December 1st, 2023 marked the opening night for the ITPA’s latest production of Elf: The Musical. This musical has been based on the classic movie production. ITPA decided to add their own twist to this production. 

Many thoughts about how the production needed to be organized were made by the director David Noland. It took an incredible amount of teamwork and communication to make this show possible. 

Whether high school production adaptations are better with their unique twist or closest to the original is controversial. People in the ITPA have perspectives of their own to share. “I think their own original twist because people come to the show expecting something and they get to see a whole other thing,” said Jeremiah Lazar (10) [Walter]. “That’s what brings them to the culture of our musical theater.” 

Mr. Noland shared a very neutral answer to this question. “I think that the ITPA is a blend. So we try to put our own spin on it without completely leaving out some of the cool things that they did when it was on Broadway.” Mr Noland continues on to explain, “The audience always comes with certain expectations and we try not to display in what ways we are similar or different from the movie.”

There were certain aspects that were changed to accommodate a special, unique twist while others are trying to stay as close as possible to the original scenes. Harper Sabetto (10), who plays Mr. Greenway said, “The movie is definitely more on the comedic side, whereas in the play, it touches more emotional aspects of the plot.”

“Community is number one,” explained Mr. Noland. “Here, theater is a spot where people can feel like they can be themselves without fear of judgment.”