Few holiday tales are more beloved – and read and rewinded – than The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and zero stagings are more wondrous than The Chicago Theatre’s The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! The Musical. This limited engagement run is directed by Matt August and choreographed by Bob Richard (based on the original choreography by John DeLuca) and is not to be missed.
If you go
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! The Musical at The Chicago Theatre
175 N. State St., Chicago
Through November 29th, 2014
Show runs 90 minutes, with no intermission
For tickets, visit:
www.thechicagotheatre.com/thegrinch
One of the most sympathetic characters of the original Grinch tale – the loyal (now old) pup Max – revisits the past while narrating this story of the Grinch’s de-Christmasing of The Whos and (spoiler) his eventual redemption. Jubilant scenes throughout feature those wacky Whos and the blissful, chaotic, commercial holiday they love so very much.
To say that this is a family show is an understatement; there’s so much to be enjoyed by every member, from the Grinch’s showstopping “One of a Kind” number, to his hilariously inappropriate asides, back to the charm of the twirling Technicolor Who kids.
The cast is superb. Shuler Hensley’s curmudgeonly Grinch is genuinely hilarious, while the pitch-perfect Cindy Lou Who (Presley Ryan) sweetly coaxes stirrings of humanity in the green guy himself. Old Max and his younger counterpart (Ken Land and Aleksa Kurbalija) epitomize the “good dog” throughout the years, and the entirety of WhoVille is solid – with energy and grins for days.
Utilizing well-known songs from the original film, this score (with book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin) is upbeat and large as life, ideal for the simply stunning Chicago Theatre. Additionally, there are bits of stage magic (the sled! the snow!) so lovely that they’re still being talked about by certain five-year-old theatergoers nearly a week later.
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! The Musical is like witnessing a Dr. Seuss book perfectly jump from the page into your face – and with way better clarity than your brain could’ve possibly imagined the characters, the colors and the joy. What a Christmas treat.
