Rochester
Broadway Theatre League’s current show is the holiday-themed, kid-oriented “Dr.
Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical.”
(That is a mouthful.) Since I am not a kid, and I tend to like my holiday
programming more subversive (think “Scrooged,” “A
John Waters Christmas,” “Gremlins”), I am admittedly not the target audience
for this show. So I brought my 7-year-old niece along to co-write this review.
She loved it, and I think the best way to enjoy this live musical production of
“Grinch” is to go with someone under the age of 10. Watching a kid get into the
show — and kids will get into the show — is almost as entertaining as what’s
happening on the stage.
That’s
not to discredit the show itself, which features a host of talented performers,
serviceable songs, and an interesting visual style. The musical extrapolates
from the original 1957 book by Dr. Seuss, and weaves in elements from the 1966
animated TV special and — according to my niece — some references to the 2000
live-action version of the story starring Jim Carrey. (I never saw it.) The
show is narrated by Old Max, the aged version of the Grinch’s pet dog, who
flashes back to his miserly master’s dastardly attempt at hijacking the holiday
to crush the spirit of the cheerful Whos in Whoville. You know the drill: a heart three sizes too small;
stink, stank, stunk; an encounter with Cindy-Lou Who;
everyone sings that vaguely creepy holiday song that sounds like a cult chant.
The
production at the Auditorium Theatre features strong performers throwing
themselves into some thoroughly silly situations. Stefan Karl is absolutely
terrific as The Grinch. He’s got a great voice — multiple voices, really — and
manages to be totally likable even while his character is an out-and-out jerk. This
Grinch breaks the fourth wall a bit, engaging the audience and dropping some
contemporary pop-culture references for the adults,
and fart and burp jokes for the kids. (My niece’s note: The Grinch should wear
pants, because she didn’t like seeing his Grinch butt.)
Cindy-Lou
Who, the tiny tot who shows the Grinch the error of his ways, is played
alternately by Piper Birney and Jenna Iacono. I’m not
sure which young actress performed at Tuesday’s performance, but she did a
beautiful job with the singing, dancing, and acting. Andreas Wyder is full of boundless energy as Young Max, while Bob
Lauder as Old Max has a rich, sonorous that at first I mistook for a recording.
He puts it to good use on the Thurl Ravenscroft
classic, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”
Speaking
of songs, the show is packed with them. It’s rare for someone to not be singing
for more than a few minutes — which is precisely what you need to keep kids
rapt with attention. The bad news is that, aside from the classic “Mean One,”
none of the tunes are particularly memorable. They’re fine, they work (except
for the adult Whos’ “It’s the Thought That Counts,”
which felt interminable and was either poorly delivered sarcasm or directly
contradicted the actions of the characters singing it), but you’re unlikely to
be humming any of them on your way out of the theater. They also get
repetitive, as the show features no fewer than eight reprises.
The
set and costume designs bring to life the illustrations from the original picture
book. The sets work surprisingly well considering that they’re a collection of constantly
rearranged two-dimensional elements. But collectively they make for full
landscapes, and in a few instances — such as The Grinch and Max descending upon
Whoville in their sleigh — some fun visual tricks are
deployed. (There’s also an environmental surprise that I will not ruin, but
which completely captivated my niece, sending her into a giggling fit.) The
costumes are both beautiful and slightly disturbing. Who-vian
anatomy looks charming on the page, but borderline grotesque on real people,
especially the adult male Whos’ midsections. Everything
is rendered in red, white, black, or pink, with the exception of the furry
green Grinch. (My niece felt strongly that the production needed more brown. I
have no idea what that means, but she kept saying it in the car.)
The
show excels at drawing in young audiences. Although she wriggled through the
exposition in the first 20 minutes, by about an hour in my niece was literally
sitting on the edge of her seat, completely absorbed in the action. (“That was
a really good movie,” she said as we left, before I corrected her.) She did not
find The Grinch at all scary (except for the pantslessness),
and said that parents should take their kids to the show because it teaches
important lessons. Specifically, that Christmas isn’t about presents, that it’s
about having fun with your family. I followed that up by asking if it would be
OK if she didn’t get any presents this year. She said that I was being silly —
but that it would be alright if she only received one present. (Lies. Such lies.)
The
start time for Tuesday’s performance was pushed back by 20 minutes due to inclement
weather. I totally understand wanting to get people in to the seats they paid
for, but given that this is a kids’ show being performed on a school night,
that’s a tricky proposition. I didn’t get little miss back to Penfield until
nearly 10 p.m. (the show runs 90 minutes without an intermission), and she was
totally wired after the performance. Due to the relatively little sleep I have
a feeling she herself might be a Grinch this morning…
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2013.
