By Edwin Sam ’13, Sports Editor
If you want to see Jules Cantor ’11 in pink blush, 4th graders as Whos, or perfect execution of the Jersey Shore fist pump in the curtain call, you should come and see this year’s musical, Seussical. Seussical takes you back to the kindergarten glory days when your teacher read the brilliant stories of Theodore Seuss Geisel before nap time. Replicating the remarkable rhyming skills of Dr. Seuss, the musical reminds you of his under-appreciated talents. Seussical takes old Dr. Seuss books to a new dimension by adding flashy costumes and a catchy score.
In the beginning of the musical, Horton, the elephant from the 1954 book Horton Hears a Who!, can hear voices shouting from his tiny clover. Horton is played by Josh Motley ’12 on Thursday night and Saturday Matinée, and played by Jules Cantor on Friday and Saturday night. The large elephant converses with one of the Whos, Jojo, and is convinced that there are people on this small planet. However, nobody believes Horton when he says that people exist on his clover. The Whos are mainly played by 4th graders casted by Mark Femia along with a few upper school students. In the middle of a war on Whoville, Jojo is suspended from his regular school and sent to military school because of his audacious imagination. The general, who is played by freshman Ishan Ghildyal ’14, is supposed to turn around Jojo’s bad reputation. Before long, Jojo and Horton share their
feelings with each other and Horton soon becomes fond of the Whos. He and some of the ensemble members dressed as soldiers sing a musical rendition of Green Eggs and Ham. All the while, senior Ilana Habib ’11 narrates the story as the Cat in the Hat, who seems like a cross between a circus ringmaster and the lively old guy in the Six Flags commercials. The role of Gertrude McFuzz, a bird trying to attract Horton by growing a long tail, is performed by sophomore Holly Dayton ‘13. Horton loses his clover to monkeys and the jungle, and he is determined to protect Whoville from whatever danger they may be in.
With its attractive colors and creative costume, Seussical seems more like an upbeat concert than a traditional high school musical. The costumes are particularly appealing to the fans of preppy pastels and Converse Chuck Taylors. The ensemble is split into many parts each of which wearing different, animated costume. The Bird Girls are dressed like Las Vegas show girls with bright colors, feathers, and well-designed make-up that matches the color of their costume. The soldiers fighting in Whoville’s war wear green uniforms with macho yellow shoulder pads to display the toughness of war. Monkeys that steal Whoville from Horton have furry orange arms with a vivid orange tail. Some of the soldiers also play clowns in-between scenes as soldiers. With a red and orange wig, Sarah Gamblin ’13 looks like a carbon copy of Hayley Williams, lead singer of Paramore. Will Bernish ’13, the Grinch, resembles a Christmas tree that stole Santa’s clothes. In addition to the costumes, the choreography by Mrs. Suekoff and the casting by Mr. Femia give Seussical more creativity and energy. And Habib gives an appropriately loud and energetic performance as the famous Cat in the Hat
Two of the biggest switches from the musical last year are the set and the music. The set, which has the feel of a Dr. Seuss book with lots of wavy lines and basic colors, is more constant throughout the play and requires less work from the tech crew. A trap door is even installed for none other than the Cat in the Hat. Instead of having an actual orchestra backstage, this year music is played through speakers. Though the music loses its authenticity, it fits the musical better because you don’t have to worry about not having enough people to play each instrument. Impressive effort was put in by the ensemble to match the tone of the leads and the music.
The theme of using your imagination is developed throughout Seussical by teaching the audience that self-confidence goes a long way. When all others lose faith in you, have faith in yourself. Jojo shows us that we should use our imaginations no matter how obscure our ideas are. Through props, costumes, music, and singing, motifs of vitality and movement are established to make an overall enjoyable experience for any person who’s a person, no matter how small.
