Holiday Performances Resume

The Old Globe to Resume Live, In-Person
Holiday Performances This Year
with the 24th Annual Production of
Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
November 3 – December 31
and
the Return of the Dickens Mash-Up and Music-Filled Comedy
Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show
November 19 – December 26

PHOTO EDITORS: Click on the show titles for photos of the Globe’s productions of Grinch and photos of Scrooge.

SAN DIEGO (July 14, 2021) — The Old Globe announced today it will resume live and in-person holiday programming this year with the Globe’s productions of the 24th annual Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and the return of the Dickens mash-up and music-filled comedy Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show. After a pause in the onstage production caused by the pandemic, San Diegans can resume attending the yuletide theatre tradition of The Grinch from November 3 to December 31, with the official opening night on November 7, and Scrooge from November 19 to December 26, with the official opening night on November 23. The cast, creative team, and ticket on-sale date for both productions will be announced at a later date.

“As San Diego continues to glimpse our post-pandemic life, the Globe is happy to announce one more contribution to the new normal: the return of our fabulous holiday programming,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “The 24th year of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!will once again celebrate the spirit of community and togetherness, a spirit that has made this show such a central part of the holidays in our city. And the return of Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show will again bring laughter and kindness to the fore at a moment when both could not be more needed. All of us at the Globe are thrilled to be back in action, and excited to share these beautiful works of theatre with our city.”

The Grinchfeatures a book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin. The original production of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was conceived and directed by Jack O’Brien, with additional lyrics by Theodor S. Geisel, additional music by Albert Hague, and 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. Max the dog narrates, as the mean and scheming Grinch decides to steal Christmas away from the holiday-loving Whos, leading The Grinch to discover there is more to Christmas than he bargained for. San Diego audiences will experience the magic of this annual theatrical event as the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, will once again transform into the snow-covered Whoville, right down to the last can of Who-hash. Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! features the classic holiday songs “Santa for a Day,” “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and “Welcome, Christmas (Fah Who Doraze).”

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.

Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show, which had its West Coast premiere at the Globe in 2019, returns to the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. The Scrooge parody, set in San Diego, is based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and is written by Gordon Greenberg (Globe’s The Heart of Rock & Roll and Working, London’s Guys and Dolls and Barnum) and Steve Rosen (The Other Josh Cohen, The Curious Case of the Curse of Count Dracula!). This fast, funny, and highly theatrical reimagining is one of the most beloved holiday stories ever told. All the traditional elements of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol are intact—including the iconic ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future—but with a comic local twist. Audiences of all ages will cheer Ebenezer Scrooge’s rediscovery of the Christmas spirit in this riotous Dickens mash-up filled with music and laughter—all set in “wintery” San Diego.

Tickets for Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!and Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show will go on sale at a later date to be announced.

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is supported in part by production sponsors Elaine and Dave Darwin and Qualcomm. Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Showis supported in part by production sponsors The Conrad Prebys Foundation and Leonard Hirsch.

Financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego.

The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.

Bios and photos of all participants can be found at www.TheOldGlobe.org/Press-Room.

The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 87th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and the Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!—have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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