[3] Elder received rave reviews[4] and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award[5] for Outstanding Leading Actor in A Play for originating the role of "Ollie Olson" in One Arm directed by Moisés Kaufman.

[7] He originated the roles of "Buck Barrow" in Bonnie & Clyde,[8] "Hollis Bessemer" in Stephen Sondheim's Road Show[9] and "Michael Victor"[10] in Venice.

[13] Elder can be heard on the cast recordings of Bonnie & Clyde, Road Show, Venice and Sunday in the Park with George.

In 2007, as a 23-year-old aspiring actor visiting New York City, he was in the standing-room section of the Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee when a stranger approached him, noted his obvious enthusiasm for theater, gave him $200, and told him to spend it the next night on a ticket to a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

In July 2022, Elder retold this story on an episode of the WBEZ radio program This American Life that examined acts of kindness from strangers.