Seussical

Seussical the Musical is based on the fantastical children's stories of Dr Seuss. Children love these fantastical stories, but adults can be forgiven for coming to Dr Seuss with some confusion and so it is with Seussical the Musical which takes most of its plot from the tale ‘Horton Hears a Who’.

The opening of this show was a riot of colour with many diverse characters entertaining with exceptional song and dance.  It is difficult to decide who is who and who isn’t who (good puns there!)  However it soon becomes apparent that the story is a ‘moral tale’ where with the very strong performances, good triumphs over evil and everyone lives happily ever after.

The standard of performance achieved in the short timescale of rehearsals from FMTC’s  Spellbound production team,   is quite amazing. With only a small amount of preparation in the weeks preceding the ‘show fortnight’ the quality of the show was admirable.

The band created the perfect balance to enhance the singing and allowing the performers to be heard.  The chorography for the whole company was engaging and suited to cast abilities. But where ‘dancers’ were required, the chosen performers demonstrated talent and expertise. To direct a cast of 60 young performers is extremely demanding and requires special expertise and I could not fault the direction of this unusual musical. The preparation must have taken hours of work from the whole production team. Well done all, particularly the Director, MD and Choreographer. A special mention and congratulations to the costume designers…. The work entailed and the attention to detail was quite extraordinary. Costumes were outstanding and I thought the Jelly Fish costumes and special effects were lovely, an unexpected surprise.

The bright and colourful set complemented the action perfectly and lighting was used to good effect.

 The casting of this show was very good throughout. The principals… too numerous and it is probably wrong to single out anyone, they were all excellent. Yes there were times when the dialogue was a little rushed and the diction unclear and this made the first half hour of this complex story quite difficult to follow. But… it was the first performance, on an unbelievably hot night with some of the cast in complex and hot costumes and some of the cast probably nervous which makes for rushed dialogue. 

I hope all the young people involved realise the opportunity that FMTC Spellbound offers.  An enthusiasm and love for performing, learning from talented and passionate teachers, team building, opportunities to move into Frome’s adult group and memories and friends for life. Well done Spellbound, another success.

Congratulations all round to everyone concerned and my very best wishes for future  productions by FMTC Spellbound…. The future of FMTC is in safe hands.

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