26th April 2025
Murder on the Airwaves
Three Towns Theatre Company, Upchurch Village Hall
Seussical the Musical
Author: Keith Smithers
Information
- Date
- 9th November 2016
- Society
- BROS Musical Productions
- Venue
- The Regis Centre
- Type of Production
- Musical
- Director
- Kate Bennett
- Musical Director
- Dan Lacey
- Choreographer
- Kate Bennett, Caroline Bennett & Abigail Esther-Knight
This musical has been in the UK since about 2007 and although I am familiar with some of the music, this is the first production that I have seen. The performance that I was lucky enough to see enhanced my enjoyment of the songs I already knew. It also helped me to understand and believe what the unbelievable story was all about.
For the uninitiated, it is a collection of Dr. Seuss’ children’s stories set to music. The narrator for this journey is The Cat in the Hat (Jack Winrow) ably assisted by The Boy/JoJo (Owen Clayton). These parts were expertly played and kept up the pace of the story whilst being on stage for a very large part of the evening.
The animal kingdom was very reliably represented by Horton the Elephant (Tony Bright), his neighbour, Gertrude McFuzz (Caroline Bennett) and the flamboyant but fickle Mayzie LaBird (Abigail Esther-Knight). Mayzie was very well complemented by The Bird Girls (Charlie Holden, Caroline Field, Sarah Melville) and the four girls’ dancing was superb. The Wickersham Brothers (Pete Moore, Amy Clayton, Chris O’Kelly) danced their way through the performance with ease. The Sour Kangaroo (Vikki Strachan) was the “baddie”. Her diction was not as clear as the rest but nevertheless well acted..
The Mayor (Miles Eden) and Mrs. Mayor (Tracy Clayton) - JoJo’s parents - were characterised well by being played straight. General Genghis Khan Schmitz (Ryan Richardson) was a cameo but important character in the show and played to full strength The choreography throughout was always slick and the two major dance routines were amazing. The technical side was extremely efficient and the return to home by JoJo in the second act, danced in ultra-violet lighting, was extraordinarily captivating visually.
A well balanced orchestra of twelve accompanied the singers very capably. The scenery was simple but very colourful in the form of eight large books, two hats, four trees and three sets of steps and painted like a child’s drawing - very effective.
© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.