[Dixielandjazz] How the Grinch Stole Christmas - THE MUSICAL

[Steve Barbone]

OKOM for 10 year olds and younger. If any of you grandparents are taking the
youngsters to NYC over the next few months, get tickets to this musical. Yes
sir, get tuneful music to them while they are young.

Excerpts for the NY Times review.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


NY TIMES - November 9, 2006 - By CHARLES ISHERWOOD

'DR. SEUSS¹ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL'

What's Big and Green and Red All Over?

The barometer may beg to differ, but the holiday season is officially here.
Wal-Mart tells us so. Seasonal discounts began on Saturday, in case you
hadn¹t heard. Time to defrost the turkey, dust off the ornaments and get out
the wallet.

Wal-Mart¹s rival Target, meanwhile, is kick-starting the festive rites on
New York stages by presenting an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic ³How
the Grinch Stole Christmas!² on Broadway. The musical opened last night at
the Hilton Theater, spreading the story¹s warm corrective message that the
spirit of Christmas resides not in the act of acquisition but in the holding
of hands and the raising of voices in communal cheer. . . snip to

Rest easy, Grinch-o-philes: the two immortal tunes from the television
special, by Albert Hague and Dr. Seuss, are given prominent placement, with
the mordant ³You¹re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch² used in a brief sing-along
segment. The chorus is led by John Cullum, the Broadway veteran who narrates
the show with crusty friendliness as Old Max, the Grinch¹s unwilling canine
accomplice, looking back on the misadventures of his youth. Rusty Ross plays
the Young Max of indentured servitude and the sad lone reindeer horn. . .
snip to
 
The lively whole seemed to please the legions of critics in the audience who
really matter here, the 10-and-unders, who hardly stirred in their seats
during those 90 minutes. That can confidently be taken as a sign of
satisfaction, or at least contented distraction.

One exception was a the little girl who let out a long, soulful wail shortly
after the Grinch, played with gargoyle-ish glee by Patrick Page, slunk
onstage. In her defense I must say I shared a little of her discomfort.
Covered as he was in skanky green fur, with Kabuki makeup turning his
features vaguely feline, this Grinch brought to my mind an unhappy encounter
with a road company of ³Cats² in San Francisco I thought I¹d expunged from
memory. I almost started wailing myself. . . snip to

Later, as the tenderhearted Cindy Lou Who prepared to sing her big solo
number, Mr. Page growled out the evening¹s most appealing line, at least for
the saccharin-averse adults in the audience. As tinkling strains of a
distinctly sentimental nature stirred from the orchestra pit, Mr. Page
turned to the audience and growled most grinchily, ³Oh, it¹s a ballad!²

And what a ballad. ³Santa for a Day,² the song in question, makes that
syrupy anthem from ³Annie² that I hardly need to name seem like a paean to
pessimism in comparison. I will spare you the lyrics. When Cindy Lou
followed it up with a confidence-building pep talk with the Grinch that
began to resemble an actual therapy session in both length and tone, my
patience began to weaken.

But oh dear. I¹d better stop right there. It may be my imagination, but as I
type these words I seem to see green fur sprouting from the backs of my
hands. . . remainder snipped.