SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL

I always find it exciting to be invited to a show that I haven’t seen before and know absolutely nothing about … and what a treat the Theats had in store for us this evening! The curtains opened to reveal one of the most colourful sets that I have ever seen, built by the very talented Ian St. John.

Seussical The Musical has been expertly and imaginatively directed by Mark Walker. The staging was terrific with scenes that conjured up pictures in your mind of the wonderful world of Dr. Seuss and had lots of well-defined characters too. The production had all the pace that a musical of this kind needs and the scenes all flowed with ease. The musical director, Barbara Hockey, must have had a very difficult task indeed, with a score that was almost entirely through–sung, with the only dialogue being in verse. The vocals from all the company were to a very high standard and there were lots of lovely harmonies. With a talented seven-piece band the company had excellent backing throughout the evening. The choreography by Michele Cooke and Jane Walker was excellent, with some very slick and well-presented routines. This was no mean feat in a through-sung musical. Congratulations Mark, Barbara, Michelle and Jane on a wonderful achievement!

The show had a great opening and the audience was immediately transported to another world for the evening! Luke Campbell-Simcoe who played The Cat in a Hat brought his character to life brilliantly with lots of humour and it was a joy to watch the rapport he had with the audience and his interaction with the other characters - an outstanding performance. Jake Stevens who played Jo-Jo is a young man with a great future. He played his role with lots of charm and maturity; well done. Horton the Elephant was very sensitively played by Kev Aitken who had a good voice and he too gave a great performance. Leisa Cooke played the feisty Gertrude McFuzz (the blue bird who wants more than one tail) she had lovely vocals and gave a strong performance. Mayzie LaBird was played by Rachel Compton - her character left poor Horton to sit on her egg whilst she sat on the beach drinking cocktails and she, too, had lovely vocals. Some very strong vocals came from Samantha Hammonds who played The Sour Kangaroo; well done. Great character acting from Phil Mills as Mr Mayor and Jane Walker as Mrs Mayor who along with the rest of the Whos were delightful, I must mention the smallest Who played by five year old Penny Walker, making her stage debut! Well done to Steff Keightley playing General Genghis Khan Schmitz and the Strong Man. You brought some lovely humour to the role. Kevin Maltby, Martin Brown and Carly Walker played the Wickersham Brothers and Sister, they worked well together and showed some very good dance routines. Tracey Arnold, Jennie Coleman and Julie Paris played the very sassy Bird Girls, with terrific vocals and lovely harmonies. Very good performances too came from Daniel Fortune as The Grinch, George Wainwright as Vlad Vladikoff and lovely vocals from Christine Haynes as Yertle the Turtle. Well done to Lily-Mae Cooke, Thing 1 and Mia Coles, Thing 2 who displayed lots of energy in their roles throughout the show. Well done to the rest of the company who played the Whos, Citizens of the Jungle, Cadets, Circus performers and off stage singers. I must note that there is a lot of talent in the youngsters in this show and much promise for the future.

Visually this was an excellent production it was very colourful throughout and made great use of UV lighting in several scenes. The scenery, costumes and props were excellent as were make-up and hairstyles. The lighting and sound quality was very good too.

All in all this was an excellent and faultless opening night, well done to everyone both on and off the stage. You have a wonderful show that is great all round family entertainment. You should all be very proud!

CAROLINE JERVIS                                                                                                                                                                                         NODA EM DISTRICT 7 REPRESENTATIVE.          

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