Brother Rice alum gets NBC spotlight
Tony-winning actor Denis O’Hare sings iconic song on ‘Grinch Musical’
Tony- winning actor and Emmy nominee Denis O’Hare felt some pressure singing the iconic song, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” for the TV special “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical!”
The song was made popular the world over by bass singer/voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft — who also voiced Tony the Tiger — in 1966’s classic TV adaptation of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” based on Dr. Seuss’ 1957 beloved children’s book. Horror icon Boris Karloff did doing double duty as the voice of the animated Grinch and as the story’s narrator.
O’Hare, who grew up in Bloomfield Hills and graduated from Brother Rice High School, is best known for his roles on “True Blood” and “American Horror Story.” But this month, he took on the role of the elder Max the dog in a musical version of Seuss’ story. Which meant he had to sing the humorous putdown song, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in the NBC holiday special.
“(That’s) a wellknown song. I had to make it my own and not worry about trying to imitate any other version,” says O’Hare, 58, who now lives in Paris. “It’s a great song. I’m more of a tenorbaritone. My voice has gotten deeper over the years, but I’m nowhere near (Ravenscroft).”
Like Karloff, O’Hare also does double-duty in “The Grinch Musical,” which aired Dec. 9 and again on Dec. 21 on NBC (plus on-demand platforms) – portraying Max the Dog and the narrator. Matthew Morrison (“Glee”) plays the Grinch and Booboo Stewart (“The Twilight Saga”) plays the younger Max.
“I’m not narrating it in the same sense (as Karloff ). I’m very much a character speaking,” he explains. “I’m relieved of a little bit of that pressure because I’m talking as Max about my life. So, it’s a little different. It’s not a third-person narration.”
For the uninitiated: The Grinch is hate-filled, antisocial creature with a heart “two sizes two small,” who lives in a cave with his dog, Max, atop Mt. Crumpit, above the village of Whoville. He despises Christmas and decides to sabotage the holiday for the Whos.
Disguised as Santa Claus, with Max serving as his reindeer, the Grinch goes to Whoville to steal the Whos’ Christmas gifts and decorations. Come Christmas morning, however, he hears the Whos singing in the village square, and realizes that Christmas doesn’t depend on material things. Finally understanding the true meaning of Christmas, the Grinch returns the stolen goodies, joins the Whos for Christmas dinner — and is even given the honor of carving the roast beast.
O’Hare says Morrison recommended him to directors Max Webster and Julia Knowles. O’Hare and Morrison worked together before on NBC’s musical, “Once Upon a Mattress,” in 2005 with the legendary Carol Burnett.
“I love the Grinch. I love playing the dog,” O’Hare says. “On the first day of tablework, we (discussed) who is Max? Why is he speaking? What does he hope to achieve? I had to treat it seriously. Booboo got there three days before me and he’d already established Max’s physical vocabulary. That was great. I picked up on what he was doing and went with that, then added my own sense of humor.
“I did a lot of dancing,” he adds. “I can definitely dance. Rehearsing was grueling. We really drilled those dance numbers. My knees were singing after a while. The costume was very hot, very furry. I wore some prosthetics — prosthetic nose, prosthetic jowls, a crazy rock ’n’ roll wig. I wore a two-piece fullon fur costume with boots covered with yarn material and mittens. I didn’t lose weight, but I should’ve. My God, that was crazy.”
O’Hare praises Morrison.
“Matthew’s great. He’s an amazing singer and dancer. … I thought he was very brave because taking on the Grinch is a much bigger risk,” he says. “I thought he did a great job carving out his own path and making it his own. He’s definitely mean and wicked and funny and oddly sexy for a Grinch. Then he has his redemption, which is really touching.”
This is the fourth screen adaptation of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Comedian Jim Carrey played the Grinch in a 2000 live film adaptation. Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock”) voiced the Grinch in 2018’s “The Grinch.”
“Ours is pretty close to the original. There’s a lot of extra music in it, which I had not heard before — it’s great music and I love it. The Carrey one was the furthest away from the original; they went too far to figure out a psychology and backstory for him. It doesn’t work — you have to accept the Grinch for what he is. There’s a great line in ours where (Morrison) says to (Stewart), ‘That’s what Grinches do.’ Then Max says, ‘Grinches? There’s more than one of them?’ And he says, ‘No, I’m one of a kind” and sings a whole song about being one of a kind. You don’t want to go too deep into that stuff — you just want to have him be what he is. Our version preserves that in a really great way.”
The cast followed strict COVID-19 protocols while filming, wearing masks, maintaining social distance and being regularly tested.
“If Matthew or I (or anyone else) tested positive, it would’ve ended. Everyone would be out of work and (NBC) would’ve lost millions of dollars — that was a great pressure,” O’Hare says. “We had to maintain our vigilance. Ultimately, we bubbled and we tested (negative for the coronavirus) and we were able to take off the masks during the last eight days. When we actually shot, we didn’t have to wear the masks. It was great to be working again like that; it was a really great feeling.”
O’Hare — who won the Tony for Award in 2003 for best featured actor in “Take Me Out” on Broadway, and was twice nominated for Emmys for best supporting actor for his work in the “American Horror Story” anthology series — noted the Grinch’s staying power.