Seussical

SEUSSICAL is a musical comedy largely based on the works of Dr Suess.   It incorporates characters from the books including Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches the Egg.   Horton, a gentle-hearted elephant is loyal and lovable and is undoubtedly the lynchpin of the show, but the entire cast also have a chance to shine and this is a fine ensemble piece. 

The set was amazing, colourful and multi-purpose.  It was imaginative incorporating lights, rainbows, flowers, stairs and the many props were well managed and inventive.  The tree for Horton hatching the egg deserves a special mention as does the briefly seen helicopter. 

The costumes were fantastic and varied and were bright, shiny, full of feathers and sequins and individually matched their characters. There was great use of costume to differentiate between Mayzie LaBird (fabulous shoes!) and Gertrude McFuzz. The Cat in the Hat’s costume was true to the original in the stories and Horton’s dungarees and pink tie made him even more appealing.  There were many changes of clothes such as the fishes, birds and circus performers. The costumes overall were abundant and excellent; they didn’t steal the show but nearly did, especially towards the finale.

The lighting was effective and imaginative throughout with dazzling very colourful lighting that changed with the scenes from bright for the dream sequences, red and green for Christmas and a warm orange light for hatching the egg. The quality of the singing was outstanding and the live orchestra provided fine support to the vocalists. The music was varied from pop to gospel to musical theatre.  There were several very moving solos of the highest quality showing the talents of the youngsters.

The story – a difficult to follow one – but with the focus on Horton who brought  some coherence to the theme of the power of imagination and the importance of friendship and kindness.    Cutting through the sentimentality some of the songs, particularly ‘How Lucky You Are’ were great highlights.  There was lots of energy and high spirits from the cast.  The cast exhibited great comic ability as well as transforming from joy to sadness when needed. 

There was much to enjoy in this show.  There was creative choreography from Diana Sankey, and direction by the experienced Stephanie Webb, this production was a great credit to  Limelight. There was a fantastic response from the audience on the night I attended and everyone left the theatre absolutely buzzing.

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