Original Creative Team

Elf - the Musical is based upon the New Line Cinema film written by David Berenbaum.  

David Berenbaum is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He is best known for writing the 2003 Will Ferrell Christmas comedy classic, "Elf". He also wrote "The Haunted Mansion" for Disney, based off the famous theme park ride; the film starred Eddie Murphy. 

BOOK: Thomas Edward Meehan (August 14, 1929 – August 21, 2017) was an American playwright. He wrote the books for the musicals Annie, The Producers, Hairspray, Young Frankenstein, and Cry-Baby.  He co-wrote the books for Elf: The Musical and Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin. 

He received the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times—in 1977 for Annie, in 2001 for The Producers (shared with Mel Brooks), and in 2003 for Hairspray (shared with Mark O'Donnell).

BOOK: Bob Martin has been a working actor and writer for over three decades. He has received many awards in both Canada and the U.S., including a Tony for The Drowsy Chaperone. Recent TV projects include “Slings & Arrows” I, II, & III (TMN, Sundance), “Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays” (CBC), “Michael: Everyday” (CBC), “Sensitive Skin” I & II (HBO), and “Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas” (NBC). Recent theatre projects include Encores! "Hey, Look Me Over” (Off-Broadway); The Sting (Paper Mill Playhouse, NJ); The Prom (Alliance Theatre, Atlanta); Elf (Broadway, Dublin, London); The Drowsy Chaperone (Toronto, Broadway, London); and Second City Toronto as a performer, director, and formerly the artistic director. In development: Millions (Platt/Rudin), A Night at the Museum (Fox), The Princess Bride (Disney), the untitled Drowsy Chaperone sequel, and the recently announced film adaptation of The Prom (Ryan Murphy, Netflix).

MUSIC: Matthew Sklar is a two-time Tony®, Emmy®, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated composer. He wrote the music for the Broadway musicals The Prom, nominated for seven Tony® Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score, winner of the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical; Elf the Musical, a favorite perennial show in theatres across the globe; and The Wedding Singer, nominated for five Tony® Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

Matthew received a Primetime Emmy® Award nomination for Outstanding Music Direction for the critically acclaimed NBC/Warner Bros stop-motion animated TV special Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas, starring Jim Parsons. The feature film adaptation of The Prom, featuring a star-studded cast including Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Ariana DeBose, and Kerry Washington received a Golden Globe® Award nomination for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Matthew adapted and arranged the music of Marvin Hamlisch for the Emmy Award-winning documentary film Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love, seen on PBS/American Masters. He has contributed original songs to Sesame Street, Wonder Pets!, and the NBC Broadcast of The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

His songs have been performed by such luminaries as Julie Andrews, Ed Asner, Cookie Monster, James Corden, Ariana DeBose, Andre DeShields, Elmo, Georgia Engel, Michael Feinstein, Josh Groban, Mark Hamill, Jennifer Hudson, Keegan Michael Key, Nicole Kidman, Donna McKechnie, Jim Parsons, Mandy Patinkin, Andrew Rannells, Meryl Streep, and Kerry Washington.

At 18 years old, Matthew began playing keyboards for the Broadway production of Les Miserables, eventually conducting the show at 21. He has also worked as a keyboardist, conductor, and/or arranger for many Broadway productions including Shrek, Caroline, or Change, Nine, Oklahoma, 42nd Street, Putting It Together, Annie Get Your Gun, On the Town, Titanic, Guys and Dolls, Sunset Boulevard, and Miss Saigon. Matthew also appeared onstage as “Oscar” in the Broadway revival of 42nd Street.

Matthew is the recipient of some of the highest honors in the industry, including the Dramatists Guild Frederick Loewe Award for Dramatic Composition, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award and the Gilman/Gonzalez-Falla Theatre Award.

Matthew is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and ASCAP. His music is published by Warner/Chappell Music. He was educated at The Juilliard School of Music (Pre-College Division), the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and New York University.

LYRICS:  Chad Beguelin is a six-time Tony® nominee. His works include Disney’s Aladdin (Tony Award nomination for Best Book and Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award Nomination for Best Book and Outstanding Lyrics), The Prom (Tony Award nomination for Best Book and Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award Nomination for Best Book and Outstanding Lyrics) and The Wedding Singer (Tony Award nomination for Best Book and Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics). He also wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical Elf, which broke several box office records at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. His play Harbor premiered Off-Broadway at Primary Stages. He is the recipient of the Edward Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyric Writing, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Awards, the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award and the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award. Chad is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Dramatic Writing Program. He currently lives in Bridgehampton with his husband Tom and their dog, Tucker.