It appears that retailers have finally managed to roll Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah into one big festival this year, giving equal opportunity shelving to all d & #233;cor at once. No waiting required.
Now if only someone would figure out how to turn orange lights red, folks who climb up on ladders to string lights for Halloween and then Christmas could reduce their chances of falling off by 50 percent.
If that sounds Grinch-like, the real Grinch has a new tune this year, a few actually.
The 10th anniversary production of San Diego’s premier holiday event, “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” will feature a number of major revisions, including three new songs. The new songs are a duet between “Young Max” and “Old Max” titled “This Time of Year,” a full company number, “It’s the Thought That Counts,” and a carol, “Gah Who Doraze.”
The Grinch’s costume will also be redesigned for the show, scheduled to run from Nov. 25 through Dec. 30 at the Old Globe.
“The 10th year celebration gave us the opportunity for the Globe to make these exciting improvements and give the show new life as it celebrates a decade in San Diego,” said Executive Director Louis Spisto. “Over the summer Jack O’Brien and the entire original creative team came together for an intensive two-week workshop at the Globe, where they developed the new material.”
O’Brien is the Old Globe’s artistic director.
The Globe has performed the family favorite to more than 350,000 children and adults since 1998.
Individual tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 23 and will be available by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, on the Globe’s Web site at www.TheOldGlobe.org, or by visiting the box office on Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Prices range from $39 to $59 for adults and $19 to $31 for children, ages 3 to 17.
The Grinch has also gone bicoastal. The sold-out musical, which drew critical and popular acclaim during its first run on Broadway last year, is scheduled for Nov. 1 through Jan. 8 at the St. James Theatre.
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Paint Along With Wyland:
Wyland, the realist marine life artist whose paintings sell for tens of thousands of dollars, plans to kick off his fourth annual nationwide campaign for clean water and healthy oceans during a visit to Birch Aquarium at Scripps on Sept. 29.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., children visiting the aquarium will be invited to pick up a brush and paint alongside the internationally known artist on a large community mural, as part of Wyland’s 2007 “Every Drop Counts” tour. The 20-foot-long collaborative painting is intended to inspire them to envision healthy, unpolluted coasts, lakes, rivers and wetlands, according to Scripps officials.
Visitors can enter the name of their favorite local school in a raffle to win the finished conservation-themed work.
Send tourism and hospitality industry news to Connie Lewis by e-mail:
clewis@sdbj.com
. She may also be reached at (858) 277-6359.
