New show features Cindy Lou Who all grown up

Kailey Rhodes grew up watching the cartoon, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.’’ As a child, the Dr. Seuss classic was her favorite holiday story, along with “A Charlie Brown Christmas.’’

So, of course, she was familiar with Cindy-Lou Who, the adorable 2-year-old who climbs out of bed to get a drink of water on Christmas Eve only to find the sneaky Grinch stealing the family’s presents and food and stuffing their tree up the chimney.

Of all the Whos down in Whoville, Cindy-Lou was the show-stopper. So what ever became of her? Was she the homecoming queen at Whoville High? Was she named “Mother of the Year” or nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?

Rhodes has an update. It is the night before Christmas … and it is not a pretty sight.

“She is living in a trailer right outside of Whoville because she has been blacklisted by the Whos for her life choices,’’ Rhodes said. “She has come to hate Christmas Eve because she has been through the ringer. She is no longer welcome in Whoville. She might have gotten involved with the Grinch, and she might have gone to prison. Now she is out (of prison) and waiting for her friends to show up for a party.  But they keep calling and cancelling.’’

Rhodes knows the version of Cindy-Lou 2.0 well. She has been climbing into her character for the one-woman performance of  “Who’s Holiday!” — the inaugural show at Theatre Macon’s new studio black box theatre.

This is not family fare. It could be rated “R” … for raunchy.  Leave the kids at home. Or, better yet, take them to see Disney’s “Frozen” on Theatre Macon’s mainstage, which is playing at the same time Rhodes is letting it fly upstairs in the 50-seat black box. 

There will be a bar set up to serve Grinch-themed cocktails as theatre patrons take their seats for what could be known as “Cindy-Lou Unchained.’’

The opening night show on Thursday, December 4, was a sell-out, and Friday night (December 5) is also sold out. There is an 8 p.m. performance on Saturday, December 6. There is no Sunday matinee because of the downtown Christmas parade. Tickets are still available for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday (December 11-13) performances at 8 p.m. The Sunday December 14 matinee is also sold out.

“It’s very challenging to do a one-woman show,’’ Rhodes said. “It’s just you up there. You have to believe you are interesting enough and dynamic enough for over an hour. It’s a big undertaking to memorize the entire script. Cindy-Lou Who speaks in rhyme the whole time. It’s kind of like talking in a weird Shakespeare.

“Not only did I never dream that I would be doing a one-woman show but that it would be Cindy-Lou Who living in a trailer. And that it would be upstairs in a space that I never knew was going to be a theatre. That’s crazy cool.’’

Rhodes has been a veteran of local community theatre since she was in high school at Stratford Academy. She and her husband, Matt Hlavaty, now split time between Macon, where their families live, and their work and creative projects in Portland, Oregon.

She had the lead role of Jenna in “Waitress” at Theatre Macon in May. She said the opportunity to go solo in “Who’s Holiday” was appealing on many levels.