Seussical

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Seussical
Seussical.png
Logo
Music Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics Lynn Ahrens
Book Lynn Ahrens
Stephen Flaherty
Basis The stories of Dr. Seuss
Productions 1999 Workshop: Toronto
2000 Tryout: Boston
2000 Broadway
2002 First National US Tour
2003 US Tour
2007 Off Broadway

Seussical the Musical is a musical based on the books of Dr. Seuss that debuted on Broadway in 2000. The play's story is a rather complex amalgamation of many of Seuss's most famous books. After a Broadway run, the production spawned two US National Tours, a UK tour and has become a favorite for school, community and regional theatres.[1]

Contents

[edit] Productions

[edit] Broadway

After 34 previews, Seussical opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on November 30, 2000.[2] Directed by Frank Galati with choreography by Kathleen Marshall, the original Broadway cast included David Shiner as the Cat in the Hat, Kevin Chamberlin as Horton, and Anthony Blair Hall as Jojo. It also featured Janine LaManna as Gertrude McFuzz and Michelle Pawk as Mayzie LaBird, with Stuart Zagnit as the Mayor of Whoville, Alice Playten as the Mayor's wife, Sharon Wilkins as the Sour Kangaroo and Erik Devine as General Genghis Khan Schmitz also appearing. Throughout the run, there were many celebrity Cat in the Hat replacements, including Rosie O'Donnell and Cathy Rigby.

The production received lukewarm reviews, with critics focusing on the huge cast of characters and unsympathetic plotlines.[3] The Broadway production closed on May 20, 2001 after 198 performances.[2]

[edit] US tours

Following the Broadway production, there were two US National tours. The first, in 2002-03, starred Cathy Rigby, and the second toured in 2003-04.[4][5]

The script for the first tour was extensively reworked after the poor showing on Broadway. The main alteration resulted in the Seuss world being a figment of Jojo's imagination. This resulted in the removal or reworking of several songs. It is this version of the musical that is currently rented by the leasing company, and has enjoyed some success in regional and children's theater companies across the country.

[edit] Off-Broadway

A 90-minute Off Broadway production was staged at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on July 19, 2007 by Theatreworks USA starring Shorey Markham as The Cat in the Hat.[6][7] This production was downscaled from the first USA tour. Theatreworks USA is currently working on an original Off-Broadway cast recording produced by Jay Records.

[edit] One-Act Versions

A one-act version of the show has been created. The "Theatre for Young Audience" version contains significant changes, including reducing the cast to 12 actors and removing the entire military subplot. Another one-act version of the show, "Seussical Jr", is designed for performances by junior high or middle school students. (Both are offered by Music Theatre International (MTI), the current North American rights holder.)

[edit] Plot overview

The overarching plot of the show mirrors that of Horton Hears a Who!, centering on Horton the elephant's endeavors to protect the people of Who-ville, who live on a tiny speck of dust. It also features characters and scenarios from many other Seuss books, including the Butter Side Uppers / Downers from The Butter Battle Book, Gertrude McFuzz, and some characters that never made an appearance in any of Dr. Seuss's books. The Cat in the Hat, an outside observer, acts as narrator and devil's advocate throughout the show, briefly leaping into the action on several occasions to create conflict and keep the story moving.

The following characters, listed here with their associated books, appear in the musical:

In all, the following Seuss books have some minor characters and/or settings incorporated into the show:

[edit] Plot

 This plot summary may be too long or overly detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2009)

This synopsis describes the full length broadway version.

Act I

("Overture") The story begins with a bare stage, save for an odd multi-colored circle background. At the center of this background sits the Cat in the Hat (from The Cat in the Hat). The Cat greets the audience and tells them to brace themselves for a crazy and wacky tale. He then gives the audience "a clue" to what the story will be and begins to create the Seussian world around him ("Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!"), and he acts as the narrator for the remainder of the musical, as well as playing some of the minor roles. The audience is brought to the Jungle of Nool, where Horton the Elephant (from Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches the Egg) is bathing.

Horton hears a strange noise coming from a speck of dust, and, convinced there must be someone on it, rescues the speck and places it on a clover to guard ("Horton Hears a Who"). The other animals (especially the "Sour Kangaroo", a matriarch of the jungle) mock him mercilessly for this, except for Gertrude McFuzz (from The One Feather Tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz), who admires his compassion and begins to fall in love with him. ("Biggest Blame Fool"). However, Horton soon hears the mysterious voice again, which turns out to belong to the Mayor of "Who", a dust-speck planet covered with microscopic inhabitants called Whos. The Cat in the Hat zooms in on the dust speck so the Whos are revealed to the audience. The Mayor of Who and the Whos reveal their planet is so small and fragile they are constantly threatened with death, and beg Horton to help protect them now their cries have reached him. His resolve strengthened, Horton promises he will guard the dust speck ("Here on Who").

At this point, the Cat in the Hat shows us the mayor's family where, at the moment, the mayor's son, Jojo, is being scolded for thinking "thinks" at school, imaginary thoughts which have apparently disrupted his classes and aroused the ire of his teachers. Although he tries not to think thinks anymore, he starts to imagine his tub is McElligot's pool (from McElligot's Pool) where his thinks soon spiral out of control ("It's Possible") and cause time to fly and he goes to bed. Frustrated, the Mayor and his wife agree to "lay down the law" but are unsure of just how to discipline their son ("How to Raise a Child"). After receiving a brochure, they decide to send him to a military school run by a misguided warmonger named General Genghis Khan Schmitz (from I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew), who is preparing to go to war with those who eat their bread butter side down (as in The Butter Battle Book) ("The Military").

Meanwhile, Horton (who is still being ridiculed by the Citizens of the Jungle) decides to talk with the Whos again for encouragement. He then meets Jojo, with whom he bonds instantly as a fellow societal outcast ("Alone in the Universe"). The next day, Gertrude (whose feelings for Horton are still strong) laments that her tail only has one feather, believing its sorry sight is the reason Horton is not noticing her ("The One Feather Tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz"). At the advice of Mayzie La Bird (from Horton Hatches the Egg), whose tail is enormous and dazzling, Gertrude obtains pills from Doctor Dake (played by the Cat) which Mayzie promises will make her tail "almost as amazing" as hers ("Amayzing Mayzie/Amayzing Gertrude"). Gertrude is so excited about her tail, she overdoses.

Meanwhile, Horton is ambushed by a group of mischievous monkeys called the Wickersham Brothers ("Monkey Around") who steal the clover and run off with it. Horton gives chase until the monkeys give the clover to a black-bottomed eagle named Vlad Vladikoff, who drops it into a large patch of identical clovers "one hundred miles wide" ("Chasing the Whos"). The Cat in the Hat abruptly freezes the action and delivers an ironically cheery tune to the audience, telling them how fortunate they are not to be the Whos ("How Lucky You Are"). As Horton begins to look for the clover, Gertrude, whose tail is now gorgeous (if impractically large) catches up to him and tries to attract his attention. Horton, however, is so intently focused on his mission he does not notice her, and a dejected Gertrude retreats to take more pills ("Notice Me, Horton"). Mayzie LaBird, who has just been abandoned by her lover and left with an egg, interrupts Horton's search and begs him to sit on it so she can take an afternoon off ("How Lucky You Are (Mayzie's Reprise)"). Horton reluctantly agrees, and Mayzie flies away: never to return. As winter approaches, Horton debates whether he should keep incubating the egg or resume looking for the Whos, but he soon is left with only one choice as he is captured by hunters. Gertrude makes an attempt to rescue Horton, but the size and weight of her new tail prevents her from flying ("Horton Sits on the Egg"). Horton, Gertrude, and The Cat in the Hat, backed by the full company, sings a reprise of "How Lucky You Are" to finish off Act I.

Act II

At the top of the act, Horton is transported to New York City and auctioned off to the circus ("Egg, Nest, and Tree"), where he laments his sorry state. Meanwhile, Mayzie is lazing about in Palm Beach, where she admits she tires of the monotony of sunbathing "day after day" ("How Lucky You Are (Reprise)"). After receiving an advertisement from the Cat in the Hat, she decides to attend the Circus, where she reunites with Horton and the egg. Despite Horton's pleas for her to take it back, Mayzie just congratulates him on the "fortune" he has made off it and "gives" it to him to keep forever ("Amazing Horton"). Alone with the egg, a sorrowful Horton vows to nurture it himself ("Alone in the Universe (Reprise)"). Determined anew, he sings the egg a lullaby about a magical world called Solla Sollew Solla Sollew, a kind of Seussian utopia he longs to reach. At the same time, Jojo, lost in the clover field, writes his parents a letter from Military School, wishing they could all be in Solla Sollew as well ("Solla Sollew").

On Christmas Day, Jojo and his fellow cadets are deployed to fight in the Butter Battle. At the front lines, Jojo finally summons the courage to confront General Schmitz, declaring his belief in the immorality of the war and deserting the army. However, he imprudently decides to dash across a minefield, triggering the mines and causing an explosion which seemingly destroys him ("Green Eggs and Ham (Transition to Butter Battle)"). The Cat in the Hat, however, reveals to the audience that Jojo did in fact survive; he is now lost in some dark place far from Whoville and unaware of which way to turn. After an angry confrontation, Jojo forgives the Cat in the Hat for his perceived offenses, taking his advice and trusting his hunches to lead him back home. At last, he and his parents share a joyful embrace ("Havin' a Hunch").

Back at the Circus, Gertrude reappears and frees a bewildered Horton. She tells him how she finally swallowed her pride, got her tail feathers plucked, and flew across the world to rescue Horton and find the Whos' clover ("All For You"). Ecstatic that the Whos are finally safe, Horton finally begins to fall in love with Gertrude. However, their happiness is soon crushed as the Sour Kangaroo and the Wickersham Brothers appear out of nowhere, drag Horton back to the Jungle of Nool, and put him on trial for the crimes of "talking to a speck and sitting on an egg". Gertrude and Horton make a stand at the case, but all in vain; Judge Yertle the Turtle Yertle the Turtle remands Horton to the "Asylum for the Criminally Insane," and orders the clover to be boiled in a kettle of beezlenut oil. Aghast, Horton begs the Whos to shout to prove their existence, which nearly fails until Jojo comes up with a "think": the word "YOPP," whose peculiar sound is just enough to reach the jungle creatures' ears ("The People Versus Horton the Elephant"). The court acquits Horton and the Sour Kangaroo repents, swearing from then on she will help Horton protect the Whos. In Whoville, Jojo is honored as "Thinker Non-Stop" and finally wins the appreciation of his parents.

Suddenly, the egg hatches, and to everyone's surprise a tiny "Elephant-Bird" emerges as a result of Horton having sat on it for so long. Horton panics, realizing he can't handle flying progeny, but Gertrude promises him that as Horton "teaches him earth", she will "teach him sky". They agree to raise the child together ("Alone in the Universe (Reprise)"). The Cat in the Hat appears one final time to sum things up ("Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! (Reprise)"). The scene dissolves, as the elephant bird baby says its first word: "Seuss!" The rest of the company yells Seuss in unison, causing a blackout. The curtain call is accompanied by a final number set to a song titled Green Eggs and Ham.

[edit] Seussical The Musical: Jr.

The jr. version of Seussical is a little different then the full length broadway version. It was changed to make it shorter for younger actors and actresses. The biggest change is, in the jr. version, Jojo is, at first, an anonyomous boy. The mysterious boy thinks up The Cat in the Hat by finding a strange hat on center stage. The Cat helps the boy create the Seussian universe and creates the story. He later shoves the boy into the story, making him Jojo. Other differences are addition of dialougue, monolougue, the removal of songs, and the addition of reprises of songs from the Broadway version.

[edit] Songs

  • Overture—Orchestra
Act 1
  • Oh, The Thinks You Can Think! -- The Cat in the Hat and the Company
  • Our Story Begins^ -- The Cat in the Hat
  • Horton Hears A Who!* -- Bird Girls, Horton the Elephant and Citizens of the Jungle of Nool
  • Biggest Blame Fool—Sour Kangaroo, Horton the Elephant, Wickersham Brothers, Bird Girls, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie LaBird, Citizens of the Jungle of Nool and The Cat in the Hat
  • Here On Who—The Mayor, Mrs. Mayor, The Grinch, Whos and Horton the Elephant
  • A Day for the Cat in the Hat—The Cat in the Hat, Jojo, and Cat's Helpers
  • It's Possible (In McElligot's Pool)* -- JoJo, The Cat in the Hat and Fish
  • How To Raise A Child—The Mayor and Mrs. Mayor
  • The Military—General Genghis Khan Schmitz, The Mayor of Whoville, Mrs. Mayor, JoJo and Cadets
  • Alone In The Universe—Horton and JoJo
  • The One Feather Tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz—Gertrude
  • Amazing Mayzie—Mayzie LaBird, Gertrude and Bird Girls
  • Amazing Gertrude—Gertrude, The Cat in the Hat and Bird Girls
  • Monkey Around—Wickersham Brothers and Horton the Elephant
  • Chasing the Whos* -- Horton the Elephant, Sour Kangaroo, Bird Girls, Wickersham Brothers, The Cat in the Hat, Vlad Vladikoff and Whos
  • How Lucky You Are—The Cat in the Hat
  • Notice Me, Horton—Gertrude McFuzz and Horton the Elephant
  • How Lucky You Are (Mazie's Reprise) -- Mayzie LaBird, Horton the Elephant, and The Cat in the Hat
  • Horton Sits on the Egg* -- Bird Girls, Horton, and Gertrude
  • Act I Finale—Full Company
Act 2
  • How Lucky You Are (Reprise)^ -- The Cat
  • Our Story Resumes^ -- The Cat in the Hat, Horton, The Mayor, Mrs. Mayor, JoJo, Gertrude and Bird Girls
  • Egg, Nest, and Tree* -- Sour Kangaroo, Bird Girls, Wickersham Brothers, The Cat in the Hat, Cat's Helpers and Hunters
  • The Circus McGurkus^ -- The Cat in the Hat, Horton and Circus McGurkus Animals and Performers
  • The Circus on Tour^ -- Horton
  • Mayzie in Palm Beach—Mayzie LaBird, The Cat in the Hat and Horton
  • Alone in the Universe (Reprise) -- Horton
  • Solla Sollew—Horton the Elephant, The Circus McGurkus Animals and Performers, The Mayor, Mrs. Mayor and JoJo
  • The Whos' Christmas Pageant^ -- The Grinch and Whos
  • A Message From The Front^ -- General Genghis Khan Schmitz, The Mayor, Mrs. Mayor and Cadets
  • Alone In The Universe (Reprise)^ -- JoJo and Horton
  • Havin' a Hunch* -- The Cat in the Hat, JoJo and Cat's Helpers
  • All For You—Gertrude and Bird Girls
  • The People Versus Horton The Elephant—Horton, Sour Kangaroo, Wickersham Brothers, Marshal of the Court, Judge Yertle the Turtle, Bird Girls, Gertrude, The Mayor, Mrs. Mayor, JoJo, Whos and The Cat in the Hat
  • Finale / Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! -- Full Company
  • Curtain Call / Green Eggs And Ham—Full Company

(^=Not included on the original Broadway cast album) (*=Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Dr. Seuss

[edit] Principal characters

  • The Cat in the Hat, the mischievous, imaginative, comedic narrator of the show who also doubles as several other minor characters.
  • Horton the Elephant, a thinker, the outsider, caring, gentle,
  • JoJo, a thinker, the son of The Mayor and Mrs. Mayor, he often gets into trouble for thinking.
  • Gertrude McFuzz, the loyal bird-neighbor of Horton, she loves him but is shy due to having only one feather for a tail.
  • Mayzie LaBird, a pompous and show-all bird (known for her rather flirtatious ways) who tells Gertrude to take pills so her tail will grow longer, forcing Horton to love her (Gertrude).
  • Sour Kangaroo, the brash kangaroo who tells all that Horton is a fool for thinking there are people living on a dustspeck. She is always seen with her younger kangaroo in her pouch.
  • Young Kangaroo, the daughter of the Sour Kangaroo-usually played by a child or a puppet; always in mother's pouch and very stubborn; "Humphf!" is her trademark
  • The Mayor of Whoville, the Mayor of Whoville, the father of JoJo.
  • Mrs. Mayor, The Mayor's wife, the mother of JoJo.
  • General Genghis Khan Schmitz, the general of the Academy, leads JoJo to war.

[edit] Other characters

  • The Grinch, makes a cameo in the song "Here On Who" as The Grinch. Some productions have been known to have the Grinch and General Genghis Khan Schmitz played by the same person.
  • The Bird Girls, a type of Greek chorus of birds that are Mayzie's friends.
  • The Wickersham Brothers, 3 mischievous monkeys who steal Horton's clover from him.
  • Judge Yertle the Turtle, makes a small cameo in the trial scene, as the judge.
  • Marshal of the court, bailiff in the trial scene. Can also be played by the Cat in the Hat.
  • Vlad Vladikoff, a black-bottomed eagle who takes Horton's clover.
  • Cindy Lou Who, makes a small cameo in the song "The Whos Christmas pageant"
  • Max the Dog, makes a small cameo in the song "The Whos Christmas pageant"
  • Hunches, visual representations of Jojo's thoughts or hunches
  • The Fish, the fish that Jojo imagines are in McElligot's Pool
  • The Whos, all of the citizens of Whoville other than Jojo and Mr and Mrs.Mayor (ensemble)
  • The Jungle Creatures, all of the creatures of the Jungle of Nool other than the principal cast (ensemble)
  • The Hunters, They hunt and take Horton to the ship to the circus.
  • Thing One and Thing Two, The Cat in the Hat's quirky assistants who follow him in every scene.
  • Circus Performers, these are the acts from "Circus McGurkus". They range from clowns to animals to gymnasts.

[edit] Removed characters

The Lorax is the only character to be removed from the show. He was in the first tryout of 27 August 2000. The Lorax had its own song and lines and its storyline from the book was also put in. The Lorax's part was after "Havin' A Hunch", where Jojo is left on his own after The Cat in The Hat leaves him. Then Jojo is surrounded by several black figures who tell the story about the Lorax. Jojo talks to the Lorax through a phone, first he has a croaky devilish voice in a sort of hut, but then shouts and jumps out in a green and white clothing with an Irish clover in the middle. He then begins to sing and dance in an energetic song.

In Seussical Jr. The entire Military subplot was removed to make the story fit to children more, which resulted in the General Genghis Khan Schmitz character being completely removed. In addition, songs The Military, Havin' A Hunch and "Message from The Front" were also removed.

[edit] Nominations

  • 2001 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical -- Kevin Chamberlin
  • 2001 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical—Kevin Chamberlin
  • 2001 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical—Janine LaManna
  • 2001 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music—Music by Stephen Flaherty

[edit] References

  1. ^ TIME magazine reported in its May 26, 2008 issue, p. 51, that this musical ranked as the second most frequently produced musical by U.S. high schools in 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Production Credits". Internet Broadway Database. http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=12571. Retrieved 2008-03-10. 
  3. ^ "Seussical is a Charming Musical". TalkinBroadway.com. http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/sanfran/s808.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10. 
  4. ^ "Rewritten and Ready, a New Touring Seussical Flies — Literally — Sept. 17 in Indy". Playbill. September 17, 2002. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/72117.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10. 
  5. ^ "New Seussical Tour Launches Oct. 10 in a Town With a Name Worthy of Dr. Seuss: Yakima". Playbill. October 10, 2003. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/82114.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10. 
  6. ^ Andrew Gans (16 July 2007). "Lortel_July_16 Free 90-Minute Seussical Begins Run at the Lucille Lortel July 16". http://www.playbill.com/news/article/109560-Free_90-Minute_Seussical_Begins_Run_at_the_Lucille Lortel_July_16. Retrieved 25 November 2009. 
  7. ^ Greg Kalafatas (19 July 2007). "PHOTO CALL: Seussical Off-Broadway". http://www.playbill.com/news/article/109673-PHOTO_CALL_Seussical_Off-Broadway. Retrieved 25 November 2009. 

[edit] External links

Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Seussical
v • d • e
Works by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
Bibliography
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street · The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins · The King's Stilts · The Seven Lady Godivas · Horton Hatches the Egg · Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose · If I Ran the Zoo · Horton Hears a Who! · On Beyond Zebra! · If I Ran the Circus · How the Grinch Stole Christmas! · The Cat in the Hat · The Cat in the Hat Comes Back · Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories · Green Eggs and Ham · One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish · The Sneetches and Other Stories · Fox in Socks · Hop on Pop · I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew · The Lorax · Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! · The Butter Battle Book · Oh, the Places You'll Go! · Daisy-Head Mayzie (posthumous) · My Many Colored Days (posthumous) · Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! (posthumous)
Television
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Other adaptations
Seussical (musical) · Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (musical) · The Grinch (video game) · Dr. Seuss: How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (video game)
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v • d • e
Works by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty
Musicals
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