How IOA’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” stage show got put together

Jim Hill

15 years ago

How’s this for a holiday recipe? First take that much beloved Dr. Seuss holiday tale
, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Now fold in large chunks of Chuck Jones’ 1966 animated version
of this story as well as individual elements from Jim Carrey’s 2000 take on the Grinch
. Then top that all off with new Christmas music created by Mannheim Steamroller
.

What do you end up with? A live stage version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” that’s quickly become a holiday tradition in Central Florida. With thousands of Orlando-area residents making a special trip to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure just to catch a performance of this seasonal show.

And it does Michael Roddy’s heart good to see the lengthy queue that snakes through Seuss Landing these days. As both the locals & the tourists line up for hours in advance in order to catch a presentation of the new live stage version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” that he helped create.

But — then again — as Manager of Show Development at the Universal Orlando Resort — Michael’s had a hand in every single version of this Dr. Seuss story that’s been presented at IOA. Starting with the Grinch’s very first appearance at that theme park back in December of 1999.

“Most people don’t remember that we actually had a walk around version of the Grinch in the Park as part of Islands’ first Christmas,” Roddy said. “We used him in this sweet little street show that we did with our Everything Wagon. Where we did this 15 minute long retelling of ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas.’ “

But then came November of 2000 and the release of Universal Studios’ live-action “Grinch” movie. Which the theme parks played a huge part in promoting.

“The year that the movie came out, IOA actually had this three act pageant that recreated whole sequences from that Ron Howard film,” Michael recalled. “And people would actually stay in Seuss Landing all day just so they could be sure and catch every act of the show.”

But by the time 2001’s holiday season had arrived, Roddy and his creative team had significantly scaled back IOA’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” operation. Opting instead to recap the storyline of the movie version of this Dr. Seuss story in a single act.

“But even at that length, we still lost a certain portion of our audience,” Michael continued. “And that was when I realized that — for a lot of people — there is really only one true version of ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ and that’s the Chuck Jones TV special.”

Still, given how vivid Jim Carrey’s performance as the Grinch was (More importantly, given how memorable Rick Baker’s make-up appliances were), IOA kept this version of that Dr. Seuss character around. Though — with each successive holiday season — the Grinch’s time in the spotlight was being reduced. Until finally the “Mean One” wasn’t even performing anymore. He was just posing for holiday snaps with the tourists.

Which — to Roddy’s way of thinking, anyway — was a horrible waste. I mean, here was “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The baby boomer equivalent of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” And NBC Universal had the rights to this iconic character & story. And the company’s theme parks weren’t taking full advantage of this opportunity?

Something clearly had to be done about this. Wouldn’t it be great — Michael wondered — if there were a way to combine the very best elements of the 1957 book, the 1966 TV special and the 2000 film to then create the definitive stage version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” ? Something that Universal Orlando guests could then enjoy every holiday season?

With this goal in mind, Roddy put the wheels in motion. And it did take a while to get the theme park rights to all of the necessary source material (Not to mention getting Audrey Geissel, Dr. Seuss’ widow, on board with the project). But once that was done, Michael set about trying to create a theme park version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” that would really deliver on guests expectations.

“We did a lot of mixing and matching on this show,” he explained. “Take — for example — the Whos. While the performers are wearing facial appliances that are very similar to what Rick Baker designed for the ‘Grinch’ movie, the costumes that these characters are wearing are based on the outfits that the Whos wore in the Chuck Jones TV special. We even did individual frame grabs from that show so that out costume designers could get the look & the color right.”

Roddy also made sure that the park created an appropriate venue for this show. Taking an unused portion of “The Cat in the Hat” ‘s overflow queue area and transforming it into the tree-lined horseshoe-shaped valley where Whoville is hidden.

“Again, it was all about delivering on the guests expectations. Making sure that the show looked right. That all of the moments & elements that the audience expected were there. The Grinch & Cindy Lou. The narrator. Max,” he continued. “And making sure that the show actually sounded like ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ was important too.”

Of course, on that end, Michael had a little help. Just six weeks before the start of rehearsals back in October of 2007, Roddy reached out to Chip Davis of Mannheim Steamroller and asked if he’d be interested in adapting the music from the TV version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” for the stage. As it turns out, Davis was a huge fan of this holiday special and immediately said “Yes.”

Photo by Max Schilling

And the end result — with its cast of 17 performers (Plus Max the dog, of course) — is presented six times daily at IOA. With people often lining up for hours in advance just to make sure that they can secure a seat to this 34-minute long show.

Which — again — does Michael Roddy’s heart good. He takes particular pride in the large numbers of locals who — having seen Universal’s stage version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” last year — are now returning to that park in order to see this show again. And this time, they’re bringing along friends & family to stand in a line that often stretches from Seuss Landing all the way back to the Port of Entry.

“That tells me that we finally got it right. That we’ve now got just the right mix of elements,” Michael stated. “The comedy of the live action film, the narrative drive of the original book and the heart of the TV special.”

And as for Roddy’s favorite moment in this show … Well, that’s when the Grinch — high up on Mt. Crumpet — hears the Whos singing in the valley below. And the “Mean One” then realizes that ” … Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas — perhaps — means a little bit more.”

“That’s what I told the cast on our very first day of rehearsal. That we have to treat this material with reverence,” Michael concluded. ” ‘The Grinch’ isn’t just some silly children’s story. This story really means a lot to an awful lot of people. Which is why it’s so crucial that we get every element right.”

And given the lines that you’ll encounter in Seuss Landing this time of year, Roddy & his team have obviously delivered the goods.

So if you’d like to experience this seasonal show, swing on by Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. Where the theme park version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” will be presented daily now through January 1st.

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Happy Holidays!