Television

'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' Stage Musical With 'Glee' Star Matthew Morrison Is Coming To NBC

The Grinch TV Musical
By Ethan Anderton

Following in the footsteps of Peter Pan, Grease, A Christmas Story, Hairspray, and The Sound of Music, another stage musical is coming to network television this holiday season. This time, it's an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical!, inspired by the classic story How the Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Glee star Matthew Morrison in the title role.

TV Line has news on the Grinch musical TV production, which will air on NBC on Wednesday, December 9 at 8:00 P.M. ET. Unlike the previous musicals that have come to network TV, The Grinch will not be a live show, so that will reduce the chances of this becoming a total trainwreck. For reference, here's a taste of the stage production when the cast performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade back in 2006:

In addition to being the Glee choir teacher and coach, Morrison has performed on stage in the Broadway productions of Hairspray, The Light in the Piazza and Finding Neverland. I'm not sure I like casting him as such an iconic character, but these NBC musical have been notorious for making the weirdest casting decisions, prompting audiences to watch just to see how bizarre the execution is. Much like the Grinch's plan to steal Christmas, this sounds like a wonderful, awful idea. Morrison is more hopeful though, as he said in a statement:

"In what has been an extremely challenging year for us all, it is an honor to bring some holiday cheer into viewers' homes this December. My wish is to bring some Who-ville magic to this holiday season and, while the pandemic presents some challenges in bringing a stage production to life, we are excited to present a unique version of this seasonal favorite in a new creative and imaginative way."

Here's a peek behind the scenes at the upcoming television production of the musical:

Morrison will be joined by Denis O'Hare (American Horror Story) as the old version of the Grinch's dog pal Max, who narrates and reflects on the terrible plan he was part of so many years ago. Booboo Stewart (Descendants) plays the young version of Max, and newcomer Amelia Minto plays Cindy-Lou Who, who was originally no more than two, but has been aged up like she was in the film adaptations to make more sense in the story. The rest of the ensemble will be filled out by actors from London's West End, the UK equivalent of Broadway.

This is is something that will undoubtedly be worth watching under the influence of some kind of substance. As for what substance that is will be up to you. It might be time to dig into your supply of Who-Hash, if you catch my drift.

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