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Matthew Morrison Is Unrecognizable in NBC's Teaser for Upcoming Live The Grinch Musical

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Matthew Morrison is going green!

On Thursday, NBC teased its upcoming live musical — a two-hour production of Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical airing on Dec. 9 — and unveiled the first look at the Glee alum, 42, as the titular holiday grump.

The brief teaser incorporates the classic tune "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" as Morrison, dressed in a striped scarf and vest over green fur and makeup, winks and declares, "I hate Christmas."

The ad debuted during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast, and the cast performed a short glimpse of the show during the parade.

NBC announced earlier this month that it will be bringing the story to life with Morrison in the lead and American Horror Story actor Denis O’Hare as an older version of Max. Descendants actor Booboo Stewart also stars as a younger version, and The Lost Girls actress Amelia Minto will star as Cindy Lou Who.

The musical will be broadcast from the Troubadour Theatre in London. In a clip from rehearsals that previously aired on Today, Morrison talked about the process of making the musical in the midst of the pandemic.

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“While the pandemic presents some challenges in bringing the stage musical to life, we are putting together a really special show with some crazy, fun, imaginative things going on,” Morrison said at the time.

Jim Carrey and Benedict Cumberbatch are some of the recent actors to play the Grinch, in 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas and 2018's animated The Grinch, respectively.

“Dr. Seuss is an indelible part of all of our lives and we’re thrilled to bring a stage production of The Grinch Musical! to our audience,” Doug Vaughan, executive vice president, special programs at NBC Entertainment, said in a press release. “This is a perfect addition to our annual holiday program traditions and a telecast the entire family will enjoy.”

NBC has aired several musicals in recent years, including 2013's Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood, 2014's Peter Pan starring Allison Williams, 2015's The Wiz, 2016's Hairspray and 2018's Jesus Christ Superstar.

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical airs Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.