Disclaimer: The Fandads were invited to a performance of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical” in exchange for a review. All thoughts, opinions, laughs, and tears are our own.
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| Photo by Jordan Bush |
When I was younger, I remember watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on television. I remember the voice of the narrator telling the story of the Grinch and hearing “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” over and over. It was never really a big thing for me when I was little, but I liked watching it when it was on.
As I got older there have been different iterations of the well-known tale. There were a few sequels to the original cartoon and there was a live-action movie starring Jim Carey. The live action movie was fun to see, but again it was not a huge thing for me to see, that is until I had my children.
My daughter loved reading the Dr. Suess books and we eventually read our way to How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was a fun way of rediscovering the story by sharing it with my daughter. The story of a mean old Grinch learning the meaning of Christmas by the Who’s was a great story to read together and a great lesson of what is important during the holiday season.
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| Photo by Jordan Bush |
Fast forward to November 2018 and there is a new animated Grinch movie in the theaters, but there is also a touring musical that’s performing through the 25th at the Chicago Theater. We were invited to opening night and I tried to keep this a secret from my children as long as I could, but the secret did not last long. My children were excited to see the show and that just made me even more excited to see it with them.
The show itself was amazing! Gavin Lee, the two-time Tony Award®-nominated Broadway actor who plays the Grinch, is magnificent in the role and you can tell he is really having a lot of fun with it. Not only do I see hints of the live Jim Carrey version, but I also saw little hints of Tim Curry’s performance from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I know that sounds pretty strange, but if you see the show, you might see what I am talking about.
We are all familiar with the story, but there is something about seeing it performed live that takes it to another level. It was great to see how they would transform the stage into Whoville and the various locations that the story took place. The songs are catchy and the play itself is pretty short. This is great if you catch one of the later shows and have a toddler who is a stickler for his bedtime, just saying.
While there are many fun moments in the play, here are our three favorite moments:
1. The Grinch singing “One of a Kind”.
This scene shows us why Gavin Lee has been nominated for 2 Tonys. Gavin takes control of the stage while singing this grandiose solo.
2. Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch
We know that this moment is going to happen sometime in the play, but when Cindy Lou starts singing “Santa For a Day” you just can’t help but feel all of the feels and just take in this beautiful moment.
3. The Sing-a-long
Yes, friends, there is a portion of the show that is interactive. So start preparing your voices and get ready to sing aloud with the entire theater.
This is a great show for families and while the younger children might be a little scared of the Grinch, they will see how nice and silly he can be while watching the show. This is a great show to see and hopefully, it will become a tradition for our family.
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical will perform at the Chicago Theatre Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.; Nov. 17 – 18 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Nov. 20-21 at 7 p.m.; Nov. 22-24 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Nov. 25 at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. For more information about Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical at The Chicago Theatre, visit chicagotheatre.com/grinch. Tickets are available at The Chicago Theatre box office, all Ticketmaster outlets and Ticketmaster phone charge 1.800.745.3000. Groups of nine or more please call GroupTix at (773) 327-3778; discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. Tickets starting at $35.
