'Seussical, the Musical' Is the Cat's Meow
"Seussical, the Musical"
Based on the works of Dr. Seuss
Book by Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Steven Flaherty
Directed by Patricia M. Gleeson
Musical Direction by Jonathan Goldberg
Choreography by Khary Green
Costume Design by Arika Cohen
Scenic Design by Sara Buswell
Lighting Design by Brian Lilienthal
Cast in order of appearance:
The Cat, Zach Starr
The Boy, Jeffrey Romano
Horton, Jay Romano
Mayor, Kevin Mahoney
Mrs. Mayor, Lauralee Graffman
Gertrude, Rowan Henderson
Mayzie, Jacqueline Ryan
Sour Kangaroo, Branigan LaCount
General Schmitz, Jake Zentis
Bird Girls, Alyson Grindall, Maria Krol-Sinclair, and Carrie Widmer
Wickershams, Carra Cheslin, Christian Pimentel, and Jake Zentis
Vlad Vladikov, Alex Starr
Whos, Esther Binstock, Natalie Ferris, Toni Jonas Silver, and Sabrina Leba
Performances: Now through December 30
Box Office: 617-424-6634 or www.bostonchildrenstheatre.org
Adult performers, take a lesson from the 8- to 17-year-old cast members of "Seussical, the Musical" currently being performed by the Boston Children's Theatre. There are no small parts, only small actors.
The talented kids taking the stage at the C. Walsh Theatre at Suffolk University in Boston, Mass., have obviously had a professional work ethic instilled in them right from the first rehearsal. From the tallest teen playing a Wickersham to the tiniest tot playing a Who, during their opening matinee performance last weekend these budding young Romeos and Juliets were in character and on board.
Okay, so not all of the singers are candidates for Julliard. Not all of the dancers will be joining the A.B.T. But these enthusiastic and hard-working protégés know how to act and sell a song. Every cat, bird, elephant, monkey, citizen and kangaroo had a distinct personality that was projected to the back row. Every solo, duet and ensemble number was performed with style, zest, and individual and collective flair. The cast also skillfully conveyed director Patricia M. Gleeson's satirical concept. They understood Seuss' messages against war, intolerance, oppression and conformity, and they expressed these deeper social meanings cloaked in rhyming couplets with admirable ease.
Ahrens' and Flaherty's delightful book and score bring Dr. Seuss' most beloved stories and characters together in one magical adventure. The mischievous Cat in the Hat, nimbly played by 15-year-old Zach Starr, serves as narrator and instigator for JoJo, 11-year-old Jeffrey Romano, the smallest child in the city of Who. By encouraging this unusual boy to make his thoughts come to life in "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think" and "Anything's Possible," he sets off a chain of events that cause disasters to happen and fates to intertwine.
Horton the Elephant, played by 17-year-old Jay Romano, is ostracized for insisting that he hears a Who calling for help from a speck of dust. Feeling "Alone in the Universe," he sets off to save his invisible friends anyway, believing that "a person's a person, no matter how small." Along the way he encounters the Sour Kangaroo, played by 17-year-old powerhouse singer and actress Branigan LaCount; "Amayzing Mayzie" LaBird played by the equally amazing 16-year-old Jacqueline Ryan; and Gertrude McFuzz, the delightfully comic 15-year-old Rowan Henderson. Many plot twists and character transformations later, Horton emerges a hero, JoJo saves Whoville by thinking out loud, and all of Seuss' characters rejoice in a singing/dancing finale of "Green Eggs and Ham" that really cooks.
The live orchestra led by award-winning musical director John Goldberg handles the variations in the Ahrens and Flaherty score beautifully. African rhythms, Calypso beats, gospel and rock influences, military cadences, and gentle ballad tones underscore the danger, playfulness, optimism, satire, and tenderness in the story and songs.
Choreography and staging also raise the standard of this production to an unexpected level of professionalism. The ensemble's movements in every song are richly animated and in sync. The Wickersham monkeys hover and climb in trees while the doo wop style Bird Girls prance and swish their brightly plumed tails. Scenes in which Horton is hearing the Whos have the empathetic elephant downstage holding the clover on which the dust speck rests while the Whos reach out to him from upstage on a riser behind a softly lit scrim. The effect is one of two separate universes bridged by Horton's faith and care. The kids on stage know what they are doing. As a result, the audience gets it, too.
The Boston Children's Theatre has been presenting "live theatre for children by children" for 55 years. Among the group's celebrated alums are Julie Taymor, Susan Batson, Kasi Lemmon and Akiba Abaka. BCT employs color blind and gender-neutral casting from open auditions. If "Seussical, the Musical" is any indication, this is a formula for success.
