Interview: Sarah Milnamow Heads Home for the Holidays in DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS THE MUSICAL!

Actor and singer Sarah Milnamow grew up in Northborough watching the classic animated television special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” every year.

Now in her 20s, Milnamow is playing Mama Who, mother to the ever-popular Cindy Lou Who, in the touring production of “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” which comes to Boston’s Boch Center Wang Theatre December 10–23.

The live show is based on the now-iconic animated television special, which premiered on CBS-TV in 1966 and featured the memorable Albert Hague and Eugene Poddany songs “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and “Welcome Christmas.” Dr. Seuss – pen name of the late Springfield-born writer Theodor Seuss Geisel – wrote the teleplay, based on his best-selling 1957 children’s book.

The stage version includes the classic songs as well as new music by Hague, Mel Marvin, and Timothy Mason. It is narrated by the beleaguered Max the Dog, whose mean-spirited, mountaintop-dwelling, green fur-covered master plots to steal Christmas away from the holiday-spirited Whos of neighboring Whoville.

A 2016 graduate of Algonquin Regional High School who went on to earn her undergraduate degree in musical theater from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, Milnamow is now on her third holiday season tour of “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical.” From a recent tour stop in Columbus, Ohio, the performer talked about the tour and more.

Did you get your start as a performer when you were growing up in Northborough?

I studied with Tom Alera, an English teacher at Algonquin Regional, and he put us in our high school shows including “Our Town,” “The Apple Street,” “Pajama Game,” and “Damn Yankees.” Tom is an excellent teacher and, when it came to doing the shows, he treated us all like young professionals. It was then that I realized that I didn’t really have a love for anything else in the same way that I love theater.

It was also when I was living in Massachusetts that I studied at the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio. I took Jim Vieira’s jazz class and studied musical theater dance with Rachel Bertone. I learned so much from both Jim and Rachel.

What’s it like being on the road again this year?

It’s pretty wonderful. I get to do a show that means so much to so many people – especially at this time of year. It’s also great to be out with so many of my friends who are in the company. Two of them – Taylor Drumwright and Neely Scott, who play Who kids – each hit 400 shows this year. I’ve done the show many times, but I have a long way to go to get near their numbers.

Have you always been a fan of the TV adaptation of this story?

Absolutely. As a kid I never missed it. And I watch it now in preparation for the live show. It’s our source material, because we want what we do to be as close to the Dr. Seuss book as possible. I love that the Whos find happiness in each other and in their humanity. For them, it’s not about the gifts you give, it’s about the thought behind them. And it’s about each other.

Will your family and childhood friends come to see you in Boston?

Boston will be my first time playing near my hometown so I know my family is coming to the show, and hopefully lots of friends, too. I like to be surprised, though, so they probably won’t tell me in advance exactly when they’re coming.

What’s it like meeting young fans at the stage door?

They’re often waiting for the Grinch, of course, but they’re happy to see everyone. As actors, it reminds us why we do what we do. It doesn’t happen only at the stage door either. We met the sweetest little fan at a Little Rock coffee shop and she was so excited because she had seen the show and was now meeting some of us in person. It was a great experience all around.

You’ve appeared in regional theater productions of “The Fantasticks,” “The Sound of Music,” “Titanic: The Musical,” and more. How does touring in “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” compare?

It’s not altogether different, but this show attracts unique, quirky, and very talented people to its cast and crew. There is so much fun involved in every aspect of this production. There’s no world in which someone can do this show and not be a nice person. That’s what makes it such a pleasure to tour in.

Photo caption: A scene from the touring company of “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical.” Photo by Jeremy Daniel. Head shot of Sarah Milnamow courtesy of Luca PR.

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