Who’s Holiday!: The Story Dr. Seuss Didn’t Want You to See
A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis
Richmond Triangle Players
At: The Robert B Moss Theatre, 1300 Altamont Avenue, RVA 23230
Performances: November 14 – December 15, 2018
Ticket Prices: $10-35
Info: (804) 346-8113 or rtriangle.org
Who’s Holiday! is an irreverent, adult Christmas story. This one-woman show told by a grown-up Cindy Lou Who takes the audience on a rip-roaring sleigh ride that provides eye-opening details about Cindy Lou Who and her pal the Grinch.
Cindy Lou has outgrown her cute pink pajamas in favor of a bright red shirtwaist dress with multicolored trim which is turn gives way to a green corset with a sparkly red skirt. Both are worn with glittery gold stilettos and a curly blond wig. Thank Ruth Hedberg for the festively tacky costume design.
Cindy Lou has only recently returned home after a rather long stint away. She now lives in a trailer left to her by her late uncle, and it’s parked on Mount Crumpit, apparently not far from the Grinch’s old lair. The sparsely furnished interior feature lots of green accents – and there’s a reason for the Wicked poster on the wall – but T. Ross Aitken’s design seemed surprisingly spacious for a trailer.
And where, exactly is the old green Grinch, and how has he fared over these past years? Well, to tell you that would give away most of the plot. It’s not for nothing that this play is subtitled “The Story Dr. Seuss Didn’t Want You to See!” Apparently, in 2016, Dr. Seuss Enterprises took playwright Matthew Lombardo to court for copyright violation, but Lombardo successfully countersued claiming parody is protected under “fair use” laws and the play opened off-Broadway in 2017.
Kids would not recognize this Cindy Lou Who, played by the talented and versatile Kimberly Jones Clark, most recently seen as Margery in Hand to God co-produced by TheatreLAB and 5th Wall Theatre. I’m not trying to say Clark is making a habit of playing dysfunctional middle-aged women, but lately she has done it extremely well. Middle-aged Cindy Lou starts off greeting the audience, including a shout-out to “the queer in the rear.” She tests the waters of offensiveness with gays and lesbians, as well as Jews, and at one point asks if the word “ghetto” is offensive, but quickly dismisses that suggestion with a flippant, “it gets worse.”
Cindy Lou scrounges a Tramadol from the floor and washes it down with liquor. She takes a hit from a bong and describes some parts of the Grinch that most of us never thought of – and hope never to see – in great detail. Who’s Christmas! is hilarious and also quite dark (and I’m not sure if this is the intent of author Matthew Lombardo, director Dexter Ramey, star Kimberly Jones Clark, or a combination of the three): it deals with drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, bestiality, animal cruelty, murder, and prison culture. Along the way, Jones grabs a handheld microphone and throws in a totally unexpected rap, a deadpan execution of “Merry Little Christmas,” which invited audience participation, and – my personal favorite – a rather skillful rendition of “Blue Christmas.”
There are laughs aplenty; the audience seemed well-pleased, and Clark did an excellent job holding down this zany one-woman show. It just wasn’t my cup of tea – I laughed, I enjoyed it, but it isn’t my favorite adult Christmas show. Maybe I was hoping it would be more like Christmas on the Rocks whose grown up Ralphie, Cindy Lou Who, Charlie Brown, and other characters simultaneously tore and warmed my heartstrings.
Who’s Holiday! runs just about an hour, with no intermission, and is followed by a holiday cabaret with Joshua Worsham on piano and Georgia Roger Farmer and/or Shannon Gibson Brown. I didn’t stay for the cabaret, but it seems like a great deal – an unexpected after party!
Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County.
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Photo Credits: Photos from RTP Facebook page
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