Garrett Clayton to Play Grinch in OFC Creations Theatre's 2025-26 Season

OFC Creations Theatre in Rochester has announced the 2025-26 Broadway in Brighton series, the third year of the series, which will include six musical productions under the direction of OFC’s executive director Eric Vaughn Johnson.

This season’s focus is the importance of family, both the family you are born into and your chosen family. The series will include the first Rochester-produced production and one of the first regional theater productions of Finding Neverland (September 25-October 19), the regional premiere of Emmet Otter Jug-Band Christmas: The Musical (November 26-December 7), the first Rochester-produced production of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (December 18-January 4), starring Garrett Clayton (Teen Beach Movie, Hairspray Live!) as the Grinch, Hello, Dolly! (January 29-February 15), The Bodyguard: The Musical (April 9-26, 2026), and the world premiere of Over the Rainbow: The Golden Girls Musical (May 14-31, 2026).

Featuring a book by James Graham and music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, Finding Neverland is based on the Miramax film written by David Magee and the play by Allan Knee about playwright J.M. Barrie and the creation of Peter Pan.

A theatrical adaptation of the Jim Henson television special based on the illustrated book by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas features music and lyrics by Paul Williams and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald and Christopher Gattelli. In it, Ma and Emmet Otter risk what little they have to make each other’s holiday dreams come true.

Based on the book by Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas features a book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin. Clayton stars as the Grinch, who observes the Christmas joy of the Whos with disdain and plots to destroy the holiday they love.

Hello, Dolly! is based on the play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder and features a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. In 1880’s Yonkers, professional matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi wants to set up Horace Vandergelder, a rich and cantankerous widower, with herself.

The Bodyguard: The Musical, featuring a book by Alexander Dinelaris, is a love story between a soul diva and her personal bodyguard, based on the 1992 movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The Bodyguard features many of Houston’s hits, including “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and “I Will Always Love You.”

Conceived, written, and directed by Eric Vaughn Johnson, Over the Rainbow: The Golden Girls Musical is a parody that combines The Golden Girls with The Wizard of Oz. It stars the Rochester Golden Girls: Eric Vaughn Johnson as Dorothy, Hunter Ekberg as Rose, Eric Schutt as Blanche, and Shawn Gray as Sophia, alongside Paul Urriola, Ben Reiner, and Calvin Staropoli.