Rehearsals are in high gear for “Elf – The Musical” in preparation for opening night on Nov. 11.

The creative team behind the production includes Stephanie Coble-Day as show director, Dan Cassady as music director, Shelly Bottorff as rehearsal accompanist and Emily Eastwood as choreographer.

Based on the 2003 holiday hit film, the musical follows Buddy the Elf in his quest to find his true identity. Elf features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer) and Chad Beguelin (Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway), with a book by Tony Award winners, Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone).

Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With permission from Santa (Sean O’Connor), grown-up Buddy (Tristan Sitzmann) embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity.

-Submitted photo Buddy, right, played by Tristan Sitzmann, greets his family during a recent rehearsal.

He tracks down his father, Walter Hobbs (played by Buzz Powers) at his office. There, Walter is ranting to his wife Emily (Holly McHone), young son Michael (Corban McHone) and secretary Deb (Amy Porter) about how Christmas just gets in the way. Buddy is taken away by security and dropped off at Macy’s where he is mistaken by the Store Manager (Nathan Schelle) as one of the employees. His favorite employee is Jovie (Anna Cummings), one of the store elves, and Buddy is instantly smitten with her.

Faced with the harsh realities that his father is on the naughty list and his half-brother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Appearing in the show as supporting characters are David Everson, Jordan Martin, Esther Laupp, and Jim Seward. The show will also feature area children as the Elves at the North Pole.

This modern-day holiday classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner elf. After all, the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

“Elf – The Musical” will be performed at Decker Auditorium Nov. 11-13 at 7 p.m. nightly, plus a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee.

This year, the seating will be general admission. Tickets are on sale now at Hy-Vee in Fort Dodge and will are also available through the Comedia Musica Players website at www.comediamusica.com.

Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for child/student tickets.

The Comedia Musica Players was founded in 1968 by Larry Mitchell and Scott Griffith. Email info@comediamusica.com for more information. You may also follow Comedia on Facebook at www.facebook.com/comediamusicaplayers and on Instagram and Twitter @comedia–musica.