Review: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL at Kentucky Center For The Arts

Phillip Bryan as The Grinch. Photo courtesy Broadway Across America.

Dr. Seuss' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL

Book and Lyrics by Timothy Mason

Music by Mel Marvin

Directed by Matt August

Review by Taylor Clemons

Entire contents copyright © 2017 Taylor Clemons. All rights reserved.

If you're a living, breathing person in these United States, I would bet insane amounts of money that you've heard of, read, or most likely seen some incarnation of the Dr. Seuss classic "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS". Since the books release and the original holiday special that was aired in the 60's, the tale of a cast off who learns to love Christmas has warmed the hearts of people everywhere. It only makes since that in 1994 a stage adaption is born. After several productions, the show landed on Broadway in November of 2006. Since then it has played NYC on multiple occasions and has been touring America seasonally since 2010.

The story is very simple. The mean old Grinch (Phillip Bryan) hates the town of Whoville and their love of Christmas. One year he's had enough and plans to "steal" Christmas to keep it from coming. Interestingly, the musical is told in flashback form, from the point of view of the Grinch's loyal dog Max as an old man (Bob Lauder). In the story itself we meet young Max (Andreas Wyder). Old Max proceeds to tell the story of what happened that night the Grinch decided to take the very thing the Whos hold dearest.

Walking in, I expected the show to be a fun and cute night at the theater with some fun tunes. Sadly that was not my personal experience of the show. The show's core problem is that the source material is a 20ish page picture book and a thirty minute cartoon special. The 2000 Jim Carey film based on the story succeeds because they took liberties and expanded and enhanced the story, making it worthy of a more grand adaptation. The musical manages to take the book and the holiday special as they are and stretch a half hour (at most) story into a 90 minute one act Broadway show. It just doesn't work. Musical moments feel forced, and the story moves at a snail's pace. Some of this could have been over looked if the show's material had some more creativity and apparent craft. The score (aside from the two songs taken from the cartoon), is new, and in my opinion fails more than it succeeds. Songs are generic and devoid of any kind of plot device to move the story forward. This lackluster music paired with sub par lyrics and a cheesy book makes for an incredibly long evening for audience members over the age of nine.

The performances of our three leads were strong, with Bryan taking new steps to divert from past interpretations of the classic character, Lauder's deep bluesy voice, and Wyder's wonderful dancing and physical comedy. However strong some performances may have been, the couldn't make the show shine through the lousy material. The citizens of Whoville on the whole were insufferable characters. Many times I found myself cringing at how annoying they were, with the exception of Cindy-Lou Who (Avery Sell), who delivers a nicely sung ballad.

The sets were very disappointing as well. Consisting mostly of what appear to be cut outs in lieu of actual set pieces. The costumes were hit and miss (mostly miss). The two costumes for the actors playing Max were adorable and helped the audience's perception of the characters. The Grinch's costume was fine. It wasn't bad, but I couldn't help but feel it could've been a lot more fun with some more thought put into it. As it is now, it's basically a furry green jumpsuit with green face paint. The costumes for the whos were dreadful, and unflattering to all of the actors wearing them. The resembled jumpsuits that have been stuffed to give the illusion of over-sized rears.

I really hate giving these kind of reviews, but in this case, I can't help but feel the punishment fits the crime. Kids will have a good time, but for most it will feel extremely juvenile. The good news? It's only 90 minutes so you'll get your kids home before bedtime.

Dr. Seuss' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL

November 28 - December 3, 2017 (with 4 performances on December 2nd)

Whitney Hall in The Kentucky Center for the Arts

501 W. Main Street

Louisville, KY 40202

(502) 584-7777

https://www.kentuckycenter.org/

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