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Culture Theatre

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical

DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL by Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin, directed by Matt August (Big League Productions). Sony Centre (1 Front East). To December 30. $25-$74. 416-872-2262. See Listing. Rating: NNN


This musical adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a colourful show with a candy heart, but like the snow cascading over the orchestra, it’s a heart that doesn’t melt.

This lavish holiday show about a curmudgeonly outsider bent on pinching Christmas is pleasing in myriad ways. The Grinch, miffed by those insufferable Christmas-loving Whos, hatches a nefarious plan to destroy their collective spirit by donning a shabby Santa suit (pants not included) and stealing their trees, toys and roast beast – all with the help of his blameless dog, Max.

As the sweet-as-pie Cindy-Lou Who, Brooke Lynn Boyd is adorable, her strong voice so high and airy she sounds like a helium-filled cartoon in the flesh. Stefan Karl’s Grinch plays up the camp – especially fun during glittery showstopper One Of A Kind – vamping as Marilyn Monroe and fluttering his feathery green fingers. Beyond this song, the musical numbers are cute but not catchy, and the signature tune lacks the animated film version’s tart clarity.

I have fond memories of the Grinch and his sociopathic ways, but the framing device featuring Max the dog feels too nostalgic, over-complicating an already packed plot. In the old TV special and book, Max has an admirable stoicism as the put-upon rein-dog. That stoicism is abandoned here as he capers and whines over his owner’s holiday-hating.

It’s also unsettling to see an entire cast dressed in such demoralizing outfits: every Who in Whoville’s got more back than Nicki Minaj. The costume and set design trades elegance for spectacle, a compromise that pays off in some wonderful Seussian set pieces, in particular a charming tower of teacups.

But while the spectacle tickles, it also resists emotional engagement. Overwhelmed by set changes and long, expository songs about gift-giving (I get it! It’s the thought that counts!), the Grinch’s transformation fails to have any heartrending effect. Although Seussian style is all about gravity-defying excess, pathos comes in the quiet moment when a droopy green creature’s heart expands three sizes – the palpability of that moment notably absent in this energetic production.

stage@nowtoronto.com

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