Canby Creative Dresses the Stage

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a delightful children’s story written and illustrated by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel. Internationally acclaimed Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis obtained the rights to adapt and create a stage production of the whimsical Christmas story. Back by popular demand for the third year in a row, the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company will present “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Nov. 5–Jan. 5, featuring the costume designs of Canby’s own David Kay Mickelsen.

Born and raised in Canby, David is a member of the long-time local Mickelsen family. His father, Harold J., owned and operated Canby Nursery for several decades, landscaped Wait Park as well as the fairgrounds, and sponsored and coached numerous little league baseball teams. David’s mom, Geraldine Marie, managed the Clackamas County Fair & Rodeo for 22 years. “The thing about being raised in Canby is we had a community,” says David, “We were a family.” That same sentiment applies to Canby today.

Although David entered Oregon College of Education in Monmouth (WOU) on a music scholarship, he transitioned to a fine arts degree after two years. Having learned to sew at an early age, David, as a freshman, jumped at the opportunity to earn college credit by constructing his costume for a play in which he had exactly one line!

The play’s director, Dr. Richard Davis, was also the costume designer and David recalls thinking, “If he’s the costume designer and the director, I know where I want to go to learn the most.” The department ended up hiring him in the costume shop for his work-study program, which he continued all four years of college. He comments, “Dr. Richard Davis taught me everything I needed to know to move on in the world.” Today, David Kay Mickelsen is one of the most renowned costume designers in the U.S., having designed more than 450 productions.

Throughout college, David continued with music but was also highly involved in theatre and design. He came to realize that if he went into design, he could work with all the fine arts, and in 1983, he graduated with a M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts. During the early ’90s, Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis obtained the rights to adapt “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” for the stage. David designed the costumes for the original production which has subsequently been performed on stage for 30 years using the original costume designs. The “Who” costume was David’s favorite creation of the “Grinch” characters. “We were able to create a shape — a pod — and a movement that allowed for representing Dr. Seuss’ original ideas for the Whos,” David relates.

With many more stories to tell, David offers these heartfelt words to his beloved Canby community: “Look with eyes wide open. See everything. Do everything that is offered to you. Don’t let an experience pass by. Do it all — find a way to do it all.”

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