When it comes to your leading man, you can't really get further from Nidge than Buddy the Elf. For actress Aoibhínn McGinnity, though, it's all in a day's work. The star has just cast as Jovie in the musical adaptation of hit film Elf, due to run in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre from December 16^th 2014 to January 10^th 2015. Ben Forster will take the leading role of Buddy the Elf. Forster attended the world famous Italia Conti Performing Arts Academy and debuted in his first West End musical at the age of eighteen, performing in both West End and international tours of shows including Grease, Lennon and McCartney’s, All You Need is Love and Thriller Live. TV viewers may know Ben best from his 2012 win on ITV1 show, ‘Superstar’ - Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TV talent search for Jesus in the rock arena musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. He won the coveted lead role and starred alongside Spice Girl Melanie C, Tim Minchin and Chris Moyles in an arena tour of the UK and Ireland. Aoibhínn McGinnity take over the role made famous by Zooey Deschanel in the movie. Originally from Monaghan, Aoibhínn graduated with a degree in Theatre Dance from the London Studio Centre, and has appeared in the leading role of Trish in the multi-award winning TV series Love/Hate in every season since 2010 opposite Tom Vaughan Lawlor, Aidan Gillen and Robert Sheehan, written by Stuart Carolan and directed by David Caffery for Octagon Pictures/RTE. She said of the role: “Being involved in Elf The Musical is a dream come true for me. Musical theatre has been a huge passion of mine from a young age and I’m really looking forward to the rehearsal period and performing on The Bord Gais Energy Theatre stage. The fact that the show is coming from Broadway direct to Dublin is just phenomenal, and I can’t wait to spend Christmas on their stage!” Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit starring Will Ferrell, ELF is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. 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, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.