This year marks a decade of my family attending “The Grinch” at the Old Globe, and while that is a personal milestone – it is also a milestone for the show, as 2022 marks 25 years since opening night.

Housed in Balboa Park, The Old Globe theater company has performed countless adaptations of “The Grinch.”

Balboa Park remains one of the oldest public parks placed in reserve in the United States, 1835, and later started development in 1856, which is 154 years ago!

Today the 1,200+ acre Park holds three theaters and combined they produce around 15 different productions annually, and 600+ shows.

Out of these shows, for the past 25 years, “The Grinch” has resided on the stage every November and December.

A long time viewer of the show, Carl Chase, expresses that in his experience “It’s the best way to start the holidays.”

A childhood classic is proven time and time again to have held up, being the longest running show at the Old Globe theater.

As a viewer for over ten years Helen Shirk remarks, “it’s always wonderful, it just makes you feel good!”

Quarter of a century is a huge milestone, and the show made sure to step up its game!

From the classic, larger than life ‘who-ville’ tree out front of the theater, to a new addition of the San Diego Suzuki School of Music kids performing before, it felt like a worthy celebratory show.

In addition, they included a special display featuring the original costumes of the main ‘who’ family. A small scale model of the set, fun facts about different adaptations, as well as original costume sketches and pieces were also out for viewing.

The special effects have also noticeably improved from earlier versions, as well as increased audience interaction, which is an amazing opportunity for kids throughout the theater, not just in the first few rows.

Every year varies, and after enjoying the show, Chase explains, “The kids are always new, and bring their own personality to their role, creating different characters, in contrast to the older characters who give a feeling of nostalgia.”

This year’s “Grinch” was actor and singer/songwriter Anderw Polec. He depicted an incredibly expressive character who made use of his whole vocal range, breaking the typical deep voiced Grinch.

Small character changes like this make the show captivating to watch year and year again. Chase elaborates, “It can’t be the same every year because you get a new cast of characters.”

Cathedral’s own student, Lilly O’Shaughnessy ‘25, ushers for the Old Globe, and finds “The Grinch,” to be, “an exciting show that is both family friendly and funny.”

Another noteworthy element is the arguably most diverse cast the show has featured, which Chase reflects, “looks more like everyone, like a true village,” emphasizing a need for diverse casts in theater and children’s media.

Whether you’ve never seen “The Grinch,” grown up with it, or anything in between, it’s a well loved classic worth watching this holiday season.

As a closing remark, Shirk adds, “It changes every time, and features different voices and singers, so I’ll keep coming back to see it each year!”