Seussical JR

Dr Seuss was an American author known for writing and illustrating more than 60 children’s books.   Some of his most famous works include Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Horton Hears a Who.

In 2000, a musical based on some of Dr Suess’s best-loved characters debuted on Broadway.    Suessical’s plot is a mishmash of stories from several books, full of colourful characters, witty lyrics and magical happenings. For their second post-pandemic show, KYDS put on the junior version of the production and what a sparkling production it was!

Having never seen the show before, or read any Dr Suess books, I had to concentrate very hard on the plot but the story was heart-warming. The cast did a great job of delivering the story at pace and I was impressed with how well they kept to time with the backing track. I could see them listening hard to pauses and beats in the music, so congratulations to them and musical director Leah Harding-Payne for working so hard.

There’s a long list of characters which gave lots of children a chance to shine. For me, the standout performer was Grace Bryson as our narrator, the Cat in the Hat. She was confident and had great characterisation. She also delivered great comedy, especially in a scene where the Cat is leading an auction involving the audience.   George Govus played our hero, Horton the Elephant. Horton finds a speck of dust containing the town of Whoville and is accused of being insane for hearing the small residents’ voices. George showcased a lovely melancholy character, just right for the part, and I particularly enjoyed his sweet duet with JoJo, played by Emily Reynolds. The daughter of the Mayor of Whoville, JoJo is chastised for “thinking too many thinks”. Emily had a lovely sweet voice and grew in confidence as the show progressed.  Gertrude McFuzz, a bird with only one tail feather who’s in love with Horton, was played by Lilian McMichael.  I loved seeing her joy when she grew a long, impressive tail and would encourage her to sing up even more because she has a lot of talent.

The most surprising and impressive voice came from Daisy Howard as the Sour Kangaroo. What a big set of lungs for one so small! The sassiest character by far was Mayzie La Bird played by Katie Taylor. Head of the Bird Girl gang, she sings about how amazing she is and her facial expressions in particular were great.    Katie and her gang, Emily Howell (who also played Mrs Mayor), Jess Bircher, Nicola Brady and Chloe Sorrell, brought sparkles and shine to the whole show.   The three Wickersham brothers (dressed as monkeys!) were played by Vinnie Weymouth, Harry Matthews and Eloise Cass and they were cheeky and fun.

One of my favourite parts of the whole show was when Vinnie played a shiny octopus in an underwater scene. He shimmied about like a true pro and it was very funny!   Other supporting characters included: Alexis Reynolds as Yertle the Turtle, Phoebe Davis as Young Kangaroo, Ewan Moore as Mr Mayor and Matilda and Ava Cullen as Thing 1 and Thing 2, who all did well adding to the story and atmosphere of the whole show.

All the costumes were bright and colourful and I was also impressed with the set and props. A bath, complete with shower, and a nest in a tree were both wheeled on at different times which looked great and were made by supporters of the group. The music was a little loud on occasion which meant some of the songs were hard to hear, which was a shame but I know it can be difficult to get the balance right.

This lively bunch of talented kids and their director, Alexandra Bilsland, should be really proud of putting on a rainbow romp of a show. Well done all.

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