Photo by Marc Faubel
Everyone has heard the story of the Grinch who stole Christmas, but who of us have heard what happens after they all hold hands and sing “Fah Who Foraze?”
Enter Cindy Lou Who—and boy, does she have a story to tell. It’s dark, it’s hilarious, and it’s a little bit risqué. And it is coming up on its third year of performances at Open Stage, starring Rachel Landon as Cindy Lou, all grown up and rough around the edges.
In celebration of this next round of performances, I interviewed Landon to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse.
TheBurg: Prior to “Who’s Holiday!” had you ever done a one-woman show?
Rachel: I had! I had done a musical called “Tell Me On a Sunday,” which is a one-woman musical written by Don Black and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It’s about a woman who moves to New York from England, and she’s trying to find love and a career. It’s a very ‘80s show, but beautiful music and some of the best songs that Webber ever wrote.
TheBurg: How does this experience compare with “Tell Me On a Sunday?”
Rachel: There’s this saying, I think it’s Voltaire, that said, anything too stupid to be said is sung. So, in a musical, it’s really easy to emote and live in the moment and portray your feelings—it’s Shakespearean, because we say what we feel. And interestingly, “Who’s Holiday!” is told very much like a Dr. Seuss book. It’s told in Seussian rhyme, so it does kind of work the same way. I think Cindy is actually surprisingly deep and complicated and layered, something you would not expect from such a silly show. Also, a lot of the humor comes from the bad things that happen to her—and, in most shows, your protagonist triumphs in some way. Really, she’s just a person where her whole life, terrible things have happened to her consistently, [but] she keeps going. And that’s so lovely. You don’t see that from most people. I think she inspires me in that way.
TheBurg: Do you find doing the show for multiple years provides any challenges?
Rachel: Well, what was really cool was that [Chris Gibson] actually took on directing the show, so, I had settled into, you know, a joke is told this way, or this is how this moment lands. But with a new director and new eyes on it, that was really useful to me to find new moments and discoveries about the character. What I’ll say is, I don’t profess to be the best actor in the world—I’ve trained and I’m good enough at it that I can connect with this character and connect with the audience. And I’m feeling it every time—my tears are real tears, and my laughter is real laughter, and my joy is real joy, because I enjoy telling her story every night. And I get to disappear into Cindy.
TheBurg: What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from Cindy?
Rachel: To be able to laugh at ourselves and laugh at the tragedy of our lives, because it’s really easy to get bogged down by the horrors of the world around us. And in the end, just to love people around you, and to love yourself, and find joy—that’s all wrapped up in the idea of Christmas. I’m not a religious person, but how I was raised was like, hey, here’s one day! It’s like Scrooge’s story—let’s just find one day to be kind to each other, if we can do that. I learn that every single night, and we all have our depressions and anxieties about who we are and what’s happening. But my God, we can just sit down and be happy, and—
TheBurg: Have a Christmas party.
Rachel: And drink and be with friends and eat good food and just celebrate life.
“Who’s Holiday!” runs through Dec. 22 at Open Stage, 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.openstagehbg.com.
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