Connecticut Repertory Theatre SEUSSICAL stars Steve Hayes and Bradford Scobie go on topsy-turvy journey through June 26

Entering the world of Doctor Seuss is like entering another dimension.  One lets go of the commonplace and is prepared for a fun-house ride through a topsy-turvy world where foxes wear socks, cats wear hats and odd-looking creatures aren't "whats," but Who's.  With colorful settings, daffy characters and rhythmic rhymes, Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel's wildly popular children's books seem like a natural for the stage.  Lynn Ahren and Steven Flaherty's musical mutation of several Seuss stories into the Broadway show Seussical arrived amidst much ballyhoo in 2000, only to receive a middling response from critics and a short run from audiences.  Regrouping for an Off-Broadway production and US tour, the show was tightened and focused and since has become one of the most popular staples of children's theatre and community productions across the country. 

Connecticut Repertory Theatre, the professional producing arm of the University of Connecticut's drama department, is reviving Seussical from June 16^th through June 26^th as part of its Nutmeg Summer Series.  With a smart eye for casting, CRT Artistic Director Vincent Cardinal has found two leads that at first blush might seem like unusual choices for a show seemingly aimed at the pre-pubescent set.  Plucked from New York's hip downtown performance circuit and placed in rural Connecticut's "Quiet Corner" for a two-week run, actor-performers Bradford Scobie and Steve Hayes last appeared together recently in the Off-Off-Broadway holiday classic-in-the-making Moisty the Snowman Saves Christmas. 

They both have appeared in Tweed Fractured Classics, demented takes on beloved plays and films.  Like Seuss, Bradford Scobie's creative imagination has given birth to many wacky characters showcased at comedy clubs and alternative venues around New York.  Unlike Seuss's Lorax, however, the characters do not fall into the family-friendly vein: the grotesque super-villain Dr. Donut and Ukulele Louie, the self-loathing clown.  Steve Hayes' career is also varied and built very much around humor.  Perhaps best known for the gay romantic-comedy Trick and playing God in The Big Gay Musical, Hayes (like Scobie) is a writer and a comedian.  His performances in Manhattan cabarets garnered him the MAC Award and he has a popular YouTube series called Tired Old Queen at the Movies, where he recommends the classic films that he loves and quotes mercilessly. 

After a madcap evening over hamburgers, actor-performers Scobie and Hayes not only seem like naturals for their parts (the subversive Cat in the Hat and the gentle Horton the Elephant Who Hears a Who, respectively), they seem like the absolute perfect guides into the upside-down, nutty-fun world of Seuss. Constantly cutting up, disappearing into character voices and cracking jokes, the two are characters in their own right that undoubtedly will make one see these classic Seussian favorites anew.

SO HOW DID YOU BOYS END UP ENTERING THE WORLD OF SEUSSICAL?

STEVE HAYES - I had worked with Vince Cardinal before, who is the head of the UConn Theatre Department.   He had directed in me in an Off-Broadway show called Queen's Blvd.  He directed my one person show Steve Hayes' Hollywood Reunion.  He directs my YouTube shows Steve Hayes' Tired Old Queen at the Movies on YouTube.  And I was working in an Off-Broadway show called Moisty the Snowman Saves Christmas, written and starring Bradford Scobie.  And I thought he was brilliant and I urged Vince to see it and Vince thought it was a great combination to have Bradford play the Cat in the Hat and I would play Horton.

BRADFORD, DID YOU DIRECT MOISTY?

BRADFORD SCOBIE - Scott Ferris directed it.  He is very fancy.  He directed Bette Midler's show and he was involved in Chicago.  He's a great director.  It was initially in the NYMF Festival.  Last year we did it at Dixon Place. 

WHAT WAS YOUR INTRODUCTION TO STEVE?

BS - We met through Tweed (Fractured Classics).  We knew each other before Tweed, but the first show we did together was Pickup, a version of Picnic.

SH - Did you do Posteriors? (A spoof on Woody Allen's Interiors)

BS - No.  I loved Steven's style and admired his genius for years.  When we were first producing Moisty the Snowman, he was the top of the list to play Tranny Claus, the transgendered Santa Claus.  When he said "yes," I was thrilled.  He knocked it out of the park.  We never felt like we performed together enough.

SH - You have to really work at getting to work with the people you love.

BS - We do exist in the same world of schtick.

SH - It's called "Hambonia."

BS - We feel like we click, our style.  This show is going to be...

SH -A really good vehicle for both of us.  I really love Seussical.

HAD YOU SEEN THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTION?

BS - No.

SH - No.  Although Kevin Chamberlain, who played Horton, played my boyfriend in Trick.

BRADFORD, FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROSIE O'DONNELL AND MIKE MEYERS, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO RUIN THE CAT IN THE HAT?

BS - I'm going to raise the Cat in the Hat to celestial new heights.

DID YOU GROW UP READING CAT IN THE HAT?

BS - As a child, I obsessively poured over those books.  I loved those books.  They really influenced me.

THE CAT IN THE HAT IS VAGUELY THREATENING.

SH - There's danger in Seuss.  There are a lot of things like abandonment and learning to face your fear.  This is why this show is so good for adults and children. 

BS - They cut out all my nude scenes.  I'm furious.

SH - We have an amazing, young, talented cast.

BS - They're fabulous.

SH - Cassie Abate is the brilliant director and choreographer.

BS - And cute as a pin.

SH - John Pike is the Musical Director and...

BS - has the patience of a saint.

SH- He has an encyclopedic knowledge of musical theatre and can bring things out you never knew you could do.

DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE DR. SEUSS BOOK?

SH - As a matter of fact Horton Hears a Who, plus that book that he wrote for adults, Oh, the Places You'll Go.

BS - I'm partial to I Had Trouble In Getting to Solla Sollew. It was an epic journey and it kinda had everything.  It had crazy predators and there were lots of precarious cliffs.  Solla Sollew itself was a magical, luxurious place.  It really ran the gamut.

HAVE YOU DONE FAMILY-FRIENDLY ENTERTAINMENT BEFORE?

BS - I have done children's theatre before.

SH - So have I.

BS - It was improvisational.  We'd pull them out the audience.  I love children.  But I would still make jokes that were for the grown-ups.

SH - I think the thing we are most trying to find is the off-beat zaniness without losing the innocence and the pure narrative line.  Dr. Seuss gives you a lot of room to play.  His storytelling is so vivid.

YOU BOTH DO SHOWCASES, BURLESQUES AND COMEDY. DO YOU PREFER THAT ANARCHY TO A TRADITIONAL THEATRICAL PRODUCTION?

SH - I prefer to work.

BS - The anarchy thing is my comfort zone, but I don't necessarily prefer it.  I like being put in a new situation.

SH - Speaking for Bradford, of course, we both consider ourselves to be artists.  That's why we've created our own work.  We like to take what we do and put it into as many different venues as possible.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM GIG?

BS - To be the homo on The Daily Show...The Daily Show needs a gay correspondent.  Or a steady gig on stage that pays.

SH - I have two.  I wanna do Broadway.  I've always wanted to do Broadway and it's the only thing I haven't done.  And I would love to get a television show where you get a steady paycheck.  When you get to be my age, we need fun, positive gay people who are 40 and above.  I thought with Trick, how much people loved that my character is a middle-aged person with a love life.  The gay culture can be so youth, hot hot hot, youth youth youth.  You are young for such a short period of time. 

FINISH THE FOLLOWING:  One Fish Two Fish Red Fish...

SH - Dead Fish

BS - This is a tough one. 

I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham, I Do Not Like...

BS - I do not like Crocs.

The hilarious Bradford Scobie and Steve Hayes can be seen in Seussical at Connecticut Repertory Theatre's Nafe Katter Theatre from June 16 through June 26, 2011. For tickets and information call 860-486-4226 and visit www.crt.uconn.edu.   

Photo caption: Jamie Goldman, Steve Hayes and Bradford Scobie. Photo by Gerry Goodstein.

 

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