for the final dress rehearsal
takes place. Stagehands are
readying props, the orches-
tra is warming up, director
Matt August and the sound and
lighting people are taking
notes and making adjustments,
and the performers are get-
ting into makeup and costumes
— the adults upstairs, the
children downstairs. By now,
though, the production is a
well-oiled machine of chaos.
Lead actor Stefan Karl gets
all grinched out in his dress-
ing room as makeup designer
Angelina Avallone colors his
face with the grace of a
painter. The makeup for each
of the 32 cast members is
tailored specifically to each
person and show. “[It] needs
to work for the actor — with
their facial expressions,
with their proportions — and
for the size of the house
[we’re playing to],” Aval-
lone says. “This will change
in Boston.” The two-city tour
totals 92 shows, and the cast
will perform a grueling one
to four shows per day.
“I think the Grinch is a
fantastic character created
for all of us, especially
these days,” Karl declares.
“We all know this feeling
of the craziness around
Christmas that we all
love to hate — the noise,
the advertisements,
56 AMERICANWAY
DECEMBER 15 2008
