Jack Ducat

Chicago’s holiday season just got a whole lot more SparkleJollyTwinkleJingley. The all-new national tour of ELF THE MUSICAL has landed at Broadway in Chicago's Auditorium Theater, bringing big laughs, big heart, and even bigger Christmas cheer to audiences through December 14 only.

At the center of the celebration is Jack Ducat, making his National Tour debut as the infectiously joyful Buddy the Elf - a role that demands comedic chops, vocal power, and an unlimited supply of pure holiday optimism. Fresh on tour, Jack brings his own warmth and whimsy to this beloved modern classic. ChicagoPride.com caught up with him to talk about the magic of Buddy, the joy of touring, holiday traditions, and why ELF still hits close to home for audiences of all ages.

GP: (Matt Inawat, GoPride) Buddy the Elf is such an iconic character, equal parts comedy, sincerity, and childlike wonder. How did you begin crafting your Buddy for this specific tour?

ELF North American Tour Company, 2025; credit: Evan Zimmerman for Murphymade

JD: (Jack Ducat, Elf the Musical) I grew up watching this movie every single year with my family, and so just by nature, I've known the source material very well for a long time. And what was so wonderful, getting to come into this process, was that I had already gotten to do so much studying of Will Ferrell's brilliant performance. And by the nature of the writing in this piece, they give you so many of those iconic movie moments that I kind of get the option to take some of what I've learned from watching that movie, and then there's, because there's song and dance, there's also new stuff in this piece as well that allows me to bring my own parts of me to it. So my first approach was, how do I take what's so iconic from the movie and bring that type of energy and ideas, but also follow the script that gives me so many new opportunities to try something different. It was a blast.

GP: Which elements feel especially exciting or fresh on this tour, from not only the original movie, but also from the Broadway revival?

JD: What's so brilliant about the Broadway revival for me was the choreography. We have some of the most beautiful choreography I've seen in a national tour. There's a whole scene called SparkleJollyTwinkleJingley, and I'm juggling with Christmas ornaments. And we've got jump ropes made of tinsel; and it's all out and big and fun; and there's just so many visual elements to this show that you get just by the nature of it being a musical. To me, that's what keeps the show new and fresh and keeps the energy driven from the beginning to the end of the piece, and all of the choreography and the staging truly just keeps this show alive. It's fantastic!

GP: The show blends that choreography with physical comedy - like the juggling you mentioned, heartwarming storytelling, and all the big musical numbers. Which aspect feels most natural to you; and which pushes you the most as a performer?

Ryan Duck (Michael Hobbs/Little Boy) and Jack Ducat (Buddy); credit: Evan Zimmerman for Murphymade

JD: For me, the aspect that feels the most natural is by far the physical comedy and the scene work. I got the fantastic opportunity to attend Carnegie Mellon University in the musical theater program. For me, I spent a lot of my time working on comedy, and studying famous comedians, and Charlie Chaplin, and physical comedy. But then I walked into the rehearsal room, and they're like, "hey, here's a big physical dance number." The dance for me was by far the hardest challenge, as well as, you know, Buddy doesn't leave the stage for the whole show except for one scene, and so stamina for me was the other really big challenge in this role.

GP: By the way, congratulations on your national tour debut!

JD: Thank you!

GP: What does this milestone mean to you personally and professionally?

Jack Ducat (Buddy) and Andrew Hendrick (Santa) in ELF; credit: Evan Zimmerman for Murphymade

JD: It means everything. I graduated college in May, and to get the opportunity to lead a national tour so quickly out of college, in a career that I have just now started finally stepping into, truly means the world. I am so, so thankful that I'm here. I can't believe that I'm here, and it is, for me, just such a beautiful reminder that I'm not only going towards the thing that I dream of, but that I'm going towards the right thing too.

GP: Being on a national tour brings with it its own unique set of challenges: new cities, new theaters, new audiences every week. What have you learned about yourself so far being on the road?

JD: I have learned, truthfully, that doing this has made me believe that I can do anything in the most peaceful way. I truly feel that all of the travel, and you're running from theater to theater, and you're interacting with new audiences who laugh at different things, who experience different things, and it keeps you so fresh and present and on your toes. That experience has really made me realize that tackling a challenge like that, I truly feel that I could tackle anything. It is the greatest challenge I've ever experienced, so it's awesome.

GP: In addition to receiving all that love from the audience, how do you keep your energy Buddy level high for eight shows a week?

JD: I sleep a lot. I have been eating like five meals a day. What's so funny is, if my energy is low, there's a section in the show where I get to eat spaghetti and maple syrup on stage, and so if I'm really tired, I'll just eat the whole bowl, and then I get my carbs and my sugar again.

GP: Your resume spans everything from Shakespeare to contemporary musical theater. How has that range shaped your approach to Buddy?

ELF North American Tour Company, 2025; credit: Evan Zimmerman for Murphymade

JD: That's a great question. I think that it's done a great deal of good for me, because what's so interesting about Buddy the Elf is, at least in my approach, my goal was to make him very human and very personal. The beautiful thing about having gotten to work in Shakespeare is you take this large, flowery, luxurious language, and you have to make it feel like everyday speech. 

Doing the role of Buddy is very similar in a very different way, where you have to take a character that says some of the most crazy lines and is just jumping around and has all of this energy, and you have to take all of that and humanize it. I think that my approach that I've always taken in things like Shakespeare or heightened contemporary theater very much translates into my prep for this. Yeah, and then musical theater speaks for itself. Just by nature of getting to sing and dance, and I've been tap dancing for 10 years, I get to bring all of those skills to this piece too, which is a blast.

GP: Let's step back in time. Was there a specific moment growing up or in training when you realized, "this is it, I want to be on stage for a living?"

JD: I was in 4th grade. I had played like 14 different sports, and I wasn't very good at any of them. My mom was like, you should try musical theater, and I did a production of Into the Woods Junior, and I was cast as Big Bee Wolf, who is a made up role because too many kids auditioned. I came out at the beginning of the show with a British accent, which I don't know why I had a British accent, but awesome, and I told everybody to turn off their phones, and that was almost everything I did in the show. I came off stage that night and I said to my mom, I said, Mom, "this is the greatest thing I've ever gotten to do." I have to do this forever. Even though I was a made up character, and I had like four lines, I was the happiest person in the world, and since then I've never stopped.

Felicia Martis (Jovie) and Jack Ducat (Buddy) in ELF; credit: Evan Zimmerman for Murphymade

GP: That's beautiful! Belonging and finding your place in the world is what Elf is ultimately about. How do you personally connect with those themes?

JD: Yeah, in a lot of ways. I think that anybody in the world would connect with those themes, but especially, you know, growing up in theater. Theater for me was my place of belonging. I never really felt like I was somebody who fit in. I always felt like there was something different about me, and I think that at the end of the day, you know, this piece, every time I think about this show, I think about seeing people as they are, and loving people as they are. For me, the theater was that. 

So to get to be on stage every night, sharing the feelings that I got from being in this world in the first place, it feels very deeply personal, and I am thankful to get to share a message like that every night.

GP: ChicagoPride.com has a large LGBTQ+ readership. What do you hope queer audiences may take away from the show or from Buddy's joyful, wholehearted way of moving through the world?

JD: As a queer actor myself, I also take a lot away from the show, which is seeing and loving others as they are, and seeing and loving myself as I am. Getting to play Buddy, the thing is, my Buddy is unapologetically who he is and makes everybody around him see themselves as they are. 

It is a reminder to me every day to love myself for who I am, and I hope that queer audiences take that same feeling of love and respect for themselves away.

GP: Buddy approaches everyone with openness, kindness, and zero judgment, right? 

GP: Buddy definitely has very strong opinions on Christmas cheer. What's one holiday tradition that you absolutely refuse to skip?

JD: I grew up in an Italian family, and my grandmother makes, every year, her secret family pasta recipe, and then this thing called Jell-O salad, which is not salad at all, it's Jell-O with pretzels and cream cheese, and it's this weird dessert thing, and I refuse to go a holiday without eating that!

Audiences can catch Jack Ducat spreading Christmas cheer (and plenty of mischief) as Buddy the Elf now through December 14 at The Auditorium. With dazzling choreography, laugh-out-loud comedy, and a message of love and belonging at its core, ELF THE MUSICAL is the perfect winter escape for families, friends, and anyone ready to rediscover a little magic.

For tickets, performance details, and Broadway In Chicago updates, visit BroadwayInChicago.com - and don’t forget, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear... especially in Chicago.