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Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

November 10 - December 31

Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage
Old Globe Theatre
Conrad Prebys Theatre Center

Photo Credits

John Treacy Egan as Old Max, Andrew Polec as The Grinch, and Tommy Martinez as Young Max in Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, 2021. Photo by Rich Soublet II.

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Summary

Book and lyrics by Timothy Mason
Music by Mel Marvin
Original production conceived and directed by Jack O’Brien
Additional lyrics by Theodor S. Geisel
Additional music by Albert Hague
Original choreography by John DeLuca

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a wonderful, whimsical musical based upon the classic Dr. Seuss book. Back for another incredible year, the family favorite features the songs “Santa for a Day,” “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and “Welcome, Christmas (Fah Who Doraze),” the delightful carol from the popular animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Celebrate the holidays as the Old Globe Theatre is once again transformed into the snow-covered Who-ville, right down to the last can of Who-hash.

Last year, due to the pandemic, the Globe’s 23rd annual production of the Grinch was presented by KPBS Radio in San Diego as a free audio-only production.

The Old Globe is not responsible for counterfeit or invalid tickets purchased through third-party websites or ticket brokers. Those tickets are often not valid tickets for seats in the theatre. Please only purchase tickets for Old Globe performances and events through this website or over the phone through The Old Globe ticket office.

All Ages Performances

We regret that, in the interest of safety, we are unable to offer all-ages performances for this year’s production of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! For 2021, all performances welcome children ages three and up. Children under the age of three (including babes in arms) will not be admitted into the theatre. Regardless of age, each audience member must wear a mask. For more information on our COVID-19 policy, click here. We look forward to resuming our all-ages performances in the future.

COVID-19 Health and Safety Policy

Special thanks to The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund for decades of leadership support that makes theatre matter.

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is supported in part by production sponsors Elaine and Dave Darwin, Karen and Stuart Tanz, and Qualcomm.

The Grinch Children's Initiatives are sponsored by The Binford Family, Dee Anne and Michael Canepa, Peggy and Robert Matthews Foundation, and Randon House Children's Books.

Dr. Seuss Properties TM & © 1957 and 2021. Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved.

For performances of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! food and drinks are not allowed in the theatre.


Production Sponsors
Elaine and Dave Darwin

Program

Grinch 2021 Kid Casting Calendar

COVID-19 Health and Safety Policy

Watch The 16th Annual Grinch Christmas Tree Lighting Here!

Reviews

“One of the best changes to come along in a decade is this year’s casting of Andrew Polec in the title role! His huge eyes, rubbery physicality, childlike sense of humor, wicked smile, boundless energy and robust vocal performance make his grumpy Grinch feel like a cartoon character come to life. If past Grinches have given 110 percent to every performance, then Polec seems to be giving 200. Every year, the “Grinch” musical delights and surprises children with its storybook-come-to-life scenery and costumes and snowfall in the aisles. But this year, the new Grinch in town has moms and dads in the audience surprised and laughing out loud!” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

“A hilarious romp intertwined with relevant depths! The Grinch played by Andrew Polec turns in a particularly nuanced performance. The theme is profound—the presentation is colorful, adorable, light-hearted, and full of fun!” —San Diego Voice & Viewpoint

Cast and Creative

Cast

Creative

Timothy Mason (Book and Lyrics) The Old Globe: Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Broadway: Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Circle Repertory: Levitation, Only You, Babylon Gardens, The Fiery Furnace. Actors Theatre of Louisville: In a Northern Landscape. American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory: Ascension Day, The Less Than Human Club, Time on Fire, Mullen’s Alley, My Life in the Silents, The Life to Come. Other titles: South Coast Repertory, Seattle Rep, Victory Gardens, Jungle Theatre, Royal National Theatre. Novel: The Darwin Affair (Algonquin Books).

Mel Marvin (Composer) The Old Globe: Tintypes, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Broadway: Yentl, A History of the American Film, Tintypes (Tony Award nomination), Fascinating Rhythm, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Cymbeline. Off Broadway: 11 shows. Other credits: 11 Off Broadway shows, dozens of scores for America’s best-known regional theatres, including Arena Stage, Guthrie Theater, ART, La Jolla Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum (including the original music for the world premiere of Angels in America). Opera: Guest from the Future, Buwalsky, Truth and Reconciliation. Other work: Head Faculty Composer at the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU.

Jack O’Brien (Conceived and Directed Original Production) The Old Globe: Artistic Director, 1981–2007. Broadway: All My Sons, Carousel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Front Page, It’s Only a Play, Macbeth, The Nance, Catch Me If You Can, The Coast of Utopia, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Henry IV, Hairspray, Imaginary Friends, The Invention of Love, The Full Monty, Porgy and Bess, more. Other work: national tours, West End, Metropolitan Opera, San Diego Opera, PBS’s “American Playhouse.” Other awards: three Tony Awards, five additional nominations, 2008 Theatre Hall of Fame inductee. Memoir: Jack Be Nimble: The Accidental Education of an Unintentional Director, about the early years of his career.

James Vásquez (Director, Swing) The Old Globe: Resident Artist; Hair, American Mariachi (world premiere), Hurricane Diane, Tiny Beautiful Things, Rich Girl (West Coast premieres), The Rocky Horror Show, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Regional: American Mariachi (Denver Center Theatre Co.), In the Heights (Dallas Theater Center, Moonlight Stage Productions), Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax (associate director, Children’s Theatre Co.), West Side Story, Cats (SD Musical Theatre), Pageant, Hedwig... (Cygnet Theatre Co.), Next Fall, Pippin (Diversionary Theatre). Other works: Goodspeed Musicals, La Jolla Playhouse. Education: The Juilliard School, Drama Division. jamesvasquez.com.

John DeLuca (Original Choreography) Current: Producing The Little Mermaid (live action). Film: Mary Poppins Returns, Into the Woods, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Nine, Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago, The Terminal. Television: Tony Bennett: An American Classic, “The 75th Annual Academy Awards,” “The Kennedy Center Honors.” Awards: two Emmys, three Golden Globe Best Film noms, three AFI Top Ten Best Films, three National Board of Review Top Ten Films, four Critic’s Choice Best Film noms, Choreography Media Honors, two American Choreography, Hamilton Behind the Camera, Humanitas Writing, Chita Rivera Award. Theatre director/choreographer: Broadway, Off Broadway, City Center’s Encores!, The Public Theater, regionally.

Bob Richard (Additional Choreography) Broadway/tour: Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! for the past 15 years. Off Broadway: directed/choreographed Inventing Mary Martin: The Revue of a Lifetime (Joseph A. Callaway Award nomination), The Road to Qatar! As director: North Shore Music Theatre, Ordway Center, Theatre By The Sea, 5th Avenue Theatre, Theatre Under The Stars, Pioneer Theatre Company. International: Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Awards: Footlight Award, Gypsy Rose Lee Award, Ivey Award, Ernie Award, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award. Coming soon: new national tour of An American in Paris, South Pacific.

Elan McMahan (Music Director) The Old Globe: Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, As You Like It, Inherit the Wind, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Regional: In the Heights, West Side Story, Titanic, Big Fish, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, 50 more productions (Moonlight Stage Productions), Into the Woods (New Village Arts). Education: B.Mus. in Piano Performance from Brigham Young University, M.Mus. in Piano Performance from St. Louis Conservatory of Music. Awards: San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Musical Direction (2012, 2015, 2017). Other work: associate faculty at MiraCosta College.

John Lee Beatty (Scenic Design) The Old Globe: The Underpants, Much Ado, Richard II, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Redwood Curtain. Broadway: 115 productions, Sweat, Disgraced, The Nance, Good People, Venus in Fur, Other Desert Cities, The Royal Family, The Color Purple, Rabbit Hole, Doubt, Chicago, Proof, A Delicate Balance, The Heiress, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Most Happy Fella, Burn This, Ain’t Misbehavin’,Talley’s Folly, Fifth of July, Crimes of the Heart. Off Broadway: The Whipping Man, Sylvia, The Substance of Fire, A Life in the Theater, Lips Together…, MTC, Circle Rep, Encores! Awards: Tonys, Obies, Drama Desks, Outer Critics Circles, Theater Hall of Fame. Education: Brown, Yale School of Drama.

Robert Morgan (Costume Design) The Old Globe: Associate Artist. Broadway: Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Full Monty, Imaginary Friends, I’m Not Rappaport, Sherlock’s Last Case. Off Broadway: Pride’s Crossing, Saturn Returns (Lincoln Center), The Loves of Anatol (Circle in the Square). Television: American Playhouse’s The Skin of Our Teeth, A Christmas Carol. West End: The Full Monty. Regional: Ahmanson, American Conservatory Theater, American Players Theatre, Denver Center, Guthrie, Huntington, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, McCarter, Milwaukee Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, Studio Arena Theater, Williamstown. Awards: two Drama Desk nominations, 12 Drama-Logue Awards.

Pat Collins (Lighting Design) The Old Globe: Camp David, Twelfth Night, Cymbeline. Broadway: Orphans, Good People, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Doubt (Tony nomination), Sight Unseen, Proof, A Moon for the Misbegotten, A Delicate Balance, The Sisters Rosensweig, Conversations with My Father, The Heidi Chronicles, I’m Not Rappaport (Tony Award), Execution of Justice (Drama Desk Award), Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Threepenny Opera (Tony nomination), Once Upon a Mattress, An American Daughter. Other work: Off Broadway, Lincoln Center, Mark Taper Forum, McCarter, Berkeley Rep, Seattle Rep, Hartford Stage, Alley, Center Stage, Long Wharf, Guthrie, Goodman, ART, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, over 100 international opera productions.

Paul Peterson (Sound Design) The Old Globe: The Brothers Size, God of Carnage, Nobody Loves You, Welcome to Arroyo’s, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Kingdom, The Women, Two Trains Running, Hold Please, Restoration Comedy, Pig Farm, Moonlight and Magnolias, Lucky Duck, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Blue/Orange, Time Flies, Pentecost, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, many more. Regional: Milwaukee Repertory Theater, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Center Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Sledgehammer Theatre (Associate Artist), Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company, San Diego Repertory Theatre. Education: B.A. in Drama with an emphasis in Technical Design from San Diego State University.

Anita Ruth (Orchestrator) As orchestrator/arranger/musical director: over 150 musicals in the last 30 years. As musical director: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (1968–1988). As freelance music director/orchestrator: Children’s Theatre Company, Bloomington Civic Theatre, Theatre Mu, others. Guthrie Theater: three Shakespeare productions (as arranger/music director), A Christmas Carol for many years (as music director). Other work: orchestrated two operas composed by Mel Marvin: one presented in Holland, one at Bard College (2004).

Joshua Rosenblum (Vocal Arrangements and Incidental Music) Broadway, as conductor: Miss Saigon, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Wonderful Town, The Music Man, Falsettos, Anything Goes. Off Broadway, as composer/lyricist: BUSH IS BAD, Fermat’s Last Tango, Einstein’s Dreams (Drama Desk nomination). As guest conductor: Brooklyn Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, American Repertory Ballet. As pianist: New York Pops (Carnegie Hall), City Center Encores! Faculty member: NYU (conducting), Yale University (composition). Music director: Pit Stop Players. Contributing writer: Opera News. Education: B.A. in Music from Yale (summa cum laude), M.Mus. in Piano from Yale School of Music. Wonderful family: Joanne, Julian, Phoebe.

David Krane (Dance Music Arranger) (he/him/his) Film/television: Best Picture Oscar winner Chicago, Nine, Into the Woods with Meryl Streep, My Week with Marilyn with Michelle Williams, Mrs. Santa Claus with Angela Lansbury, Cinderella with Whitney Houston, Annie with Kathy Bates, Mary Poppins Returns with Emily Blunt.Upcoming:live-action The Little Mermaid with Melissa McCarthy. Broadway: 35 shows including Cabaret with Alan Cumming, Kiss of the Spider Woman with Chita Rivera, Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews, She Loves Me with Laura Benanti. Original shows: Aspire, The Road to Qatar!, Goin’ Hollywood (premieres in 2023 in Dallas). goinhollywood.com, davidkrane.com, @davidkranemusic on Twitter and Instagram.

Caparelliotis Casting (Casting) The Old Globe: Shutter Sisters, Hurricane Diane, Noura, They Promised Her the Moon, Tiny Beautiful Things, Barefoot in the Park, The Wanderers, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Skeleton Crew. Select Broadway: The Minutes, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, King Lear, Hillary and Clinton, Ink, The Waverly Gallery, The Boys in the Band, Three Tall Women, Meteor Shower, A Doll’s House Part 2, Jitney, The Glass Menagerie, Blackbird, Fish in the Dark, Disgraced, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Additional theatre: MTC, Signature, Atlantic, McCarter, Goodman, Berkeley Rep. Current television: “New Amsterdam” (NBC), “American Odyssey” (NBC).

Jess Slocum (Production Stage Manager) The Old Globe: Hurricane Diane, Noura, As You Like It, They Promised Her the Moon, Familiar, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Imaginary Invalid, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Love’s Labor’s Lost, tokyo fish story, In Your Arms, Bright Star, Othello, Water by the Spoonful, Pygmalion, A Room with a View, Robin and the 7 Hoods, dozens more. Regional: Noura (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Indecent, Side Show, Ruined, The Third Story, Memphis, Most Wanted (La Jolla Playhouse), Post Office (Center Theatre Group). Education: Vanderbilt University.

Amanda Salmons (Assistant Stage Manager) The Old Globe: The Gardens of Anuncia, Life After, The Blameless, American Mariachi, The Heart of Rock & Roll, October Sky, Rain, The Metromaniacs, The White Snake, Inherit the Wind, Somewhere, Lost in Yonkers, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet. Regional: Blueprints to Freedom: An Ode to Bayard Rustin (La Jolla Playhouse), Kiss Me, Kate (Hartford Stage), The Foreigner, See How They Run, The Rivalry (Lamb’s Players Theatre), The Gondoliers, The Pirates of Penzance, Candide, Trial by Jury (Lyric Opera San Diego). Education: UC San Diego.

Lyndon Pugeda (Associate Music Director) Part of The Grinch since 2014. Music direction: Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (The Old Globe), On Your Feet!, Once on This Island (Moonlight Stage Productions), Gutenberg! The Musical! (Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company), Man of La Mancha (Oceanside Theatre Company), Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings (New Village Arts). Associate: Benny & Joon (The Old Globe). Honors: Craig Noel Award nomination and three National Youth Arts Awards for Outstanding Musical Direction, 2020 Who-ville Hall of Fame inductee. Education: B.A. in Music: Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts from UC San Diego. @lyndonpugeda on Instagram.