It's Reed Sigmund's turn to be green and mean.
The Twin Cities actor has twice appeared in "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas" at the Children's Theatre. In 2000 and 2006, he played Old Max, singing his heart out as the dog that delivers the memorable number, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."
Sigmund gets to put on the title character's green fat suit and stalk the giant, scary cave in the production that opens Friday in Minneapolis.
"It's all pretty surreal," Sigmund said last week before a rehearsal. "My son is turning 3. He saw the Grinch for the first time last year and he loves him. [My wife] Autumn [Ness] made him a little Grinch costume for Halloween, and he wore it for two weeks. The fact that my son's hero is the Grinch is kind of weird, but I'm glad to be my son's hero."
A 13-year member of the CTC acting company, Sigmund is treasured there for his range, his gung-ho attitude and the psychological research he does on his characters, even the picture-book ones that we think we already know pretty well.
"Reed approaches each moment with a sense of relentless exploration," said director Peter Brosius, who is staging "Grinch" for the first time with a creative team that includes choreographer Linda Talcott Lee and music director Denise Prosek. "Reed also has incredible access to his emotions. He's inspirational for me and everyone around here in terms of how seriously he takes the art form and how much joy he brings to work."
The outsider
Sigmund sees the Grinch as deeply wounded. He exists outside the community that he damns. And he's not properly socialized. The theater issued a mock surveillance video that captures the Grinch sneaking around the lobby and backstage areas, stealing food from trash cans.