SEUSSICAL JR

What an energetic, upbeat and confident performance.  I thought everyone was well-cast and immersed themselves in the production.  I enjoyed the safety notices, which I understand were written by Katie Osborne, very well-delivered and full of fun.  I didn’t feel the story came over terribly well, but not entirely sure why.

The charmingly painted backdrop framed the production well, and the extension into the auditorium of the tree and outlining of doorway etc gave an immersive feel to the show.  Apart from the first scene change, all scene changes were accomplished within the action, which was good to see.  Lighting was good, and I liked the dappled effect used for some scenes.  However excessive use of haze was distracting at times and sometimes hid the performers.

Musically the whole production was good, with everyone singing in tune, although there were some cases when the mics were not entirely covering the singer, which made it difficult to hear.  Some lovely harmonies.  I felt there was a bit of waiting for tracks to click in at times.  I loved the Lullaby, there were some gentle and beautiful harmonies.

I liked the choreography, it was quirky in some places, I enjoyed the armography in the second song in Act 1, and the Jungle number was well-executed.

Costumes were mostly strongly suggestive of the animals – however I was not entirely sure that I would have known they were Kangaroo’s, or that Horton was an elephant – all the other animals were good, and very colourful.  There were a couple of issues with hair, where it impeded view of the face or was continually being flicked away – but mostly very good hairdo’s.

Lucy Leventhal (Boy/Jo-Jo) created a good character, with good and precise projection, I enjoyed her interaction with Mr & Mrs Mayor and Horton.

Caitlin Greaves (Cat in the Hat) commanded the stage and provided the links well.  Caitlin also showed she has good comedy timing and delivery.

Chloe Ragui (Horton) was plagued by an ineffective mic, which meant we didn’t always hear her clearly, however she coped with it all well, and I loved her duet with Isabelle, nice harmonies.

Eris Adshead and Iris Levey as the two birds, looked lovely, sang well, and were a good foil to the very feisty Martha Tomkins (Mayzie La Bird), who sang and acted with flair and enthusiasm – very well achieved.  Martha also undertook the role of Judge Yertle the Turtle, with effective control of the Court!

Savanna Walsh (Sour Kangaroo) and Elsie White (Young Kangaroo) were so good in their roles, showing good interaction between themselves and other cast members – a lovely duo.

Alana Hales and Elizabeth Horlick (Wickersham Brothers), were real little monkeys, good portrayals making the most of two fun characters.

Isabelle Georgescu (Gertrude) showed a nice understanding of her part, with good expression, and comedy where needed.  Very well done.

Mason Moore and Abbey Rowson (Mr & Mrs Mayor) were the more serious characters within the story, and were a good contrast to the other lighter characters.  I liked their partnership.

Lucia Kidman (Vlad Vladikoff) completed the cast with a very formidable portrayal.

All in all a very enjoyable production, with some good performances.  My thanks to Parodos for their hospitality, always good to see you all and catch up.

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