![\"grinch\"](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/grinch.jpg\" "\\"grinch\\"")
<\/a> You have to hand it to the Old Globe Theatre. As every holiday season the theater scene is flooded with endless productions of \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d and \u201cThe Nutcracker,\u201d the Globe created its own holiday show by adapting the popular children\u2019s book and animated TV special \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas\u201d to the stage.<\/p>\nEvery year, the show varies some and sometimes that variance is good, sometimes not. But that doesn\u2019t change the fact that in its 12th year, \u201cThe Grinch\u201d has become a treasured holiday tradition for many San Diego families.<\/p>\n
Not to be a Scrooge about it, but the current production can\u2019t be said to be any better than the half-hour animated version. By stretching out the action past 60 minutes (there\u2019s no intermission), there\u2019s a lot of filler between the familiar scenes of the Grinch and his dog Max planning to steal Christmas from the ever-cheerful Whos. Like \u201cA Christmas Carol,\u201d it is a story of redemption and the lifting of oppressive isolation.<\/p>\n
The show falters in a few places, most notably in the score by Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin. Songs such as \u201cWho Likes Christmas?,\u201d \u201cI Hate Christmas\u201d and \u201cOne of a Kind\u201d are fairly forgettable. The song about commercialism, \u201cIt\u2019s the Thought That Counts,\u201d seems out of place with the Whos we have grown to love over generations of TV-watching. The only songs that really resonate are \u201cWelcome Christmas (Fah Who Doraze)\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch\u201d (in the latter, the audience gets to sing along), which are from the animated version.<\/p>\n
But much of the production does work. The live factor can\u2019t be emphasized enough \u2014 everyone enjoys seeing the Grinch close up and possibly interacting with him. The framing of Max as an old dog reminiscing of that fateful Christmas, his first with the Grinch, is delightful. And the sweet relationship between Cindy-Lou Who and the Grinch can\u2019t fail to bring a few tears to the grown up eyes while the humor of the Grinch himself will tickle younger funny bones.<\/p>\n
The real standout in this production is only 5 years old. Shea Starrs Siben (alternating with Anna Bahen) is simply wonderful as Cindy-Lou Who. She sings with the voice of someone four times her age and gives the character the right balance between pathos and humor (her older sister Skylar once also played the role).<\/p>\n
In his first turn as the Grinch, Broadway veteran Jeff Skowron leans a little further toward the comic side of the character, but remembers to give him a slight edge. His Grinch doesn\u2019t scare, but doesn\u2019t appear tame either.<\/p>\n
Martin Van Treuren\u2019s Old Max is a comfortable old chair of a character, while Logan Lipton\u2019s Young Max is a puppy full of vigor and innocence. Both are excellent in the roles. In fact, the quality of the entire ensemble is impressive, especially members of Cindy-Lou\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
John Lee Beatty\u2019s set brings the Dr. Seuss book (not the animated show) to life, down to the pillow-like candy canes. Robert Morgan\u2019s costumes make the characters appear anything but human \u2013 yes, that\u2019s a compliment.<\/p>\n
While \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas\u201d isn\u2019t perfect, it\u2019s something different and enjoyable for the whole family. And that\u2019s what makes it a perfect holiday tradition.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cDr. Seuss\u2019 How the Grinch Stole Christmas\u201d When: Through Dec. 27; showtimes, 7 p.m. Tuesday-Fridays, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 8 p.m. Saturdays, plus 5 p.m. Dec. 12 & 19 Where: Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park Tickets: $20-$79 Info: (619) 23-GLOBE Web: www.TheOldGlobe.org How the Grinch Stole Christmas […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":243063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"How the Grinch Stole Christmas","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}