From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 290, A Review: "Who's Holiday!" (Music Theatre of Connecticut)

By James V. Ruocco

"Oh, hi. Well, hello! I'm so glad that you're here.

But I can't talk that long cause it's that time of year.

See, I'm throwing a party tonight for some pals.

Just a little soiree for some guys and some gals.

I'd invite you to join, but my place is so small.

And if I let one, I'd have to let all.

But we can chat for a bit, until they all show.

And then I'm afraid - well - you'll all have to go."

Thus, begins "Who's Holiday!" Matthew Lombardo's raucous and raunchy holiday confection that takes its cue from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," but is decidedly not a Dr. Seuss revival despite dialogue that is spoken entirely in the rhyming couplets reminiscent of the popular books by Theodor Seuss Geisel, the famous poet, animator and cartoonist known for more than 60 English-speaking children's stories including "The Cat in the Hat," "The Lorax" and "Green Eggs and Ham."

"Oh, you all look so snazzy. Just bursting with cheer.

Hi Mister! Hi lady! Hi queer in the rear!

You remember me, right? Oh, I'm sure that you do.

When I was a youngster? I was Cindy Lou Who.

You recall my blue eyes. My one-piece pajama.

It was a present that year from my now dead great gramma.

Such an innocent I was. Oh, the ignorance of youth.

The life starts to unfold and you get kicked in the tooth.

But I'm getting ahead. I don't mean to confuse.

I just hate Christmas Eve. And do some of you Jews.

See? My loathing stems from a deep-rooted place.

In a town known as Who-ville, where I can't show my face."

Outrageous.
Direct.
Provocative.
Snappy.
Blunt.
Unpredictable.

The MTC staging of "Who's Holiday!" has enough high-energy and tilt to knock its audience on their ass as it amps up the Grinch story - years later, of course - and tells what really happened to him and how Cindy Lou Who grew up to be a curvaceous blonde bombshell ready to bare her soul through laughter, pathos, season kitsch and unadulterated memories you never once saw coming.

"Things started to change when I turned eighteen.

I was becoming a woman. And he? Was still green.

The night of my birthday, he took me alone to the dock.

Where he gave me my present. His big, thick, long..."

As playwright, Lombardo amusingly dishes up the dirt with matter-of-fact frankness and chutzpah in much the same way as he did with previous effectors that include "Looped," "Tea at Five," "Conversations with Mother" and "When Playwright's Kill." It's fun. It's real. It's wet. It's candid. It's icy. And it's awash with such freshness and luminosity, it's impossible not to be moved or succumb to his wit and choice verbiage, all of which is seamlessly constructed within the framework of every story he tells. Here, with "Who's Holiday!" he dives deep and comes up for air with a plethora of story arcs, memories, guilty pleasures and fuck-me witticisms that thrill, cajole and smack you in the face leaving you begging and wanting more. He doesn't disappoint.

"Where were we? Oh. Right. The first time I got laid.

And if you think black men are hung? Honey, try going' jade.

When he first took it out, I almost ran 'way

Cause that thing 'tween his legs grew three sizes that day!

But he was gentle and slow. He took his time with me then.

And once I relaxed? He hit it again and again!

Oh, I was transported, oh yes, from the back to my front.

I 'specially liked when he'd stick his tongue in my - left ear."

Staging "Who's Holiday!" for MTC, director Kevin Connors crafts a banger of an entertainment that is skillfully set up, played and introduced with just the right amount of glee, balance, cockiness and confidence. Working from Lombardo's whirlwind playtext, he knows exactly what he wants and runs with it, carefully punctuating the rhythms, beats, jumps, skips, pauses, breaths and twists dictated by the playwright throughout the story. This directorial conceit keeps "Who's Holiday!" flowing at breakneck speed hitting all the right marks with an exactness and fluidity that never once falters for a moment.
As with "Looped" and "Tea at Five," this is a one-woman show, a conceit that Connor addresses with a theatrical excitement that allows him to bring Cindy Lou Who's story to life with flavorful color, dimension and thrill throughout. From start to finish, "Who's Holiday!" is a kinetic hoot and Connors works his magic throughout with wonkish brio and a cyclone of comic stokes, moves, maneuvers and ideas that bounce, fly, titillate and circle about in playful, cemented fashion. 

The casting of Erin Maguire as Cindy Lou Who is a plum directorial choice, on Connors' part, that gives "Who's Holiday!" the snap, the pulse, the drive and the excitement is so rightfully deserves. The actress whose credits include "Act of God," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "The Divine Sister" and "Seussical" embraces this form of entertainment with personality, glamour, immediacy, charm, intention and snow-fronted engagement. Her's is a meticulously readied and researched love letter to theater that celebrates live performance, stand-up comedy, improvisation, one-on-one directness between actor and audience and anything-can-happen on stage readiness.

As "Who's Holiday!" evolves, Maguire addresses Lombardo's raunchy, playful material with sure-fire showmanship, reveling in the set-ups, the styles, the quirks, the suggestions, the madness and the aftermaths of her character's choices though the years and the different decades. What's especially wonderful about Maguire's performance is that it's so beautifully timed, executed and in-the moment. There's lots going on during her hour-long gabfest, which requires her to shift gears within a millisecond, then, jump back sideways, frontwards, backwards and front and center without missing a single beat, rhythm or stop, pause, breathe or start again. She is absolutely sensational, drawing the audience in at every turn. And when it comes time to sing, she dazzles everyone with a crisp, lovely, projected voice that sells every lyric most agreeably and sets the pulses racing.

Technically, "Who's Holiday!" abounds with splendid, atmospheric holiday wonderment created by the likes of Lindsay Fuori (set design), RJ Romeo (lighting design), Diane Vanderkroef (costume design), Will Atkin (sound design) and Sean Sanford (prop design). All of this design work - brimming with festive color, glitter and style - brings shimmer and shine to the proceedings as Cindy Lou Who takes center stage to regale her audience with tales of her very checkered past and quest for a better life in the snowy hills of Mount Crumpit.

A bawdy alternative to traditional holiday fare such as "A Christmas Carol" and "It's a Wonderful Life," "Who's Holiday!" is an outrageous Christmas treat that delivers and delivers and delivers. It's offbeat spin on Dr. Seuss is adult in nature and definitely not for the kiddies. But, then again, that's the point of this wildly wicked entertainment. It's chock full of surprises, all of which are handled with creative aplomb by director Kevin Connors and his wonderfully charismatic leading lady Erin Maguire. As Cindy Lou Who, she rocks the MTC stage with an unforgettable star turn of sass, funk, spunk and hugely inspired doses of wit, pathos, camp and in-your-face, R-rated silliness. It's the comic performance of the season and one you're not likely to forget for quite some time.

"Who's Holiday!" is being staged by Music Theatre of Connecticut (500 Westport Ave., Norwak, CT), now through December 19, 2021.

For tickets or more information, call (203) 454-3883.

website: musictheatreofct.com

Photos of "Who's Holiday!" by Alex Mogillo