“Elf” is Sacred Heart Schools all-school production

The fine arts program at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton (SHS) presents its fall all-school production, ELF The Musical, taking place this weekend, November 9-12, 2023, in the Performing Arts Center on the Sacred Heart campus. Directed by SHS drama teacher Rachel Prouty, the holiday-themed show features 85 actors, ages 6 – 18, as well as a 21-student running stage crew, operating under the direction of SHS technical director and set designer Fred Eiras.

Based on the beloved film starring Will Ferrell, ELF The Musical follows the story of Buddy, who, as an orphaned baby, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and subsequently is taken in and raised by elves at the North Pole. At age 30 suddenly discovering he is human — not elf — Buddy embarks on a journey to discover his true identity, searching out his birth father Walter Hobbs.

Open to the public, tickets are $12.00 (general admission). Though weekend shows are currently sold out, those still interested in attending can join the ticket waitlist. If the waitlist is closed, reach out to Lisa Rozman at lrozman@shschools.org to see if you can still attend.

While highly comedic and punctuated with several light-hearted songs, the story touches on several more poignant themes of love, of belonging, and of the true meaning and spirit of Christmas.

At Sacred Heart, the title character of Buddy-the-Elf is energetically and joyfully brought to life by junior Cade Carcione, with Carcione’s real-life sibling, freshman Christian Carcione, taking on the role of Michael Hobbs, Buddy’s half-brother.

Rounding out the stellar cast of featured performers are: senior Will Avina as Buddy’s father Walter Hobbs; sophomore Samora Stephens (Emily Hobbs); freshman Shinae Stamos (Jovie); junior Curtis Egan (Santa Claus); junior Angelo Nunez (Macy’s Manager); junior Ebise Biratu (Chadwick); sophomore Kiana Everett (Matthews); sophomore Charles Van Dyke (Mr. Greenway) and eighth-grader Vivi Zuck (Deb).

This production marks the return of a cyclical tradition for Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton — the “all-school” musical, in which students from elementary through high school grades get the chance to collaborate and perform in a full-scale production. The next all-school musical will not be mounted until 2026, following an established three-year cycle.