BWW Reviews: Adventure MTC Brings Dr. Seuss Classic to Life with CAT IN THE HAT

On a typical Washington, DC summer day when the temperature spikes to above 90 degrees and the theatre's air conditioner breaks, one has to give props to a bunch of seasoned and less-seasoned actors who still give their all to a show that's sure to delight the youngest of theatregoers. Adventure Theatre Musical Theatre Center's production of Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat - originally produced by The National Theatre of Great Britain under the direction of adaptor Katie Mitchell - may not be the most creative or interesting attempt at theatricalizing the beloved children's book that's a bit scant on plot to begin with, but it's definitely a high-energy one.

The story is one that we all know. Young siblings Sally (an appropriately innocent and child-like Jessica Shearer) and the Boy (the charming Tyler Herman) are bored. It's raining outside, their parents aren't home, and watching a fish (Alex Vernon, who brings Eric Brook's colorful puppet to life) in its bowl can only be so fun for so long. Suddenly a Cat (Rick Hammerly) with a large red and white-striped hat and a few of his rambunctious friends (Alison Cenname and Cassie Cope at this performance) appear in their house and cure their boredom. The Cat and the Things create a world of chaos yet fun with physical comedy tricks galore. Imagination reigns supreme while the adults are away. Sally and the Boy's newfound friends leave them lessons and memories long after order is restored in the house.

Simple enough, no? That's part of the beauty and the problem. This production, directed by Karin Abromaitis who has a keen eye for physical design, exposes some of the dangers of adapting this Seuss story for the stage. As originally written, the story reaches a climax fairly quickly with the Cat's arrival and from there, there's nowhere to really go until the Cat leaves. Once he arrives, there's a variety of hijinks that begin to all look the same after a while. For example, the Cat, with the help of the young children and his friends, piles a variety of household items onto his person and balances with them all. Later, the crew takes many of these items - and more - and cause a bit of a disaster zone in the children's house. As such, there's a lot of frenetic movement - jumping, running in circles and the like. When it's time for the children to return to reality, there's only one thing to do - clean up, an activity which is equally as physically-driven and repetitive. While all these tricks are certainly fun to watch for a minute or two - and certainly well executed in this production - the choices make it really evident that it can be hard to make one moment of action all that different or distinguishable from the next when telling the story.

Despite these quibbles, the high-energy physical comedy - which may lack any purpose for adults in the audience - may be just the thing to hold most children's attention for 45 minutes. From the most seasoned cast member (a comedic Hammerly) to the youngest teenagers making their Adventure MTC debuts (Cenname and Cope, both exquisite movers who certainly know how to ham it up for the stage), the cast never lets the energy slip even for a split second. This is particularly impressive given the temperature in the theatre at the performance I saw was probably well over 100 degrees and Hammerly, in particular, was in a furry cat suit (well-designed by Kendra Rai like all of the costumes).

The other eye and ear-catching design elements - from Luciana Stecconi's scenic designs which pay homage to the illustrations found in the original book and Andrea "Dre" Moore's 'bigger-is-better' property designs, to William Yanesh's compositions, Neil McFadden's sound designs, and Jason Aufdem-Brinke's lighting designs - highlight the imaginative and enchanting elements of the story in an effective way. They capture the Seuss world to a tee even if they aren't particularly unexpected.

Running Time: 45 minutes with no intermission. Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat plays through September 2, 2013 at Adventure Theatre MTC at Glen Echo Park (7300 MacArthur Blvd in Glen Echo, MD). For tickets, call 301-634-2270 or purchase them online.

Photo: Puppeteer Alex Vernon with the Fish and Rick Hammerly as The Cat in the Hat (Photo Credit: Mike Horan)

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