“Murray the Elf” is a holiday flapdoodle. Primarily a children’s show, its aim is straightforward fun.
As presented by Bordentown’s Pegasus Theatre, in a production directed by company co-founder Peter Bisgaier, the show easily succeeds at that level. Bisgaier and his cast of two make it clear that laughs and lightness are the object here.
Yet there are elements that elevate this “Murray the Elf” above other cute-for-cute-sake Christmas fare.
One derives from the show’s subtitle, “The Case of the Missing Mistletoe.” As implied, that means that in addition to a writing a frothy family piece, playwright Bill D’Agostino also plotted a mystery, one that children can help solve while it engages adults.
This is something pretty special. Since the success of “The 39 Steps” about a decade ago, theaters have mounted mystery after mystery with comic overtones. It’s gotten so that the overtones have overtaken the mystery, one purpose of a story abandoned as directors favor laughs over substance.
Neither D’Agostino nor Bisgaier pretend to substance. They’re aware “Murray the Elf” works best as a lark. At the same time, each commit to acknowledging the mystery and giving it some genuine suspense. D’Agostino plants clues, including red herrings, and gets you wondering who in the North Pole stole that mistletoe, an important item in D’Agostino’s context because in addition to prompting holiday kisses, the plant, a parasite really, is needed by Santa Claus for the production of toys.
In “Murray the Elf,” if Murray, brought to the North Pole as a detective charged with finding the purloined sprigs, does not recover the mistletoe by Christmas Eve, Santa will not have enough inventory to satisfy every child.
Horrors, huh? In the North Pole it is.
D’Agostino has Murray investigate a group of suspects ranging from an innovative toymaker to a former elf colleague and – gush – Mrs. Claus herself.
It’s all silly, but it’s fun. Justin Derry has a ball playing all the potential culprits while Samantha Ricchiuti alternates between moments of ingenuity and bouts with doubt as Murray.
A real and involving mystery is not all that D’Agostino provides. He also gives his characters, Murray and others that include a snowman, a flirtatious elf, and Rudolph the Reindeer’s red-nosed grandson, some snappy lines that may go over kids’ heads but can appeal to their parents.
D’Agostino also entertains by adding snatches from Christmas carols and well-known holiday lore to his characters’ dialogue. Don’t be surprised if you hear a line from “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and other familiar favorites or hear a twist on “You’d better watch out.”
Like most flapdoodles, “Murray the Elf” is pleasant and likeable enough as a theatrical stocking stuffer. D’Agostino leaves messages and morals to other playwrights. He goes for smart frivolity with an occasional bon mot thrown in for good measure.
Bisgaier keeps everything moving at a brisk, satisfying pace that lets “Murray” proceed breezily while giving time for jokes to land and clues to be considered by audience member who might want to figure out the mistletoe disappearance along with Murray.
Samantha Ricchiuti is winning as the shopping mall elf recruited by Mrs. Claus to investigate a rare North Pole crime.
Ricchiuti has fun as Murray wavers about whether he would rather be back at the mall and listening to children’s gift requests or on the trail of the mistletoe thief. At first, Murray is thrilled to have gotten the call to leave the department store for the big leagues, but later he misses the children and is wary about being expected to succeed as a detective when he’s never been one before.
Justin Derry has an exhausting number of costume changes as he plays all the denizens of the North Pole, all the suspects and all the informants who think they know who the culprit will prove to be.
Costumer Chrissy Johnson was quite fanciful as she planned the outfits Derry would have to dive into and wiggle out of. Some wardrobe shifts were so sudden, Ricchiuti would have to vamp, usually by going over clues or wondering whether Murray is really suited to be a sleuth, as Derry buckled or tied a stay. One costume change that occurred on stage, planned or not, should be removed to the background. Ricchiuti handled delays well, and it was extra fun seeing what Derry would have to wriggle into when he needed extra time to don it.
Derry seems to revel in all of his characters, but there are traces of extra spirit when he plays the coquette who is attracted to Murray and a healthy, hilarious dose of sarcasm when he plays the snowman, one who still feels guilty because he didn’t listen to the traffic cop who saw him running and hollered “Stop!”
Bisgaier’s set is utilitarian and festive, pained in bright red and green geometric shapes.
One additional note: “Murray the Elf” is primarily for children, and I support introducing children to the theater. At the same time, a parent or guardian has to know when a child is ready to attend an event that requires some discipline. On opening night, one girl, about age 8, could not stay in her seat for an entire minute and spoke loudly and often at will. She may have been adorable in general, but her behavior was distracting rather than seeming as if it was triggered by enthusiasm for what was happening on stage. She may have been tutored in how to behave – Her younger brother was exemplary. — but she was not one who seemed interested in being told what to do. The lesson here is to gauge when children are ready to sit and watch a play. It might seem a good idea to expose a youngster to culture, but children mature at different levels and different ages. A child who squirms, has little attention span, and talks when actors are on stage isn’t ready for the theater.
“Murray the Elf: The Case of the Missing Mistletoe,” Pegasus Theatre, 45 Crosswicks Street, Bordentown, through December 23 at Pegasus Theatre, 45 Crosswicks Street, in Bordentown, N.J. Showtimes are generally Wednesday through Saturday, 7 p.m., Saturday, 2 p.m., and Sunday, 3 p.m. But call to check performance is scheduled) $15 to $20. More information at 609-759-0045 and pegasustheatrenj.org.
