Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts & Nederlander National Markets Broadway Comes To Reno proudly present
“The Whos” of the Pioneer Center are excited to present Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, a zany, colorful, celebratory Broadway musical sure to get all patrons in the holiday spirit – Grinches and Whos alike! You’ll discover the magic of Dr. Seuss’ classic holiday tale as it comes to life on the Pioneer Center stage in a new way that The New York Times calls “100 times better than any bedtime story!” You’ll recognize the songs you know, including “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “Fah Who Foraze/Welcome Christmas,” while also enjoying a new, original score you’re sure to love. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical performs its Reno premiere November 21-26 at the Pioneer Center. We look forward to celebrating the holidays with you! The Broadway Backstory Newsletter is created by Pioneer Center Education to help you learn more about the shows in our Broadway Comes To Reno series. Inside you’ll find information and links [in blue] to websites, videos, and articles about the history and creators of the show. Don’t forget to forward this email to the other subscribers and Broadway lovers in your party. Your tickets for this production were emailed to you on November 6th. Thank you for joining us for this season’s Broadway Comes To Reno series at the Pioneer Center. We look forward to seeing you very soon!
Get the backstory on the Broadway hit
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical •
Dr. Seuss, beloved children’s book author and illustrator, is the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991). Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1925. He pursued a doctorate in English from Oxford but left early to pursue a career as a cartoonist. His first nationally published cartoon appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1927. Upon moving to New York City, he took a job as a writer and illustrator for a humor magazine Judge and signed his first piece “by Dr. Seuss.” After a career in advertising, Geisel wrote, illustrated, and published his first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937. He and his family moved to La Jolla, California soon after WWII.
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As Dr. Seuss, Geisel created 47 children’s books and sold over 600 million copies worldwide. Titles include If I Ran the Zoo (1950), Horton Hears a Who (1954), The Cat in the Hat (1957), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), The Lorax (1971), and his final book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990). Geisel was awarded an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth in 1955 and a special Pulitzer Prize in 1984. •
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was first published in 1957 in hardback by Random House and in an issue of Redbook magazine at the same time. The Grinch character had previously debuted in a 1955 short poem titled “The Hoobub and the Grinch.” The Whos of Whoville were also previously introduced in Horton Hears a Who.
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The classic animated television special premiered in 1966, with narration by iconic horror film actor Boris Karloff. The song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” was performed by Thurl Ravencroft, also the voice of Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes) and several characters in Disney films and Disneyland attractions.
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Though composer Mel Marvin first adapted The Grinch for Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, the Broadway stage musical version was developed and first performed at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California in 1998, becoming an annual event. The show was directed by Tony-winner Jack O’Brien, the Artistic Director of The Old Globe from 1982-2007. O’Brien is best known for directing Hairspray, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Coast of Utopia, among others. A young unknown Vanessa Hudgens originated the role of Cindy Lou Who.
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Incorporating the original book by Geisel and music by Albert Hague from the animated special, the stage musical was expanded with book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin.
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The Broadway production of The Grinch opened November 8, 2006, at the Lyric Theatre (then called Foxwoods Theatre) for a seasonal run. It returned to Broadway the following season for another limited run, this time at the St. James Theatre. The Grinch was notable for being the first Broadway musical to offer 12 performances a week. Later years saw the production playing the 5,600-seat Theater at Madison Square Garden.
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The Grinch was directed for Broadway by Matt August and choreographed by Bob Richard, based on the original Old Globe choreography by John DeLuca. •
The seasonal US National Tour of The Grinch began in 2008, playing just a handful of cities each year due to the limited time frame. The tour has continued to new cities each season except during the pandemic.
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A live action feature film based on the book and starring Jim Carrey premiered in 2000. It was directed by Ron Howard. The Broadway musical version was adapted into a live televised special by NBC in 2020, starring Matthew Morrison.
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Two concurrent tours are on the road at the same time this season, playing 14 major cities across the United States. The Pioneer Center is the third stop on the “Old Max Tour”.
Learn More About the History and Cultural Significance of Dr. Seuss and How The Grinch Stole Christmas: Christmas:
• Dr. Seuss changed the children’s book industry. He saw the vital role children’s literature played in the future of the nation, as explored in this article from The New Yorker. • Geisel founded the Dr. Seuss Foundation in 1958. Their mission is to foster literacy in all its forms by financially supporting and partnering with organizations that share this goal. • Not familiar with the music? Check out the Broadway Original Cast Recording on Spotify. • See what it takes to transform the lead actor playing “The Grinch” into the iconic role we know and love.