Dr. Seuss provided a modern Christmas tradition when he wrote the antihero classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
First published in 1957, millions of kids, now all grown up, have read the cartoonish fable at some point through the years, and new generations are introduced to the story each new holiday season.
Robin Norman remembered the family read-alongs she delighted in as a little girl, an adolescent girl, a not-so-young girl, and even as an adult her clan still huddles up around the book from time to time.
She knew many other families were the same way, and now that she is the choir director of Nove Voce Choral Society, she was in a position to spread the grinchy cheer across the city. It is becoming a tradition within a tradition for the singers in Nove Voce (pronounced NO-vay VO-chay) to entertain the community with their version of the story every second year.
"What I remembered so clearly as a student at UBC was a particularly grumpy professor who would do a reading of the Grinch every year," Norman said. "He was such a great reader, and the story really came alive, and there was singing of the songs in between. It was a tradition and sadly they don't do it anymore at UBC, but that inspired me to do it here."
The songs the choir sings are all taken from the animated film starring the voice of Boris Karloff, with some reference also to the live-action movie starring Jim Carrey.
The songs from that 1966 cartoon version were written by Dr. Seuss (lyrics) with music composed by Albert Hague especially for the Chuck Jones-directed project. The seminal tune You're A Mean One
Mr. Grinch was sung by the rich bass (basso profundo, in fact) voice of Thurl Ravenscroft.
Nove Voce group is made up of female voices aged 15 and older. Reprising the role of the Grinch is veteran local actress Zarrah Holvick. Norman explained that "Zarrah has a diploma from Douglas College in theatre. She has performed with Theatre North West, in Judy Russell's productions, and she's probably the most theatrically experienced member of the choir. She also excels with mask performance and commedia dell'arte, so she was the logical choice. It was very logical, for us."
The role of Cindy Lou Who is being shared by four of the Nove Voce members: two leads (Susie MacRae and Courtney Hayhurst) with two understudies (Amy Morrison and Brittany Doncaster).
"There is a running joke in the group that if I pick you for a solo, you will get sick," said Norman. "So we have four Cindy Lou Whos. There is enough depth in the choir we can build in these backups, and with our luck, we'll need them."
The reading is being performed by a special guest. "The choir is very fortunate to have local lawyer and sometime thespian Richard Bjarnason join us to read the story as the choir performs songs," Norman said.
They also have costumes that promise to never be two sizes too small, crafted by Pat Jorgensen, and there might even be a cameo appearance by a dog star in the role of Max. (Producers Note: No animals, humans or plants were harmed in the making of this musical reading.)
The duration of the show varies from 30 to 40 minutes, said Norman, depending on variables like crowd reaction. The choir exists, she said, to give young women a chance to perform in a semiprofessional setting after they age out of children's choirs. Therefore, it is important to the group to be seen by an appreciative audience, and accessible to all the public. The price of the Grinch tickets is kept low to help this goal.
The show happens Saturday only, but at four performance times: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. The event is held in the upstairs showroom at the Prince George Civic Centre (Room 208). Tickets are $5 at the door, cash only, and in case of sell-outs please arrive early to avoid disappointment.
