PORTSMOUTH — At some point in their lives, every child dreams of what it would be like to live at Santa’s workshop at the North Pole, surrounded by all those great toys.

“Elf the Musical” is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who gets the chance to do just that. After he mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole, he gets to live the dream..at least for awhile. “Elf The Musical” will appear at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 pm.

Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discovering his true identity. Unaccustomed to behaving like a “human,” Buddy’s forthright nature and unrestrained enthusiasm makes him stand out among the cynical and jaded New Yorkers.

Though initially skeptical of his claims, Buddy’s father comes to acknowledge the son he never knew he had. Though it is rough going at first, eventually Buddy’s embodiment of the Christmas spirit reminds his newfound family, and the people of New York City, what is most precious about Christmas is present all yearround.

Based on the popular Christmas movie, The New York Times says that Elf is “a splashy, peppy, sugar sprinkled holiday entertainment!” “USA Today” calls Elf “Endearingly goofy!” Variety proclaims, “Elf is happy enough for families, savvy enough for city kids and plenty smart for adults!”

Tickets for lower tier seating are $60 regular, $55 senior, $42 students, $20 children under 12. Upper tier prices discounted. Special discounts for families and groups.

Tickets and information are available 10-5 pm at the McKinley Box Office, 740-351-3600. Online through Ticketmaster at http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/41868, or any TicketMaster outlet.

The performance of “Elf the Musical” is sponsored by Southern Ohio Medical Center and Suncoke Haverhill Operations.

The 2014-15 Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association/Shawnee State University season is presented with the support of the Ohio Arts Council, an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, t he Shawnee State University Development Foundation, the Martings Foundation and the Scioto Foundation.