116WINTER STUDENT LIFE THE 2021 HOMECOMING MUSICAL, “Elf the Musical,” featured a young cast after a year-long delay in performance due to the pandemic. When it was decided that “Elf” would be performed as the musical, auditions were held in spring 2021, and juniors Asher Patten and Morgan Wrigley landed the lead roles. Wrigley stepped into her first lead role as Jovie. She had experience on the George S. Benson Auditorium stage as an ensemble member in the 2019 Homecoming musical “Matilda” and in Spring Sing 2021. Though Wrigley had lead roles in high school, that responsibility looked different for the large-scale productions at Harding. “Acting in the Benson is different from acting in any other space,” Wrigley said. “Translating acting to filling the Benson has been challenging but fun.” Alongside the leading juniors, 14 freshmen performed in “Elf,” contrasting the small number of four freshmen actors in “Matilda.” Patten and Wrigley were among the four freshmen in the “Matilda” production, sharing their first Benson Auditorium stage experience in 2019. They took their experiences and led the large cast of first-year students in “Elf.” Professor of theatre Britton Lynn directed multiple productions in the past such as “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Hands on a Hard Body” and “Elf.” Lynn described the show process as a “V-shaped experience” in which the cast was in high spirits at the beginning, a place of questioning if they were ready two weeks before their performance, and then confidence when they took the stage. For some of the younger cast members, the Benson was the largest stage and venue they had ever performed in, but their eagerness to perform remained. “They were super enthusiastic and excited about being a part of the process,” Lynn said. Senior Valentino Warren II took on multiple roles in the production of “Elf.” He was a choreographer, dance captain and swing performer. His consistent college career musical experience helped him embrace his leadership. Warren had the creative freedom to include different dance styles into the show such as fosse, contemporary and jazz, which made dance numbers take more effort to learn. “Most of our cast has never been in a production like this before,” Warren said. “We’re all just working together to ensure that we tell a beautiful story.” WRITTEN BY EMILY STINNETT “Elf the Musical” is the Homecoming production in fall 2021. FROM NORTH THE POLE BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE The cast of the Homecoming musical “Elf” poses at the end of a song. The cast became close as they put together the show. Photo by: Jaxon Nash
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