| Seussical the Musical |
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Seussical the
Musical Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Navy Pier, “Wouldn’t it be cool if…..??” This is a question I imagine took place during
the conception of this show. More specifically:
“Wouldn’t it be cool if we created a musical by combining as many different Dr.
Seuss books as possible?”. Though this is mostly a successful idea, some
problems arise by the fact that too many of Seuss’s characters and plots are
thrown into the mix, muddying the storyline as people and places are quickly introduced
and then never developed or heard from again.
Fortunately these shortcomings do not weigh down this The play’s over-arching story is that of Horton, a naïve yet loyal elephant, (Bernie Yvon), who, while wading in a jungle pool, hears a cry for help coming from what seems to be a small piece of dust floating in the air. Through the help from the narrator, the Cat in the Hat (E. Faye Butler), we find out that the cry is actually coming from the smallest planet in the world, a planet inhabited by the Who’s of Who-ville. Horton, placing the dust speck on a clover, decides that he will save this planet for – as he emphatically sings –“a person’s a person no matter how small”. Thus the wild story begins, sweeping numerous characters from other Seuss books along for the ride. Seussical, created
by seasoned and prolific composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens, (Ragtime, A Man of No Importance, and Once On This Island),
opened on Broadway in 2000 to lackluster reviews. It closed after less than 200
performances. Fortunately, though, this
show has been adroitly reworked into a child-accommodating one-act production,
allowing it to spring to life in regional theatres and schools all over the
country, including this exuberant production at the Shakespeare Theatre on Navy
Pier. The director, Eric Rosen (best-known as founder and artistic
director of About Face Theatre), has put together a near-perfect
production. Rosen has created a world
where the audience is invited to use their imagination to fill in the details. For example, there is a scene where JoJo, the day-dreaming boy from Who-ville,
sits in a bathtub and imagines that the tub is actually a large pool. Rosen ingeniously stages this by unfurling
large blue sheets that are waved and billowed by the cast surrounding the tub, bouncing
fish appearing behind the scene. Brilliant
staging also occurs during Horton’s boat ride across the Made from huge reproductions of Seuss books, the set is dominated by two large books placed on stage and a large book shelf surrounding the orchestra, which characters use to swing from and walk across as they portray a wild multitude of characters, including fish, birds and monkeys. The orchestrations have been pared down to a workable 5-member band. All members of the cast are exemplary, most notably Bernie Yvon, playing the elephant with perfect naiveté and innocence; Johanna McKenzie Miller, portraying the Horton-loving bird Gertrude McFuzz with a charismatic childishness; E. Faye Butler, eagerly keeping the play moving with sarcastic and trouble-making finesse as the Cat In The Hat; and Alexandra Billings, comically offering up Mayzie La Bird in a hilariously self-involved manner. The only glitch is seen in the miscasting of the Sour Kangaroo (Becca McCoy). Though Ms. McCoy does an admirable job as the belligerent and haughty kangaroo, the role demands a brassier personage. Not to be outdone, Mitchell Hollis exuberantly plays the
wildly imaginative Who-ville boy, JoJo. It is always a challenge to find child
singers with strong, clear voices.
Hollis, a budding actor on the Nonstop fun extends after the show, from the enthusiastic singing
of “Green Eggs and Ham” during the final bows, to the characters coming out
after the show to sign programs and take pictures with kids (and adults!). You will find many lessons hidden within Seussical, the biggest being the wise pronouncement that the world can be changed by living your life knowing that “a person’s a person no matter how small”. No matter what your age, this is a show not to be missed. Rating: Highly Recommended (4
stars) Reviewed by Scotty Zacher |
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