Onstage at the Off-Central: 50 shades of Cindy Lou Who

Cindy Lou Who, the doe-eyed tot from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, is all grown up.

And my oh my, how things have changed!

As if her life was re-arranged!

Opening Thursday at the Off-Central, Matthew Lombardo’s Who’s Holiday! presents the adult Cindy Lou, boozy and flirtatious and living alone in a gaily-decorated trailer. Portrayed by Jobsite Theatre regular Nicole Jeannine Smith in a B-52’s wig and lavender eyeshadow, she’s wearing PJ bottoms, a T-shirt and mis-matched Christmas socks, and telling the audience the facts of the matter: At age 18, she entered into an affair with the Grinch, and they got married, and well, things didn’t end well.

This is definitely not a show for children – in the name of grownup humor, Who’s Holiday! includes drug use, alcohol abuse, sexual references and some very salty language.

And it’s spoken in sing-song-y Seussian rhyme, all 60-plus minutes.

For Smith, who’s done a lot of comedy, but plenty more drama, “becoming” perky Cindy Lou Who was a bit of an uphill climb. “I think it’s more difficult to memorize in rhyme, because if you don’t say the right word at the end, you’re screwed,” she says. “A lot of Shakespeare is also in rhyme, but when you’re doing Shakespeare you’re supposed to try really hard to ignore that it’s rhyming and make it sound like real talk.

“But this is weirder – it’s ‘Who-Seussical.’ It’s couplets. So a big challenge with this show is just keeping going. You say the thing, you rhyme it, and then … no, not the end! There’s a whole lot that’s got to happen.”

Another rhyme is always waiting in the wings.

“Her reputation for quality work has been recognized in the bay area for a while,” offers Who’s Holiday! director Ward Smith (no relation). “I knew she had the comic chops. Nikki has been a delight and such a working pro. It’s been a Christmas miracle having her in this show.”

A Tampa native, Nicole Jeannine Smith graduated from the University of South Florida with a BA in Theatre Arts in 2006. In 2011 she began working with Jobsite, the professional company in residence at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, based in the 300-seat Jaeb Theatre and the smaller Shimberg Playhouse.

Smith took some time off (2018-21) to study at West Virginia University, where she earned an MFA in Acting. While there, she says, she fine-tuned the “art of stillness” and other non-comedic methodology. Dramatic tutelage.

Since her return, she’s performed with Jobsite (naturally), Stageworks and even at the Off-Central (in 2022’s Into the Night).

It was fellow actress Roxanne Fay, a frequent Off-Central (and Jobsite) collaborator, who recommended Smith for Who’s Holiday! after the original performer bowed out. Smith, fortunately, had some December time off.

Cindy Lou-ing – all alone on the stage – was at first “terrifying,” Smith reveals. “I haven’t done a one-woman show in over seven years – I wrote a solo show for the Tampa Fringe Festival, and before that it was 10 years. I definitely had a moment of crisis where I was like ‘I can’t do this!’”

She persevered, and Who’s Holiday! came to candy-colored life.

Doing a one-person play in a room that seats just 42 people presented its own unique challenges. “I have to remind myself I’m not in the Jaeb, I don’t need to scream,” Smith laughs. “I don’t have to ‘be big.’

“And besides the fact that it’s so small and intimate, I’m not used to doing direct address with people and audience participation. So that’s going to be interesting. This is a pretty new experience for me, honestly.”

For all showtimes and tickets, visit the Off-Central website.