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2017 Broadway
It had a limited national tour in November 2017. The tour featured Erik Gratton as Buddy, with direction by Sam Scalamoni and choreography by Connor Gallagher. There was also a late 2017 tour until January 14, 2018 in The Lowry theatre in Salford, with Ben Forster as Buddy. On December 24, 2017, it also aired on Channel 5, after being recorded live at The Lowry.

Due to several "potty" words, the show at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois in late November 2017 was changed from a rating of G to PG, with Paramount saying it should have been PG "from the beginning." At the time, it was near breaking the theater's attendance records. It also played in Boston.

Starting on December 13, 2017, it began playing at the Madison Square Garden theater, to be held there until December 29, 2017. With George Wendt playing Santa in New York, TimeOut said it was one of the best Christmas shows in New York that year.

Reception
In 2013, the Washington Post said the musical made the movie look "nuanced." The show in 2015 received mixed reviews from professional critics at publications such as The Guardian. The Guardian didn't much like the 2015 performance, but did praise Ben Forster as Buddy for his "anarchic glee." A New York Times critic described the original Broadway production as “tinseled in synthetic sentiment, performed with a cheer that borders on mania, and instantly forgettable.”

The performance in late 2017 in Aurora received a mostly positive review in the Chicago Sun Times, who said the "immense energy" of the show could be overwhelming, with Kyle Adams as Buddy. The Salt Lake City performance received a mixed to positive review from the Deseret News. A review in Broadway World critic praised it in 2017 in Boston, and observed that children in the show seemed to love the production and pay rapt attention, with Erik Gratton in the title role praised for his performance as Buddy. The English production was well-reviewed by the Manchester Evening News in 2017.