Now that Children’s Theatre Company’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” seems to have settled into the role of theatrical comfort food – gracing the stage of the company’s larger auditorium on an annual basis – it’s interesting to examine how each new incarnation responds to the tone of its time.
Like the Guthrie Theater’s wintertime staging of “A Christmas Carol,” CTC is offering a tale of transformation about the liberation of a hate-bound heart, this one from the imagination of Dr. Seuss, with a dash of development from the 1966 TV cartoon.
Judging from Friday’s opening night performance at CTC, it seems the 13th time’s the charm for its musical adaptation of Seuss’ book. For this is indeed the most charming version of the story it’s yet presented.
In his second year at the helm of this show, director Dean Holt has found a sweet spot between the humor and the heart of past productions, seemingly borrowing the best elements from previous incarnations and convincing the cast to sell the material with all the sincere spirit they can summon.
It feels as if Holt and company looked around at all the fear afoot in our troubled time and decided to try a little tenderness when telling the Grinch’s story this year. So Holt is going extra wistful in his portrayal of the aging dog Max who narrates the tale in flashback, and, most notably, Reed Sigmund has settled upon an ideal formula for the Grinch, a role he’s revived multiple times.
This year’s furry green villain is more funny than scary, his behavior unthreatening, his confrontational manner with the Whos never feeling particularly dangerous. Even when Sigmund borrows Robert DeNiro’s daunting delivery of “Were you talking to me?” from “Taxi Driver,” it’s done with a whimsical wink.
Yet if one simply describes the plot of this tale, it can sound pretty dark and scary. As the pear-shaped, psychedelic-hued Whos joyfully celebrate Christmas Eve with last-minute shopping and another chorus of one of Mel Marvin’s largely forgettable songs, the Grinch stews atop neighboring Mount Crumpit before hatching a plan to burglarize the entire town, making of his lovable dog Max a reluctant accomplice.
Something else Sigmund succeeds in stealing is every scene he’s in, and that’s saying something when he shares the stage with such talented young actors as Harriet Spencer as the unconditionally loving Max (she shares the role with Adelyn Frost) and Chloe Sorensen as Cindy-Lou Who, the child who sparks both the Grinch’s darkest night of the soul and his touching transformation. It says something about this production’s heart-forward approach that her lovely ballad, “Santa for a Day,” actually eclipses the iconic “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” as the show’s most memorable song.
The buoyant spirit is also aided by Karla Grotting’s effervescent choreography, the Seuss-faithful designs of Tom Butsch and David Kay Mickelsen, and a nine-piece pit orchestra that enhances the moods with some effective musical underpinning beneath the dialogue.
From left, Harriet Spencer, Reed Sigmund and Chloe Hu of the Children’s Theatre Company in “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” (Glen Stubbe / Children’s Theatre Company)
And, if you need assurance that it’s not too scary for the youngest audiences, I saw nothing but smiles on children’s faces when Sigmund wandered the auditorium and improvised exchanges with the audience while robbing the Whos, a very humorous high point of a particularly kindhearted and ultimately moving “Grinch.”
‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’
When: Through Jan. 4
Where: Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $114-$35, available at 612-874-0400 or childrenstheatre.org
Capsule: A sweet, tender take on the tale.
Related Articles
‘Living in America’ examines the housing crisis through comedy and real experience
Review: Prince’s music is the best thing about the ‘Purple Rain’ musical
Review: ‘Liberation’ on Broadway is brave enough to ask, what does feminism mean?
Review: Minnesota Opera accentuates the satire in its ‘Così fan tutte’
Review: CDT’s ‘White Christmas’ encore production is worth celebrating
Leave a Reply