SAN DIEGO — Just as September’s high holidays are marked by boxes of matzo ball soup on Von’s endcaps, so the annual Christmas season is heralded by the Old Globe’s production of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The show opened last night to a full house and an enthusiastic fan base welcomed all the Whos from Whoville, Max the loyal dog, and the once-curmudgeonly Grinch who did teshuva.
The charming musical featured book and lyrics by Timothy Mason with music by Mel Marvin. A live orchestra was directed by Elan McMahan. The clever and original choreography is credited to John Deluca and Bob Richard. James Vasquez directed. A Julliard graduate, Vasquez has directed West Coast and world premiers on this very stage before. The show was originally conceived and directed by Jack O’Brien, former Artistic Director of the Old Globe.
San Diego audiences were once again treated to Broadway’s Edward Watts’ return for his third year as The Grinch, accompanied by his loyal dog and fellow Broadway veteran, Old Max, John Treacy Egan. Two casts, the Red Team and the Pink Team, share the stage and presumably those clever costumes for alternating performances. Lots of local talent entertained the audience, but standouts included Sophia Adajar, Cindy-Lou Who, a ten-year-old with immense talent, Kevin Hafso Koppman, Papa Who, and Tommy Martinez, Young Max.
The costumes were the show-stoppers. Kudos to Robert Morgan for one-upping the animated version that aired on TV during my childhood. The bottom-heavy, bell-shaped costumes and absurd shoes on each actor made for much visual hilarity and added to the air of silliness.
Despite the fact that this story has been around since 1957, this performance seemed fresh and last night’s theater-goers evidenced great excitement and connection to this retelling and its updated delivery. I was happy to learn that the Old Globe wants to include wider audiences and to this end will host a “sensory-friendly performance” on Saturday, December 14th at 10:30 a.m. specifically for those on the autism spectrum and their families.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas! will run through December 29, and tickets may be purchased by phone 619.234.5623 or via this website.
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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com