Seussical the Musical Jr

Seussical Jr a musical performed by Chorley Youth Theatre on Thursday 6th July, 2022 at Chorley Theatre, Dole Street, Chorley.

Without doubt, the perfect musical for the whole family, based on the children’s stories of Dr. Seuss, (Theodor Seuss Geisel).  Seussical Jr is a mishmash of stories from several Dr Suess books that brings to life, onstage, characters like ‘Cat in the Hat’, ‘Horton the Elephant’, ‘Gertrude McFuzz’ to name but a few!  Written by the Tony Award Winning Lynn Ahrens (who also wrote the witty lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (who also wrote the music) and was co-conceived by Eric Idle.

As always, here at Chorley Youth Theatre, it is not just ‘Youth on Stage’! The ’Production Team’ is always made up of youth members… ‘youth make all the decisions’ under the watchful eye of an ‘Adult Creative Support Team’ which includes people like Paul Carr and Siân Wharton Jones… experienced theatre people who are always on hand to provide help and advice if and when required!   I had the privilege and pleasure, pre show, to speak with Zak Whitburn and Jasmin Davenport (Directors and Producer) for this show. Once again, they, like many others before them spoke about ‘experience, challenge and the enjoyment of working with their peers’. Chloe Jones and Eve Fulop (Choreographers) did a fantastic job, creating dances that where simple yet effective which played to the strengths of all involved. The Technical Team… Ben Holden (Musical Director/Projection Operator), Evan Ditchburn (Sound), Finn Harty (Follow Spot) and Jasmin Davenport, Ellie Brookfield and other unnamed Youth Theatre Members formed the Stage Crew.  Great opportunities, which can only be of benefit to Chorley Theatre in the future… well done to everyone!

The opening… an empty stage with just a “strange red-and-white striped hat’ sat at its centre.  A boy wanders onstage and notices it!  He wonders aloud who would wear such a hat and upon surmising that a cat might wear it… ‘The Cat in the Hat suddenly appears! The Cat tells the Boy that he has quite a mind for his age, having used only his ‘Thinks’ to summon ‘him’.  So, it begins… the boy is introduced to the world of Dr. Seuss, the characters who appear in the musical and the story in store (‘Oh, the Thinks You Can Think’).

The Cast / The Characters - when you get such a ‘talented and enthusiastic young company’ who, to a member, sang, danced and acted their hearts out, it really is difficult to start identifying individuals without doing injustice to others!  So, before I start ‘sticking my neck out’ let me introduce to you the entire cast…Laura Tingle played ‘The Cat in the Hat’; Tom McCann played ‘Vlad Vladikoff’;  Myah Brookfield played ‘JoJo’ (‘The Boy’); Frankie Budge played ‘Horton the Elephant’, Ruby Johnson played ‘Gertrude McFuzz’; Katie Jones played ‘Mayzie La Bird’; Rachel Moran played ‘Sour Kangaroo’; Ella Green played ‘The Mayor of The Who’s’; and Charlotte Clipston played his ‘wife’; Sophie Clipston and Ellie Brookfield played ‘Thing 1 and 2’ respectively; Isobel Ashworth, Gabbie McCarthy and Hollyanne McGillivary played ‘The Bird Girls’.  Ava Walsh, Thomas Bramall and Harry Smith played the ‘Wickersham Brothers’; Georgia Budge played ‘Judge Yertle the Turtle’; Martha Cook played ‘Cindy Lou Who’ and last but not least was Tom McCann played ‘The Grinch’. 

So now, the real difficult bit… ‘shout outs’ to identify MY five personal favourite performances or moments... SHOW STEALER for me, (a real close call), was Ruby Johnson playing ‘Gertrude McFuzz’ the awkward, determined little bird with just one feather, who realises that beauty isn’t everything and who eventually ‘falls in love’ with ‘Horton’.  Ruby took us on a journey, from ‘timid outsider’ to ‘confident leader’!  Ruby made this part her own, great stage presence, good singing voice, loved her rendition of ‘Notice Me Horton’ … be ever so proud Ruby, wonderful job!  The ‘close call’ was between Ruby and Frankie Budge who took on the role of ‘Horton the Elephant’, the kind, loyal, gentle giant whose determination saved more than just the day!  Frankie had stage presence aplenty, great voice, wonderful characterisation, loved the song ‘Alone in the Universe’ which she sang with ‘JoJo’ heart-warming … so be proud Frankie, great job young lady!   Myah Brookfield played ‘JoJo’ ‘the boy’… son of the ‘Mayor of The Whos’, a clever, lonely outsider who lives in a very vivid imaginary world! Myah was the ‘perfect fit’ for this role… clear distinctive diction, good singing voice, great stage presence, always looked interested even when not front and centre…again, be proud Myah, great job!  Laura Tingle played ‘The Cat in the Hat’ our Narrator, another with clear distinctive diction… important for a narrator!  Good singing voice, good dancer, created a great character… well done Laura, great job!   Final ‘shout out’ goes to not a character but a scene… just loved the scene that surrounded the song… ‘IT’S POSSIBLE’!  We were led into the song by ‘The Mayor of ‘The Who’s and his wife… then song itself sung by ‘The Cat and JoJo’… the projection, the bubbles, the swimming characters... great scene... well thought out, well-staged, choreographed and well-acted… congrats to all involved!   Honestly, I could go on…. Katie Jones as Mazie La Bird, Rachel Moran as ‘Sour Kangaroo’… so many great characters created…. well done one and all… be ever so proud!

Staging/Tech … a minimal set was used effectively throughout.  The reason for the ‘minimal set’ was down to the outstanding use of ‘Projection’ throughout under the ‘watchful eye’ of Ben Holden.  We did have a couple of ‘re-booting’ issues, but this had little or no effect to the overall effectiveness… and without doubt the projection enhanced the production tremendously…well done Ben and all involved, great job!  Lights and Sound… lighting is always great here at Chorley Theatre as it was again during this production. The sound quality for the music was superb; we did have one or two small hiccups with ‘slow personal mikes’, but even those had little or no effect on the overall performance, so congrats to Evan Ditchburn.  

Costumes… were of excellent quality and apt for this production… created by Sandra Dickinson.   Stage/Furniture and Props were great and used well throughout the production… loved the ‘Bath’ and the ‘Birds Nest’…. well done to all involved of which there were many!

Child Protection and Rehearsal Supervision… a very important necessity when you even start to consider a youth production. Congratulations to Ian Brookfield for his continued efforts in this field!

Finally, thank you so much for inviting my wife and I… we thoroughly enjoyed the production. Thanks also to Paul Carr for allowing me to speak with Zak, Jasmin and Ben pre show… and can I take this opportunity, on behalf of myself and NODA, in wishing ‘Jasmin Davenport’ all the success in the World at the National Youth Theatre, where she will be striving to further her dreams and ambitions for a career in theatre.  Look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Stay safe and keep well

Jim Briscoe
NODA North West
District 6 Rep

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