Friday, December 12, 2008

GRINCH: THE MUSICAL?!? By John Rose

Continuing our GrinchWatch on The MonsterGrrls' 25 Days Of Christmas, today we're sharing with you news of the Grinch's own musical. That's right; this Christmas season, Dr. Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical will be playing at Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston from November 26 to December 28.

Originally performed as a seasonal production at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where it has run every Christmas since 1998, Grinch hit the Broadway scene from 2006 to 2007, being the first Broadway musical to offer 12 performances a week and eventually stealing top box-office grosses from Wicked, the popular musical based on Gregory Maguire's bestselling alternate history of Oz. Now the Grinch has made his way through Baltimore's Hippodrome to stop at Boston's Citi Performing Arts for the 2008 holiday season.

Narrated by Grinch's dog Max, the musical brings to the stage Theodore Geisel's popular Christmas tale of the
mean, small-hearted Grinch, who decides to steal Christmas from the holiday-mad Whoville population, and in the process, discovers that Christmas "means a little bit more." The sets and costumes are Seuss-derived and the music includes the familiar song "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" among its songlist. The musical's website (click our title link above for access) includes a photo gallery, free downloadable fun stuff that includes e-cards and a Grinch "Wanted" poster (!), and showtimes, show information, and where to get tickets. The musical even has its own page on Facebook, so if you're in the Boston area this holiday season, celebrate Grinchmas with this classic Christmas story in a fun stage adaptation.

Don't forget to check back with The MonsterGrrls' 25 Days Of Christmas as we bring you the weekly GrinchWatch for the holiday season. Next up: the original animated special!