A Whoville Triumph

Arts Theater + Dance Facebook X Photo by Glen Stubbe for Children’s Theatre Company Sunday November 1, 2026. It is that reliably festive time of year across the Twin Cities when local stages roll out our perennial holiday triarchy: Ebenezer Scrooge, Clara and her Nutcracker Prince, and, of course, the green curmudgeon himself. Onstage now through January 3 at Children’s Theatre Company, “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” marks its extraordinary fourteenth production, inviting audiences once again to smile and delightfully shudder at this lavish storybook marvel. With book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and a score by Mel Marvin, this vibrant musical faithfully adapts Dr. Seuss’s classic 1957 fable. Perched high upon Mount Crumpit, the sour-tempered Grinch hatches a wicked plot to rob Whoville of its Christmas trees, ribbons, and roast beast, only to discover that the true heart of Christmas cannot be lifted away in a sack. Living high atop Mount Crumpit with delicious theatrical malice is longtime CTC company member Reed Sigmund, returning for his ninth turn slinking and slithering across the stage in chartreuse fur. Sigmund continues to be a marvel of comic timing. His portrayal pays affectionate homage to the languid, velvet Boris Karloff television purr of our collective childhood memories while injecting just enough modern physical swagger to keep contemporary kids and savvy parents roaring. His spontaneous audience work proves why he is a local master at communal connection. Sigmund breaks the fourth wall with playful ease, engaging directly with wide-eyed youngsters and grown-up kids at heart to show off what he does best: entertain with abandon. While cartoonish in his exaggerated rubber-faced grimaces, his transformation remains completely heartfelt, making this revival feel as dangerously unpredictable and newly minted. Providing the emotional anchor opposite Sigmund’s cynical recluse is Luciana Erika Mayer as Young Max. Mayer bounds into the space with pure, unbridled puppy exuberance and tender, expressive honesty. Her wide, luminous eyes telegraph every internal puppy dilemma and pang of conscience long before words are spoken. Playful, nimble, and overflowing with affection, Mayer offers the perfect sweet balance to Sigmund’s villainy. As a bonus, her lightning-fast reflexes and bag-catching skills deserve special commendation. The ever-brilliant Dean Holt pulls double duty onstage as Old Max and offstage as the production’s stage director. Draped in canine gray, Holt serves as an endearing, soulful narrator, threading the memory play with genuine warmth and wistful nostalgia. Behind the table, Holt delivers an undeniable masterstroke. With crisp comedic pacing and imaginative physical staging, Holt orchestrates a wonderfully inventive holiday triumph that makes every single inch of Whoville burst with theatrical mischief and heart. Photo by Glen Stubbe for Children’s Theatre Company Sunday November 1, 2026. What elevates this spectacle into true wonderland territory is the visual and sonic world-building. Scenic designer Tom Butsch has erected the Whoville of one’s sweetest dreams, an eye-popping kaleidoscope of curving rooflines and candy-striped whimsy populated by Whos delightfully dressed and coiffed by David Kay Mickelsen. Meanwhile, sound designer Sean Healey seems to employ every speaker hidden throughout the auditorium. Healey demonstrates conclusively that CTC boasts the best sound system in the Twin Cities, whipping frigid mountain gales completely around the audience with immersive, bone-chilling clarity. If you hold a torch for the television special, the book, or past stagings, you already understand the passionate devotion to the green one, evidenced by opening night patrons proudly decked out in Grinch finery. This happened to be my very first visit to CTC’s Whoville, and I could not have been more thoroughly dazzled. A new holiday tradition is officially born. In fact, I was so utterly enchanted that I walked out into the cold happily clutching my very own plushie of Max.