said. “You get to be someone that you are not.”
As a student actor, Manigold joked that another bonus is being paid in after school snacks that include doughnuts and pizza.
Of all the scenes students will perform, Manigold said he expects the audience to most enjoy the scene where Buddy goes to Macy’s and attempts to sample the perfumes by tasting them.
Bartlett said students were clearly very excited about the play.
“They are loving it,” she said.