“How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Musical” lights up the stage at the Pantages Theater. Starring John Larroquette, of NIGHT COURT fame, this candy-coated evening is sure to put its audience into the Christmas spirit.

Mr. Larroquette plays “Old Max”, the retired alter-ego of the little dog from the cartoon, who narrates the Grinch’s story from his aged vantage point. The show starts slowly as Old Max introduces us to every character, including the younger version of himself. He walks among the residents of “Who-Ville” as they sing out their Christmas-time joy. The show’s original music is nice, but not especially memorable and it seems as if the audience might be in for a long evening.

Until the Grinch appears.

In one grand, green entrance the Grinch , played by Stefan Karl, sets the show on fire. Whenever he is on stage, which is most of the time, Mr. Karl keeps the pace quick, funny and fresh. The night of this review, during his first scene, Karl chastised some audience members for arriving late as they were getting settled in their front row seats. From that point on, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand!

It was a pleasure to watch as the Grinch grows from a self-involved, selfish egotist to an open-hearted good Samaritan. Especially tender are his scenes with Cindy-Lou Who, the young girl who thinks he’s Santa and can’t understand why he’s shoving the Christmas tree UP the chimney.

And although John Larroquette’s version of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is very fun and what the audience is waiting for, the show-stopping number is the Grinch’s tribute song to himself, “One of a Kind.” Absolute dynamite!

With candy-colored sets, fun dialogue, talented actors, a recognizable song or two, and a star-turn from Stefan Karl, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Musical” is definitely worth the trip with the kids to the Pantages. Running now through January 3, 2010.

Wrestler Hulk Hogan made an appearance at Book Soup in West Hollywood to sign his new book. When asked "Where do you stand on gay marriage?", Hogan surprises with his "open to possibilities" response.

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The nominations for PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS 2010 were announced Nobember 10 at the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills by Kris Allen “American Idol,” Cat Deeley “So You Think You Can Dance,” Johnny Galecki “The Big Bang Theory,” Jeff Probst “Survivor” and Sofia Vergara “Modern Family.” For the first time, fans voted at www.peopleschoice.com and cast more than 18 million votes to determine the nominees in categories such as “Favorite Movie,” “Favorite Breakout Music Artist” and “Favorite TV Obsession.”

Winners will be revealed during the live broadcast of PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS 2010 from its new home, the Nokia Theater, L.A. Live on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. Tickets to the awards show are now available for fans to purchase for the first time through Ticketmaster. Mark Burnett will serve as Executive Producer and Queen Latifah will host PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS 2010, the only major awards show that honors fan favorites in movies, music and television. Voting begins today at www.peopleschoice.com and www.myspace.com/peopleschoiceawards for all 35 categories and will end on December 8, 2009, except for “Favorite New TV Drama” and “Favorite New TV Comedy” which will remain open for voting until night of show. An additional new category, “Favorite Web Celeb” will be presented by MSN’s Wonderwall.

New to PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS 2010:

· Trophy – Designed by Waterford and voted on by the fans, the modified trophy design is the first since the inception of the People’s Choice Awards.

· Mobile Voting – “Favorite Talk Show” and “Favorite Franchise” will be among five exclusive mobile voting categories, presented by PUR. To begin voting, text VOTE to 24475 and choose your favorites.

· Official Charity – Children’s Safe Drinking Water is the first official charity of the People’s Choice Awards. Information about the charity and opportunities for donations can be found at www.peopleschoice.com.

The list of potential nominees for PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS 2010 was determined by national ratings averages, box-office grosses, music sales, input from our media partners TV Guide Magazine and Playlist.com, and vetted through Visible Measures, the independent third-party measurement firm for Internet video. This process generated the top 12 candidates per category. Fans were then asked to visit www.peopleschoice.com to pick their favorites and generate the final list of nominees for PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS 2010. Fans had the option to write in their favorites not included among the provided candidates. All new shows currently on air are eligible in the categories of “Favorite New TV Drama” and “Favorite New TV Comedy.”
ABOUT PEOPLE’S CHOICE:
Now in its 36th year, the People’s Choice Awards celebrate fan favorites in music, movies and television. The People’s Choice website at www.peopleschoice.com serves as a year-round destination for entertainment enthusiasts to voice their opinions on pop culture, influence entertainment and determine the nominees and winners for the annual awards show. Fred Nelson is the President of People’s Choice, and the awards show is produced by Procter & Gamble Productions, Inc., which is represented by MediaVest Worldwide, Inc., supervisors of the production. Queen Latifah is the host of PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS 2010 and Mark Burnett is the Executive Producer.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS 2010 Nominees:

MOVIES:

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Brad Pitt
Hugh Jackman
Johnny Depp
Robert Pattinson
Ryan Reynolds

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway
Drew Barrymore
Jennifer Aniston
Kristen Stewart
Sandra Bullock

FAVORITE ACTION STAR
Christian Bale
Gerard Butler
Hugh Jackman
Shia LaBeouf
Vin Diesel

FAVORITE COMEDIC STAR
Adam Sandler
Ben Stiller
Jim Carrey
Ryan Reynolds
Vince Vaughn

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTRESS
Anna Kendrick
Emily Osment
Ginnifer Goodwin
Miley Cyrus
Zoe Saldana

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Pine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sam Worthington
Taylor Lautner
Zachary Quinto

FAVORITE ON-SCREEN TEAM
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint & Emma Watson
The Proposal - Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Shia LaBeouf & Megan Fox
The Twilight Saga - Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart & Taylor Lautner
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Hugh Jackman, Liev Shreiber, Ryan Reynolds, Will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan & Daniel Henney

FAVORITE INDEPENDENT MOVIE
(500) Days of Summer
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Paranormal Activity
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail

FAVORITE COMEDY MOVIE
17 Again
Bride Wars
The Hangover
He's Just Not That Into You
The Proposal

FAVORITE MOVIE
The Hangover
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Proposal
Star Trek
Twilight

FAVORITE FAMILY MOVIE (mobile voting)
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

FAVORITE FRANCHISE (mobile voting)
Harry Potter
Star Trek
The Twilight Saga
Transformers
X-Men




TELEVISION:

FAVORITE TV DRAMA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Grey's Anatomy
House
Lost
NCIS

FAVORITE TV COMEDY
The Big Bang Theory
Desperate Housewives
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
Two and a Half Men

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Mark Harmon
Matthew Fox
Patrick Dempsey

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS
Anna Paquin
Blake Lively
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Katherine Heigl
Mariska Hargitay

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR
Alec Baldwin
Charlie Sheen
Jim Parsons
Neil Patrick Harris
Steve Carell

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS
Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

FAVORITE TV OBSESSION
Dexter
Gossip Girl
The Hills
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
True Blood

FAVORITE COMPETITION SHOW
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Survivor: Samoa

FAVORITE ANIMAL SHOW
Animal Cops
Dog Whisperer
DogTown
It's Me or the Dog
Rescue Ink Unleashed

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Eastwick
FlashForward
The Forgotten
The Good Wife
Melrose Place
Mercy
NCIS: Los Angeles
Three Rivers
V
The Vampire Diaries

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY
Accidentally on Purpose
Brothers
The Cleveland Show
Community
Cougar Town
Glee
Hank
The Middle
Modern Family

FAVORITE TALK SHOW (mobile voting)
Chelsea Lately
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Live with Regis & Kelly
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Tyra Banks Show

FAVORITE SCI-FI/FANTASY TV SHOW (mobile voting)
Heroes
Lost
Supernatural
True Blood
The Vampire Diaries

MUSIC:

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Eminem
Jason Mraz
John Mayer
Keith Urban
Tim McGraw

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Beyoncé
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
P!nk
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST
Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MUSIC ARTIST
Adam Lambert
Demi Lovato
Kris Allen
Lady Gaga
Susan Boyle

FAVORITE ROCK BAND
Daughtry
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Muse
Paramore

FAVORITE MUSIC COLLABORATION
Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester
I'm On a Boat - The Lonely Island & T-Pain
Live Your Life - T.I. & Rihanna
Lucky - Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
Run This Town - Jay-Z: Rihanna & Kanye West

FAVORITE R&B ARTIST
Alicia Keys
Beyoncé
Jennifer Hudson
Mariah Carey
Usher

FAVORITE POP ARTIST
The Black Eyed Peas
Britney Spears
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ARTIST (mobile voting)
Eminem
Flo Rida
Jay-Z
Lil' Wayne
T.I.

ONLINE:

FAVORITE WEB CELEB
Andy Samberg – Master of Viral Videos (SNL Digital Shorts)
Ashton Kutcher – Beats CNN to 1 million Twitter followers
Miley Cyrus - Quits Twitter by posting a hilarious YouTube rap video
P. Diddy - Exuberant Tweets and YouTube videos
Will Ferrell - Healthcare spoof PSA on Funny or Die

DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL, a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, captures the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking 3D motion picture event.

Ebenezer Scrooge (JIM CARREY) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (GARY OLDMAN) and his cheery nephew (COLIN FIRTH). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late.

“DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL” opens in U.S. theaters on Nov. 6, 2009