Playwright did not steal the Grinch

NEW YORK: A New York playwright has convinced a federal judge that his new play is a parody of Dr Seuss’ classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (pic) and that in this legal fight, he was in the right.

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan on Friday ruled that Matthew Lombardo’s Who’s Holiday! transformed the “utopic” and “cheery” depictions in Grinch so completely that it qualified as a “parody” and “fair use”.

Hellerstein rejected arguments by Dr Seuss Enterprises LP that Lombardo’s play infringed its copyrights to the late author’s work.

Who’s Holiday! was slated to open Off Broadway last November before its run was cancelled.

Lombardo’s lawyer Jordan Greenberger said his client intends for another production of Who’s Holiday to begin running as soon as November.

Grinch is about a grouchy, cave-dwelling monster who decides to end Christmas, but has a change of heart after being interrupted by a little girl, Cindy Lou.

The Cindy Lou in Who’s Holiday! is less endearing. She’s a profane 45-year-old woman struggling with alcohol and substance abuse, and she spent time in prison for murdering the Grinch, who was once her husband and fathered her daughter.

Dr Seuss Enterprises accused Lombardo of exploiting the characters and themes of Grinch because he was too lazy to try “working up something fresh”.

But the judge said Lombardo turned the saccharine depictions of Who-Ville into an object of ridicule, where green beasts impregnate women, paparazzi “run rabid”, and citizens get high on “Who Hash” to avoid life’s daily hassles.