The Christmas Musical

The Christmas Musical is a musical with music by Gary Adler and Mark Hummel and book and lyrics by Mark Waldrop. It is based on the 2023 Netflix film The Christmas Movie, along with elements of its sequel and spin-off: The Christmas Movie 2 and Elves and Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas. After a trial run in Seattle, the original Broadway production opened in November 2028, the same year that Elves was released on Netflix to celebrate the 5th anniversary of The Christmas Movie. It closed after a run of over 12 months in January 2030. It was followed by a tour of the United States which opened in 2030, and a re-vamped West End production from November 2031 to January 2033.

A high definition filming of the Broadway production, shot by RadicalMedia, was released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download on November 16, 2033 in North America and December 2, 2033 in the United Kingdom. The digital version of the film was made available on Netflix beginning in November 23 2033 as part of the 10th anniversary of The Christmas Movie.

History
Gary Adler and Mark Hummel began working on the show in 2024, with Mark Waldrop joining the team from 2025. A reading took place on August 10, 2027, with Charles Edward Hall in the role of Santa Claus, Kristin Chenoweth as Mrs. Claus, Alex Brightman as Krampus, Flynn Timothy Stocklin as Ben, Apollo Bowie Flynn Rossdale as Patrick and Thea Eddey as Teddy.

The musical premiered in an Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Previews began October 27, 2028, with an opening night of November 10. The tryout ran through November 23, and played to generally favorable reviews, being cited as one of the few movie-to-stage adaptations "with heart". The principal cast included Charles Edward Hall as Santa Claus, Kristin Chenoweth as Mrs. Claus, Alex Brightman as Krampus, Flynn Timothy Stocklin as Ben, Apollo Bowie Flynn as Patrick, Thea Eddey as Teddy, Sebastian Arcelus as Dave, Jeremy Jordan as Kevin and Matthew West as the Narrator/Adult Ben.

During previews, "Blue Christmas" was replaced by "So Sad At Santa's Pad,". Also during previews, a brief reprise of "Magic Is There" was sung after Ben, Patrick and Teddy's adventure together with Santa. This was cut and "Christmas Happiness" was placed.

Reception
The musical has received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times: "'Shrek,' for the record, is not bad.... As the title character, a misanthropic green ogre who learns to love, the talented Mr. James is... encumbered with padding and prosthetics.... As the evil, psychologically maimed Lord Farquaad, the very droll Christopher Sieber is required to walk on his knees, with tiny fake legs dangling before him — an initially funny sight gag that soon drags". He praises Sutton Foster as "an inspired, take-charge musical comedian.... Ms. Foster manages both to make fun of and exult in classical musical-comedy moves while creating a real, full character at the same time."

Variety noted that the production had a reported budget of $24 million. Any "theme-park cutesiness is offset by the mischievous humor in David Lindsay-Abaire's book and lyrics. The production's real achievement, however, is that the busy visuals and gargantuan set-pieces never overwhelm the personalities of the actors or their characters. The ensemble is talented and the four leads, in particular, couldn't be better."

The Associated Press said that "the folks at DreamWorks have done their darndest to make sure we are entertained at Shrek the Musical, the company's lavish stage adaptation of its hit animated movie. For much of the time, they succeed, thanks to the talent and ingratiating appeal of the show's four principal performers. The show's massive sets and colorful costumes (both courtesy of Tim Hatley) are so visually eye-catching that they often distract from what's going on with the story and score.

Trivia

 * It is the first Broadway musical to be based on a Netflix film.
 * This was made by the people who did The Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
 * Quinn Copeland who played Bethany in the musical voiced Holly in The Christmas Movie (2023).