Seussical the Musical

This production was six years in the making – that is to say it was first envisaged to be produced in 2019 until the global pandemic hit and scuppered the plans. Now in 2025 it has finally arrived at the stage – and well worth the wait it was!

The director in his notes says “Seussical lends itself beautifully to an immersive experience, and we hope you feel just as much a part of Jojo’s imagination as the characters do.”
I’ve seen Seussical many times and in each case something was ‘missing’, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it as to what it was until I saw this ‘in the round’ production that the audience were ‘part of’ rather than just watching. You experienced the anguish of Horton in his dilemma as to whether he protected the egg or looked for the ‘who;’ you were in ‘Solla Sallew’; you experienced Horton’s relief when finally believed in his trial.

If you have never seen Seussical or read any of the Cat in the Hat books, then firstly which rock have you been hiding under all your life and secondly, you have missed one of life’s great experiences. We see Horton the Elephant discover a tiny town of people (The Who’s) on a speck of dust hidden on a clover; many call him mad, whilst Gertrude McFuzz his bird next door neighbour has feelings for Horton; Horton is tricked into caring for a less than socially conscious Mayzie (a bird with amazing plumage) into looking after her egg. Lots of struggles and adventures take place before Horton is put on trial and his precious clover leaf to be destroyed before finally the ‘who’ makes themselves heard and all ‘falls into place’. All this narrated in a sense by the ‘playful’ Cat in the Hat whilst telling the story and imaginings of Jojo, the child of the Mayor and his wife of Whoville.

Using the whole of the large hall of Brinkburn CIO, the stage, raised areas and towers, the youth of STAMP told the story in such graphic, wonderful, emotional, dramatic, and beautiful fashion.

‘Horton’ (Miguel Silvan-Reches) was graceful and well suited to the role as a kind empathetic creature; ‘Mayzie LaBird’ (Rebecca Gosling) was the correct blend of arrogance and self-centred for the role and powerfully played through her song; ‘Gertrude McFuzz’ (Molly Featherstone) was perfect in her role as ‘the girl next door’ demeanour as she tried to impress Horton when all she had to do was ‘be herself’ – her voice had a haunting quality about it in her song ‘Notice me Horton’; ‘Mr and Mrs Mayor’ (Kieran Simpson & Erin Pettimore respectively) acted really well as the concerned parents of JoJo and also for what was happening in the town; ‘The Sour Kangaroo & Baby Kangaroo’ (Jasmine Slater & Peyton Nelson) were the ubiquitous cynics and prime drivers in the trial against Horton with strong voices that filled the auditorium.

‘Cat in the Hat’ (Mollie Clements) was the epitome of what you expect the Cat in the Hat to be if you’ve read the books (or indeed like myself own a cat) – mischievous, a little unpredictable and thoroughly loveable – she was the lynch pin to the whole story alongside ‘Jojo’ (Tobey Thomas) whose imagination precipitated changes in direction for the arc of the storyline each time they ‘thought’.

Other smaller principal roles were acted by ‘General Genghis Kahn Schmitz’ (Michail Burns); ‘Judge Yertle the Turtle’ (Erin Lansdell); ‘Grinch’ (Luna Paolucci) giving other insights into the world of Dr Seuss.

Supporting ‘Mayzie’ as a sort of ‘posse’ were three ‘Bird Girls’ (Lucy Robson, Katelyn Whittle & Amelia Davis) – these three were powerful supporting roles and their support was not to be underestimated. Nor too the ‘Wickersham Brothers’ (Alex Elliott, Dylan Cram, Maizie Mcfarlane & Libby Townsley) as these four characters were ideal as the mischievous chimp like (and slightly sinister) entities.

A vast ensemble of jungle creatures rounded out the production alongside minor characters such as ‘Thing 1’, ‘Thing 2’, ‘Vlad Vladikoff’ (Niamh Nairn, Liam Steele & Imogen Heed).

The colours of the costumes, the large moving ‘vines’, the special awareness of the cast to involve all the audience and the professionalism to be acting even when the focus wasn’t on your particular roles made this a very special production.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.