Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical is a Christmas musical television special that aired on NBC on December 9, 2020. It is a performance of an adaptation of the 2006 musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, which is based on the How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss. It was filmed at the Troubadour Theatre in London. The special stars Matthew Morrison as the titular character, Denis O'Hare and BooBoo Stewart as Max the dog, and Amelia Minto as Cindy-Lou Who.[1]

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical
GenreHoliday
Musical
Based on
Written bySimon Nye
Directed byMax Webster
Julia Knowles
Starring
Composers
Country of originAmerica
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
ProducerMatthew Morrison
Production locationTroubadour Theater
Camera setupMulti-Camera
Running time120 mins (estimated)
Production companies
DistributorNBC
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseDecember 9, 2020 (2020-12-09)
Chronology
Preceded byJesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
External links
nbc.com

Premise

A small-hearted Grinch (Matthew Morrison), who hates the whole Christmas season, schemes to ruin the festive holiday for the citizens of Whoville.

Cast

Musical numbers
  • "Who Likes Christmas?" – Citizens of Whoville
  • "This Time of Year" – Old Max and Young Max
  • "I Hate Christmas Eve" – The Grinch
  • "Whatchama Who" – The Grinch
  • "Welcome, Christmas" – Citizens of Whoville
  • "I Hate Christmas Eve (Reprise)" – The Grinch
  • "It's the Thought That Counts" – Citizens of Whoville
  • "One of a Kind" – The Grinch
  • "Now's the Time" – Mr. Who, Mrs. Who, Grandma Who, Grandpa Who
  • "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" – Old Max, Young Max, and The Grinch
  • "Santa For a Day" – Cindy-Lou Who and The Grinch
  • "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch (Reprise)" – Old Max
  • "Where Are You, Christmas?" – Cindy-Lou Who
  • "Who Likes Christmas? (Reprise)" – Citizens of Whoville
  • "One of a Kind (Reprise)" - Young Max, The Grinch, Cindy-Lou Who
  • "This Time of Year (Reprise)" – Old Max
  • "Welcome, Christmas (Reprise)" – Citizens of Whoville
  • "Santa For a Day (Reprise)" – Ensemble
  • "Who Likes Christmas? (Reprise)" – Ensemble

Production

Development

On November 10, 2020, TODAY.com reported that another musical special would be released by NBC. The last special, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was aired live in 2018 and no live special was released in 2019. Before that, NBC had also released The Sound of Music Live!, Peter Pan Live!, The Wiz Live!, and Hairspray Live! The program was directed for the stage by Max Webster and directed for the screen by Julia Knowles. The screenplay was adapted by Simon Nye. The program featured music by Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin. It also featured two songs written by Albert Hague and Dr. Seuss that were featured in the first television adaptation of the children's book, How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The special was produced by Morrison, who played the lead role, and executive produced by Lee Connolly, Simon Friend, Joshua Rosenblum, and James Sanna.[2] The project was overseen by Doug Vaughan, executive vice president of special programs at NBC Entertainment.

Release

The special aired on the night of December 9, 2020, at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.

Reception

The special received poor reviews.

Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club gave it a "C", mainly criticizing Morrison's performance as the Grinch, as well as the source material, saying the score "makes Seussical look like a masterpiece in comparison".[3] Brian Lowry of CNN stated that "the show felt bloated and flat" with all of the commercial breaks.[4] Kelly Lawler of USA Today gave the presentation only one star out of a possible four, calling it the worst of all the previous adaptations of the story.[5] The special received a 0.6 rating among the 18–49 demographic and 2.5 million viewers, and was beaten by The Masked Singer Holiday Sing-A-Long special.[6]

References
  1. "NBC bringing 'The Grinch' to life in new musical holiday special". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  2. Evans, Greg (2020-11-10). "NBC Sets Matthew Morrison In 'Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical!' As Latest Holiday Theatrical Event". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  3. Siede, Caroline (December 10, 2020). "NBC's Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical! stink, stank, stunk". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  4. Lowry, Brian (December 10, 2020). "'Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical' puts the humbug in the holidays". CNN. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  5. Lawler, Kelly (December 10, 2020). "Review: The 'Grinch' doesn't need to steal Christmas; NBC's musical was bad enough to ruin it". USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  6. Ramos, Dino-Ray (December 10, 2020). "'The Grinch Musical!' Ratings Soft; 'The Masked Singer' Tops Wednesday". Deadline. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
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