{"id":244722,"date":"2011-12-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-09T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/dr-suess-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas\/"},"modified":"2011-12-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-12-09T08:00:00","slug":"dr-suess-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/dr-suess-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Suess’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Charlene Baldridge | Cr\u00edtico de Teatro SDUN <\/strong>\"Dr.<\/a><\/p>\n

What better time to begin the Christmas season and imbue oneself with cheer than on the day following Thanksgiving? No, it wasn\u2019t the Black Friday sales, although the shopping scene in Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin\u2019s \u201cDr. Seuss\u2019 How the Grinch Stole Christmas!\u201d puts one in mind of the mall. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a kinder, gentler mall \u2013 and it\u2019s in Whoville. The bargain is feeling one\u2019s Grinchy heart lifted as children in the plaza and in their seats at the Old Globe Theatre experience the simple wonder seeing a green, fuzzy beast discover that he can\u2019t steal Christmas from the Whos, who carry the holiday in their hearts. In other words, it\u2019s not the gifts under the tree or their cost, or even the roast beast; the deeper joy of the season is in family, the upturned faces of children and love. <\/p>\n

The story of \u201cDr. Seuss\u2019 How the Grinch Stole Christmas!\u201d is told by the green guy\u2019s dog, Old Max (Steve Gunderson, a veteran of the production, new to this role). Old Max has come to bid farewell to memories of that day from long ago, when he was just a pup (Young Max is again played the charming Logan Lipton), and the grumpy Grinch (debuting Broadway matinee idol Steve Blanchard) decided to stop the joy and the caroling down in Whoville by stealing Christmas. As those who read Dr. Seuss\u2019 books to their children know, Mr. Grinch fails because he meets a little girl named Cindy Lou Who (8-year-old Caitlin McAuliffe, who alternates in the role with Remy Margaret Corbin). In the stage production, she melts his heart with \u201cSanta for a Day.\u201d His heart grows three sizes and he finds love and acceptance in Whoville despite his appearance and his attempted theft. Twenty youngsters divided into two teams comprise the young and teen Whos.<\/p>\n

The current production, continuing through Dec. 31, is the Old Globe\u2019s 14th annual. As seasoned attendees discover, the show is invigorated this year with a new quartet of adult cast members, Geno Carr as Papa Who, Kelsey Venter as Mama Who, Phil Johnson as Grandpa Who, and Amanda Naughton as Grandma Who. Veterans also notice more subtle insertions and a few reinvigorated costumes. Whos are a notable challenge to fit, with their odd, insect-like bodies and the men and boys\u2019 wasp-like tails. Robert Morgan\u2019s original costume designs are still endearing. James Vasquez directs the production originally conceived and directed by Jack O\u2019Brien. <\/p>\n

Each year one goes home humming songs from the familiar score, notably \u201cSanta for a Day,\u201d but this year in particular the anthem \u201cFah Who Doraze (Welcome Christmas),\u201d Old and Young Max\u2019s duet \u201cThis Time of Year,\u201d and the adult quartet \u201cNow\u2019s the Time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Blanchard hasn\u2019t fully captured the vaudevillian \u201cOne of a Kind\u201d and is, as of now, a kinder, gentler Grinch, but it\u2019s a tough balancing act being green and mean and still not scaring the little ones. <\/p>\n

Music Director Ron Colvard conducts an eight-member orchestra. My only carp would be that Paul Peterson\u2019s sound design imbues the Who Chorale with vocal edginess that verges on unpleasant. <\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Seuss\u2019 How the Grinch Stole Christmas!\u201d continues at 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through December 31, Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. Some modified curtain times apply due to holidays and holiday events in the park. Complete schedule at www.theoldglobe.org or phone (619) 23-GLOBE.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Charlene Baldridge | SDUN Theater Critic What better time to begin the Christmas season and imbue oneself with cheer than on the day following Thanksgiving? No, it wasn\u2019t the Black Friday sales, although the shopping scene in Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin\u2019s \u201cDr. Seuss\u2019 How the Grinch Stole Christmas!\u201d puts one in mind of […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":731,"featured_media":244723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Dr. Suess' 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-244722","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\/244722","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\/731"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}