Oswald Returns to Texas, The Grinch Paints San Diego Green & More Cross-Country Highlights

Broadway.com is on the hunt for the best regional theater offerings all over the country! Get an early holiday fix, catch a world premiere musical and maybe even learn something about history in this week’s jam-packed Countrywide Guide. Read on for details about five notable productions on view across America. 


SAN DIEGO, CA
The Grinch Goes Home
Who’s grumpy and gruff and green all over? We’ll give you one guess… The Grinch, of course! The Christmas curmudgeon is returning to the Old Globe Theatre on November 16 to spread—what’s the opposite of holiday cheer?—to the residents of San Diego, starring Beauty and the Beast alum Steve Blanchard. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, featuring music by Mel Marvin and lyrics by Timothy Mason, premiered at the historic regional theater 16 years ago! See the vile one in person through December 28.


ARLINGTON, VA
Florence Lacey Catches the Train
You’ve got one more week to see Crossing, a world premiere musical about eight strangers (including Broadway vets Florence Lacey and Tracy Lynn Olivera) who transcend time and space to all meet together at one train station. Featuring a blend of gospel, pop and rock music, the touching new tuner by Matt Conner and Grace Barnes about hopes and dashed dreams will chug along through November 24 at Signature Theatre in a production helmed by artistic director Eric Schaeffer.


BALTIMORE, MD
A Christmas to Remember
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel is transporting audiences back to 1864 in A Civil War Christmas, when holiday cheer had nothing to do with candy canes, eggnog and presents. Featuring traditional carols and folk songs of the period, the historical drama recounts the tales of soldiers, slaves and Abraham Lincoln (played by Broadway vet Jeffry Denman) as he prepares for his second inauguration in a war-torn country. Get a dose of heartwarming hope from November 19 through December 2 at Center Stage.


FORT WORTH, TX
Oswald Gets Busted
Step inside the mind of a murderer in Oswald: The Actual Interrogation, a suspenseful account of the 48 hours Lee Harvey Oswald spent in Dallas police custody following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the president’s death, the gripping drama by Dennis Richard features Broadway vet Ed Dixon as Sheriff Fritz and Ben Williams as Lee Harvey Oswald. Revisit the harrowing crime that shook the world through November 17 at the Casa Manana Theatre.


HARTFORD, CT
Ralphie to the Rescue!
Grab your leg lamps and your Red Ryder BB guns (we know you’ve got ‘em!) because the Tony-nominated musical adaptation of A Christmas Story is heading to Hartford’s Bushnell Center For the Performing Arts. Catch the cast, including original Broadway stars Dan Lauria, John Bolton, Erin Dilly and more, before they head to Boston’s Wang Theater and Madison Square Garden in New York City. See the show November 12 through 17—but stay away from those icy flag poles!