Northwestern grad buddies up to dad role in 'Elf'
It's going to be a Chicago homecoming for veteran actor Larry Cahn when the 2010 Broadway show "Elf The Musical" makes its Windy City debut starting Tuesday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
Cahn, who plays the Scrooge-like children's book publisher Walter Hobbs, is not only a Northwestern University graduate, he also has numerous Chicago-area theater credits - including "Give My Regards to Broadway," the musical that opened the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace back in 1984.
"I packed my parka, because I know what Chicago winters are like," said Cahn, who is also eager to find out which restaurant locals are now proclaiming to have the city's best deep-dish Chicago-style pizza. "It changes every time I return."
But more importantly, Cahn is pleased to be back in Chicago in a holiday show that he is especially proud of. Based on the hit 2003 film "Elf," starring Will Ferrell in the title role, "Elf The Musical" is yet another in a long line of film-to-stage adaptations. Its creators include many acclaimed Broadway veterans.
Thomas Meehan ("Annie," "Hairspray") and Bob Martin ("The Drowsy Chaperone") adapted David Berenbaum's original "Elf" screenplay, while Casey Nicholaw ("The Book of Mormon") directed and choreographed the Broadway production, Nicholow's work has been adapted by director San Scalamoni and choreographer Connor Gallagher for the two current national tours of "Elf The Musical."
Cahn is particularly pleased to be working again on a show by the songwriting team of composer Matthew Skylar and lyricist Chad Beguelin. Cahn previously appeared regionally in Skylar and Beguelin's original musical "The Rhythm Club," which was about jazz-loving teenagers facing the rise of Nazism in 1930s Germany.
"We were aiming for Broadway with 'The Rhythm Club,' but we didn't quite make it," Cahn said, happy that Skylar and Beguelin eventually made it to the Great White Way with "The Wedding Singer" in 2006 and "Elf" in seasonal engagements in 2010 and 2012. "They've written songs that are truly fresh and original that also have the feeling of the music and harmonies of Christmas carols that we hear every year starting in mid-November."
Cahn has nothing but praise for his co-star Will Blum, who gets almost no time offstage to catch his breath. Blum plays the childlike title character, Buddy, who was mistakenly raised by Santa Claus at the North Pole and is only now being reunited with his real father, the curmudgeonly Walter, in modern-day New York.
"Will Blum is tearing it up onstage. He is really a force of nature," said Cahn. "It takes a special talent to hold a show together like this and I am extremely impressed by his talent and work ethic."
And when asked if he got the role of Walter, which was originated in the film by James Caan, because his surname sounds similar, Cahn laughed and said, "I certainly hope not."
<b>“Elf The Musical” </b>
Location: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or
Showtimes: Tuesday, Nov. 26, through Sunday, Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (no show Nov. 28); 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (no matinee Nov. 27); 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday (also Friday, Nov. 29)
Tickets: $18-$90