By Kristen Nevarez Schweizer
November 18, 2024
Oh, what fun it is to stroll into The Old Globe’s Copley Plaza during the Christmas season. The outside world fades away, and you’re swept into a magical snow globe around the iconic, lavish Who Tree. While this plaza rarely hosts children for ten months out of the year, starting in mid-November it is filled with gasps of delight, laughter, and energy that can only happen in a multi-generational crowd.
The Old Globe’s Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has been a tradition for San Diego families for twenty-seven years. I’ve been lucky enough to attend through the now-fourth-year tenure of the flabbergastingly talented star, Andrew Polec.
Confession: I only saw the first fifteen minutes of his first performance. In 2021, Polec’s Grinch entered with menacing growls of dark comedy. My young son gripped my arm and—proud mom moment—advocated for himself by saying, “He’s bad, I want to leave.”
Polec told The UT’s Pam Kragen, “In the first year, my interpretation of the Grinch was just that he has to be angry and loud and over the top. But I’ve found I want to keep pulling him back because I know a lot of his frustration and hurt is all deeply inside him…There’s a delicate balance of playing the internal extremes and then letting out a bit of the Grinch’s light from time to time.”
The next year, Polec’s Grinch felt friendlier. In 2023, my daughter giggled at his grand entrance. This dare-I-say-perfect 2024 Grinch has evolved in nuanced elegance, balancing anger and bullying with endearing vulnerability, playful menace, and relatable loneliness. His performance is a dazzling contradiction of humanity and hilarity that elevates the classic cartoon role into something that made my grown-up heart grow three sizes.
For children and grandparents, Polec is a comedy goldmine with matching pipes of gold. I will rename the 2024 production ‘How the Grinch Stole the Show’ because the room leaned forward every time he took the stage. His solo cabaret number ‘He’s One of a Kind’ is a show-stopper. His ad-libs and audience interactions feel so organic it’s hard to believe he keeps the ‘magic of the first time’ through his fourth year of nearly eighty 80-minute performances (with three shows on most weekends!)
Superfans can follow Polec’s day-to-day updates on Threads and re-watch his Instagram takeover on YouTube. The levity on stage carries over to his backstage banter and wry quips. The 2021 Lotte Lenya Competition winner is a dynamo performer outside the green suit too, having performed on the West End and all over the country.
If you’ve seen The Old Globe’s Grinch twenty-seven times or this would be your first year, it’s the perfect year to enjoy a singular star in one of the city’s best Christmas shows.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
November 6- December 31, 2024
Book and lyrics by Timothy Mason
Music by Mel Marvin
Original production conceived and directed by Jack O’Brien
Additional lyrics by Theodor S. Geisel
Additional music by Albert Hague
Original choreography by John DeLuca
Directed by James Vásquez
Running time: One hour and 20 minutes. There is no intermission.
Children under the age of three are not permitted except for 10:30 AM performances. Caregivers can check out my 2023 How-To Guide for tips on bringing young audiences.
