By SHARON EBERSON
One of my favorite gags in Who’s Holiday!, the R-rated Christmas parody at the Greer Cabaret throughout December, occurred quite by accident at Saturday night’s performance.
Audience member Dan was invited on stage to spend a little quality time with previously angelic toddler, now boozy, bawdy adult Cindy Lou Who.
Dan was a bit hesitant to reveal his occupation, but finally replied, “H.R.”
Oh, what human resources would do with Who’s Holiday!
The mind boggles.
Is it fair to be only slightly amused by the tastelessness of a show whose main aim is to be tasteless? That’s the dilemma I was faced with, watching a brightly ornamented, well-acted solo show about one Whoville resident’s descent into an abyss of bad choices, with attempts at sentimentality, tolerance and holiday spirit.
as an adult Cindy Lou Who. (Image: kgtunney Photography)
All of the talent on display could not stop Who’s Holiday! from feeling like an assault on my fondness for How the Grinch Stole Christmas and humor at the expense of a female character’s degradation. It registered more as shock and raunch than the hilarity and empathy I believe was the show’s intention.
Perhaps I simply was not prepared for playwright’s Matthew Lombardo’s dismantling of this particular Dr. Seuss classic
What I expected was something in the comedic neighborhood of Tony-winning parody Avenue Q and the parody it perpetrated on Sesame Street, with outrageous reimagining, songs such as Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist and puppet sex.
There you have it – a beloved children’s entertainment, turned on its warm and fuzzy head with adult themes and a smattering of blue language. It has always seemed to me to have its heart in the right place.
From Who’s Holiday!, a solo show about down-and-out Cindy Lou, I expected similarly clever fun poked at beloved characters, punctuated by cringe-inducing irony and the occasional truly offensive moment.
Plus, there was the promise of Lara Hayhurst, the immensely likable star shedding every inch of Maria von Trapp (a role she has played for Pittsburgh Musical Theater) to take on such a naughty persona.
in Seuss-inspired verse. (Image: kgtunney Photography)
She previously had proved her comedic chops in productions of Legally Blonde and as the title character in An Untitled New Play by Justin TImberlake, a show developed by Pittsburgh CLO and produced by City Theatre in 2021. In Who’s Holiday!, when Hayhurst performed a mic-drop rap and channeled Britney Spears, there were sparks of the fun I was seeking.
Hayhurst, under the direction of her husband Trey Compton, fully commits to the unpleasantness that has engulfed and changed Cindy Lou as an adult, even if the story does not fully embrace its tasteless tendencies. It tries to be down and filthy for most of its hour-plus running time, and then ring in a Merry Christmas with a sing-along.
When we first meet Cindy Lou, she is drinking and drugging through holiday party preparations, becoming exponentially agitated as invited guests such as Myrtle the Turtle call in last-minute regrets.
But plucky Cindy Lou, she doesn’t boohoo; she hurls curses instead, wishing her party guests dead …
Sorry.
The entire show is performed in Seuss-inspired verse – a feat handled deftly by Hayhurst.
Her glitzy costumes by Alexander Righetti and hair and makeup by Travis D. Kingler were perfectly tacky, and scenic and projection designer Bryce Cutler has adorned the Greer Cabaret stage with trailer-park holiday cheer, worthy of a good Who girl who has gone to seed.
The set itself, plus the f-bomb dropped in the voiceover greeting, was for me an introduction to settle in for what The New York Times has described as “the evergreen subgenre of holiday offerings that proffer to dirty up Christmas, while ultimately reveling in its spirit.”
We learn that after the events of the book and various films, Cindy Lou and the Grinch develop a relationship that is at first presented as a lesson in tolerance and evolves into a tale too perverse for even Law & Order: SVU to handle.
Suffice it to say that if you think a parody involving race and sex such as Blazing Saddles has not aged well, you may find jokes about the size of male genitalia and the gruesome demise of a beloved character particularly wince-worthy.
When the show was first bound for the New York stage, writer Lombardo was sued by the estate of Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel. But laws governing parody won the day. The New York premiere of Who’s Holiday! that starred Lesli Margherita was recommended by Show Score as “funny and touching” adult fare.
If you are a musical theater nerd like me, you may revel in the twisty, cheerful finale. But coming after a pile-on of so much unsavory stuff, I couldn’t get past the bad taste in my mouth. I don’t mean to be a Grinch about it, but Who’s Holiday! was not my cup of tea.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
CLO Cabaret’s Who’s Holiday! is at the Greer Cabaret, Downtown, through December 31, 2023. Tickets: visit https://pittsburghclo.culturaldistrict.org/production/90310 or call 412-456-6666. NOTE: This show contains adult content throughout.
Categories: Reviews
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