Seussical The Musical

Having seen SpongeBob the Musical last year, I was safe in the knowledge that I was heading for a night in the theatre that would be executed by very talented young performers to an extremely high standard. However, as a woman of a “ahem” certain age, I didn’t anticipate at all that the world of Dr Seuss was going to necessarily be one that would capture my imagination. However, from the moment of taking my seat and seeing a young girl secretly reading a book in bed (been there, done that!), the spell of Seuss combined with the talent of MYTS wove its magic around me and I was transported for a fantastical couple of hours and was thrilled by every single minute of it!

Personally, I love an open stage and even more so when cast are present upon it as I am taking my seat. The production overall had no discernible gremlins and the quality was very high throughout. The band were absolutely on point and there was no hint of a first night wobble to be seen. The set was predominantly simple but the better for it with possibly a new record set for numerous uses of a bed; we maybe have also never seen a feather duster as a whole other world either but it worked perfectly! Costume was bright, colourful and engaging across the board. With a special note to the most impressive (if limiting!) bird’s tail ever.

The performances delivered by all of the cast were exemplary with absolutely no weak links. Kitty Tyler-Reynolds as Jojo demonstrated the professionalism that befits her background and her dancing prowess was very much on display. Jamie Gardner as The Cat In The Hat (the one Seuss character I had actually heard of!) gave an extremely mature performance which showed off the sardonic & mischievous character of the Cat every time he popped up on stage. Everyone was very good vocally but Harry Saint-Dunn as Horton the Elephant demonstrated a vocal that I would love to hear develop as it matures even further as I suspect it might be even more epic. Talking of mature vocals, Xanthe Gowodo as Mayzie LaBird, just wow! Another one who could easily be wowing audiences from a professional stage in years to come. I loved Issy Draycott’s portrayal of Gertrude McFuzz, so in love with Horton and distressed by her one feather tail (I hope the younger members of the audience took to heart the message of embracing what you have!), Issy brought a lovely warmth to the character. Aden Lee and Jess Morgan as Mr & Mrs Mayor were excellent, essentially good people but at a bit of a loss as to what to do with Jojo and all her thinks.

The wider ensemble gave a polished and engaging performance and as I have mentioned, no sign of any first night nerves here! The Citizens of Whoville, the Whoville Cadets, the Jungle of Nool Citizens, The Bird Girls & The Seussical Ensemble Cast all added their valuable contributions to the whole. I have to mention the kangaroos – Scarlett Draycott as the Sour Kangaroo had an exceptional vocal and Ruby Bentley caught my eye for the second year in a row! I noted her last year as a very sassy crab (I think it was a crab?) and still the sass draws the eye! But this really was a team effort and everyone played their very valuable part.

I think one of the reasons this drew me in so much is that I was essentially the child told that she was “thinking too many thinks”, who read in secret under the covers and whose imagination ran wild. And in a world today that seems incredibly divided, Seussical’s messages of inclusivity, embracing who you are and being proud of it and the base philosophy that “a person’s a person, no matter how small” is more vital that ever. And in a world where we can be anything? Be More Horton!!

Thank you once again Musical Youth Theatre Stafford for the kind invitation and looking after me. I can’t wait until next summer!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.