Taylor High School Fine Arts Department Performs Seussical, 2/7-2/10

The Taylor High School Fine Arts Department proudly present Seussical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. This unforgettable musical caper, based on the iconic children's books of Dr. Seuss, will be performed at James E. Taylor High School's Performing Arts Center, 20700 Kingsland Boulevard, Katy, TX 77450, on February 7, 8, 9 at 7:30pm and February 10 at 2:00pm.

Seussical is directed by Julie Williams, Taylor's resident Theatre Director, as well as school graduate. Ms. Williams is joined by Musical Director, Kevin Riehle. The cast, with members from the theatre, choir and dance departments, has been rehearsing on-and-off since October, all while working on other projects, shows and productions in their respective departments.

Seussical debuted on Broadway in 2000. The play's story is a rather complex amalgamation of many of Seuss' most famous books that yields an upbeat, high-energy production with catchy tunes and a wonderful message appropriate for all ages. After its Broadway run, the production spawned two US national tours and a UK tour. It has become a favorite for school, community and regional theatres.

The overarching plot of the show mirrors that of Horton Hears a Who! It centers on Horton the Elephant (Camron Alexander), and his endeavors to protect the people of Who-ville, who live on a tiny speck of dust. It also features characters and scenarios from many other Seuss books, including Mayzie LaBird (Onyi Ibe), Gertrude McFuzz (Amanda Melvin) and the Cat in the Hat (Shelby Connolly), who acts as "your host and master-of-ceremony". This fun and family-friendly musical is further rounded out by the Lorax (lisacon32@aol.comAnna Gilbert), the Grinch (Chris Harris), Cindy Lou Who (Samantha Reichstein) and all her Who family and friends, who take the audience on a grand adventure through Seuss' fantastical world and their own imaginations.

The lead roles portrayed by seniors Camron Alexander and Amanda Melvin are reprisal roles from their 2009 Memorial Parkway Junior High School production. Both plan to be Theatre Majors in college. Alexander will attend the University of Houston. Melvin's school choice is currently undecided. Shelby Connolly (in perhaps her final on-stage performance) will major in Production Stage Management at either the University of Houston or Oklahoma University. All three actors are active members and officers of the Taylor Thespian troupe, and have been involved in over 50 productions collectively. Together, they join a staggering number of talented performers, technicians and musicians - over 100 students (and 14 faculty & staff) of the Taylor Fine Arts Department - all working collaboratively on this project.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 (adults), $12 (students) $10 (seniors) or in advance for $12 (adults), $10 (students & seniors) at www.taylorplaymakers.com. *Credit cards are accepted both at the door and on-line; a $.50 per ticket processing fee is added to the purchase price.

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