Sean Astin to Make Broadway Debut as Santa in Elf the Musical

Sean Astin, star of The Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things and The Goonies, will make his Broadway debut as Santa in Elf: The Musical. Performances begin at the Marquis Theatre on November 9 with an official opening set for November 17. The limited engagement runs through January 4, 2025.

"It has been a lifelong dream to be on Broadway and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the season than by spreading Christmas cheer as Santa Claus," Astin said in a statement. "I’ve been in deep preparation for this role since I was five years old. Now my kids can say, 'Santa—I know him!'"

Astin made his film debut at the age of 13 as Mikey in The Goonies (1985). He is perhaps best known for playing the role of Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, earning a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for The Return of the King. Most recently, he starred in Stranger Things as Bob Newby.

He joins previously reported Tony nominee Grey Henson as Buddy the Elf.

Based on the 2003 Christmas movie starring Will Ferrell as Buddy the oversized elf, the musical features a book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin. The production will be a staging of director Philip Wm. McKinley's West End production, featuring choreography by Liam Steel, sets and costumes by Tim Goodchild, lighting by Patrick Woodroffe, sound by Gareth Owen, video by Ian William Galloway and music supervision by Alan Williams.

Elf tells the story of Buddy, who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts as a baby and is transported back to the North Pole and raised as an elf. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities finally cause him to face the truth and realize he’ll never belong in the North Pole. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York to find his birth father, discover his true identity and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.