When Grace Bauer took on the role of Cindy Lou Who in the one-woman comedy “Who’s Holiday” in 2019, she had an escape plan if things didn’t go well.
“I am from New Brunswick, and I had a fantasy of getting in my car, fleeing the country and apologizing later,” she said.
It didn’t come to that. Bauer, who had never performed a one-person show, nailed the role and loved the overall experience – so much, she’s doing it again when Good Theater stages the adult-only holiday comedy based on the Dr. Seuss story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” It opens the night before Thanksgiving at the St. Lawrence Arts Center in Portland.
It should be a hoot. In this story, told in rhyming couplets by playwright Matthew Lombardo, a grown-up Cindy Lou Who recounts the time she got knocked up by the Grinch and how her life has played out since.
“The idea of taking an innocent children’s story and expanding it to the rest of her life is very funny and very clever,” said Bauer, who is directed by Sally Wood in this fast-paced comedy. “She spends time in the big house and has a relationship with the Grinch that doesn’t go well. She has had a rough road, but is still kind of innocent. She is a party girl, always looking for a party.”
Good Theater produced the show in 2019 as part of its second-stage series, meaning it played on off-nights. This year, it’s part of Good Theater’s main stage rotation. It will run for two weeks, from Wednesday through Dec. 5, take two weeks off, then return for another two weeks, from Dec. 21 to Jan. 2.
It clocks in at about an hour, and Good Theater has reduced seating capacity to 91 to create more space and comfort for audiences. Several shows are sold out.
Bauer first performed the role of grownup Cindy Lou Who in 2019. Photo by Stephen Underwood, courtesy of Good Theater
“Grace is so ridiculously funny, and it’s just a fun thing to do around the holidays,” said Brian Allen, artistic director at Good Theater, who thinks “Who’s Holiday” will become a new annual holiday tradition.
Bauer, who lives in Old Orchard Beach, hopes so. She wants to perform the role “until I age out. It’s an awful lot of fun. It is a sweet show with a lovely message and a sense of community within the show. It’s a warm, fuzzy experience.”
Bauer has been running the lines on her own throughout the year, laughing to herself and out loud. “I am looking forward to getting it back in front of audiences again,” she said.
And this year, there’s no escape plan.
Good Theater’s “Who’s Holiday,” starring Grace Bauer and directed by Sally Wood, Wednesday through Dec. 5, and Dec. 21 through Jan. 2, St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress St., Portland; $28 and $35; goodtheater.com
MORE HOLIDAY HA-HAS
In Lewiston, the Public Theatre, 31 Maple St., presents the holiday comedy “A Very Ida Christmas” at 7 p.m. Dec. 10 and 2 p.m. Dec. 11 and 12. The show stars Maine humorist and author Susan Poulin and her alter ego, Ida LeClair. The Public Theatre will offer a digital version from Dec. 16-26. $25 for in-person, $25 for single/$50 per household for video-on-demand; thepublictheatre.org.
This story was updated at 3:50 p.m. Nov. 23 to correct the showtimes for “A Very Ida Christmas.”
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