Christmas came a little early to Centennial Hall on Tuesday.
And so did the snow.
Seriously, it snowed inside and outside of the University of Arizona venue for Tuesday’s opening night of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical.” Performances, presented by Broadway in Tucson, continue through Sunday.
We’re not talking confetti made to look like snowfall; the white powdery stuff hitting us was wet to the touch. Ditto for the snow falling as we walked out of the packed hall after the performance.
OK, spoiler alert: they used a snowmaker; you could see it mounted above the exit. But we didn’t let on to the dozen or more little kids covered in “snow” Tuesday night that that “blizzard” wasn’t real.
Broadway In Tucson opened its six-day run of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” at Centennial Hall on Tuesday.
No doubt the Broadway tour company and Broadway in Tucson pulled out all the stops for “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The show only tours during the holiday season, from early November through late December. Tucson was one of less than 20 cities to get it and chances are it’s going to be many years before it comes back our way.
“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” is a family-friendly 85 minutes long, which could explain the dozens of kids in Tuesday’s nearly sold-out audience.
The show borrows heavily from the animated and live action film versions: The grouchy Grinch exacts his hatred of Christmas on the happy holiday folks of Whoville only to discover that Christmas is about more than presents and feasts.
But this time, Grinch’s dog Max gets to narrate the story.
The senior, grey-furred Max (played by W. Scott Stewart) alternates storytelling duties with his younger self (Xavier McKnight) and leads the audience in a sing-along to the show’s biggest hit “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”
Broadway in Tucson and the “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” Broadway touring company pulled out all the stops for Tuesday’s opening night at Centennial Hall, including making it snow.
The half dozen children among the ensemble cast were pretty terrific, especially Ella Tokita as Cindy Lou Who. Josh Woddie played Grinch as slightly snarky, with well-timed wit that reminded us of Jim Carrey’s version in the 2000 film.
The show, directed by Arizona Theatre Company Artistic Director Matt August, recreates those oversized cartoonish sets reminiscent of the 1966 animated feature and uses lighting to set the ambience of Grinch’s moods; darkened stage for angry and piercing white and red lights for fits of inspiration or desperation.
A little heads up about those lights; They were pretty darn bright when they shined them into the audience. There’s no warning in the program notes so you might want to cover your eyes if you’re sensitive.
Showtimes for “How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” are at 7:30 p.m. nightly through Friday, 2 and 7:30 on Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. For tickets, visit broadwayintucson.com.
