Seussical

Seussical is a musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty based on the books of Dr. Seuss (mainly "Horton Hears a Who!", "Horton Hatches the Egg" and "Miss Gertrude McFuzz") 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 and a UK tour. It has become a loved classic for schools, communities and regional theatres.^[1]

Productions

Pre-Broadway

In a reading in New York City, Eric Idle played the Cat in the Hat, and was credited at the time for contributions to the story line. In the Toronto workshop in 1999, coordinated by Livent Inc., Andrea Martin played the Cat in the Hat.^[2] The musical had its out-of-town tryout in Boston, Massachusetts at the Colonial Theatre in September 2000.^[3]

Broadway

Seussical opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on November 30, 2000.^[4] Directed by Frank Galati with choreography by Kathleen Marshall; though uncredited, Kathleen Marshall's brother Rob Marshall was hired to direct the show when it returned from Boston to Broadway; the original Broadway cast included David Shiner as the Cat in the Hat, Kevin Chamberlin as Horton, and Javier Albisurez-Hepburn as Jojo. It also featured Janine LaManna as Gertrude McFuzz and Michele 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 Eric Devine as General Genghis Khan Schmitz also appearing. Throughout the run, there were many celebrity Cat in the Hat replacements, including Rosie O'Donnell^[5] and Cathy Rigby.

The production received lukewarm reviews, with critics focusing on the huge cast of characters and unsympathetic plotlines.^[6] The Broadway production closed on May 20, 2001 after 198 performances and 34 previews.^[4]

United States 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.^[7][8]

The script for the first tour was extensively reworked after the poor showing on Broadway. This resulted in the removal or reworking of several songs. The biggest change involves Jojo, who is initially an anonymous boy who thinks up The Cat in the Hat when he finds a strange hat at center stage. The Cat helps the boy create the Seussian universe and the rest of the story. The Cat later shoves the boy into the story, making him play the role of Jojo. There is also additional dialogue, as well as the deletion of some songs and their reprises.

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.

Off-Broadway

A 90-minute Off-Broadway production was staged at the Lucille Lortel Theatre from July 19, 2007 through August 17, 2007 by Theatreworks USA, directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge and starring Shorey Walker as The Cat in the Hat.^[9][10] This production was downscaled for the National Tour, which took its final bow in Spring 2014. The 14th National Tour closing cast included: Tommy McKiernan (The Cat in the Hat), Jeremiah Haley (Horton the Elephant), April Lavalle (Gertrude McFuzz), Josh Boscarino (Jojo), Ashley Stults (Mayzie La Bird), Charnette Batey (Sour Kangaroo/Young Kangaroo), Raye Lederman (Bird Girl #1/Mrs. Mayor), Emma Wagner (Bird Girl #2), Sammy Lopez (Wickersham #1/Mr. Mayor), Brody Karn (Wickersham #2), Corey Loftus and Greg Laucella (replacement Wickershams).

West End, London

Seussical opened on the West End at the Arts Theatre on December 4, 2012, by Sell a Door Theatre Company based in Greenwich, London.^[11] Produced by David Hutchinson and Phillip Rowntree and directed by Phillip Rowntree, designed by Richard Evans, lighting by Alexander Ridgers with choreography by Cressida Carrè.

It has been announced that "Seussical" will once again return to the Arts Theatre in the Christmas of 2013, once again produced by Sell A Door Theatre Company.^[12]

One-act versions

In 2004, with the permission of the playwrights, Jeff Church, Artistic Director of the Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, reworked Seussical and premiered the Theatre for Young America ("TYA") version. The TYA version contains significant changes, including reducing the cast to 12 actors and focusing the action of the plot on Horton.

Ahrens, Lynn with Flaherty, Stephen. "The Rise and Fall and Rise of Seussical." American Theatre October 2005

Another one-act version of the show, Seussical the Musical, Jr. is designed for performances by junior high or middle school students, and part of the MTI "Jr." series. The Junior version of Seussical was changed from the full-length Broadway version to make it shorter, in one act, and more accessible for younger actors.

Contributing Dr. Seuss books

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, in addition to a music number based on its original story, The Cat in the Hat also acts as "your host and MC" – acting variously as a narrator, an outside observer, and a devil's advocate throughout the show, and briefly leaping into the action on several occasions to create conflict and keep the story moving. In all, the following Seuss books have some minor characters and/or settings incorporated into the show:

Due to the elimination of songs such as "The Military", "Havin' A Hunch" and "Message from The Front" and phrases and sections of other songs, Seussical, Jr. only uses the books:

1. Horton Hears a Who!
2. Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
3. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
4. The Cat in the Hat
5. If I Ran the Circus
6. McElligot's Pool
7. Green Eggs and Ham
8. Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
9. Horton Hatches the Egg
10. I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew
11. Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!

More info on the cut songs are below.

Plot

This synopsis describes the Off-Broadway version.

Act I

The story begins with a bare stage, save for an odd red-and-white striped hat. A small boy discovers it and imagines what it could belong to, finally conjuring up the Cat in the Hat. The Cat creates the Seussian world around him and the Boy ("Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!"), and he acts as the narrator for the remainder of the musical, and is the Boy's mentor during the play. The Cat also plays some of the minor roles. At the Cat's encouragement, the Boy thinks up the Jungle of Nool, where Horton the Elephant is bathing.

Horton hears a strange noise coming from a speck of dust, and decides there must be someone on it. He rescues the speck and places it on a clover ("Horton Hears a Who") and decides to guard it. Led by the at-first-villain Sour Kangaroo, the other animals in the jungle mock him mercilessly, except for Gertude McFuzz, Horton's next door neighbor, who admires his compassion and begins to fall in love with him ("Biggest Blame Fool"). Horton soon discovers the dust speck is in fact a planet covered with microscopic people called Whos. They introduce themselves and their community (such as their yearly Christmas pageant based on How the Grinch Stole Christmas) and explain their predicament. In addition to being unable to control where their dust speck flies, they are on the brink of war and all of their beautiful Truffula Trees (from The Lorax) have been cut down ("Here on Who"). Horton's resolve to guard the dust speck is strengthened.

At this point, the Cat in the Hat abruptly pushes the Boy from the beginning into the story; he becomes Jojo, the son of the Mayor of Whoville. No sooner does he enter than he is roughly scolded by his parents: he has inadvertently been causing trouble at school by thinking (or rather, having Thinks), disrupting the class and horrifying the teachers. Jojo is sent to "take [a] bath and go to bed/And think some normal Thinks instead". Jojo blames the Cat for getting him in trouble and asks him to leave. The Cat replies with "Ok, but first let me sing." The Cat starts singing "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think", but Jojo tries to tune out the Cat by saying "I can't hear you!" The Cat soon persuades him to "have a think in the tub" by explaining the things that you can do if you think. Jojo imagines the tub is McElligot's Pool ("It's Possible"), distracting himself and accidentally flooding the Mayor's living room. The Mayor and his wife wonder what they should do about their son ("How To Raise a Child"). After receiving a brochure from the Cat, they decide to send him to military school, under the supervision and persuasion of General Genghis Khan Schmitz (A character in 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 has been guarding the clover for "over a week", getting ridiculed by the Citizens of the Jungle. He then thinks about how no matter what others may say or do, he still has his dreams for adventure and a friend. He decides to chat with the Whos, and Jojo responds. They chat and discover they have found a friend in one another ("Alone in the Universe"). Jojo goes to sleep, only to be woken up by the Cat in the Hat. The Cat asks him what should happen next, and Jojo decides to focus on Getrude. Her feelings for Horton are stronger than ever, but she fears he doesn't notice her because her tail consists only of "one droopy-droop feather" ("The One Feather Tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz"). At the advice of Mayzie La Bird, whose tail is enormous and dazzling, Gertrude, goes to Doctor Dake by the Lake (played by the Cat), who prescribes her pills to make her tail grow ("Amayzing Mayzie/Amayzing Gertrude"). Gertrude is so excited by the dramatic and immediate results of the pills that she overdoses, causing her tail to grow to a ridiculous length.

Horton is ambushed by a group of ne'er-do-well 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. Horton continues to chase the clover, until Vlad Vladikoff 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 ("How Lucky You Are"). Horton begins to look for the clover, hoping that the Whos are still alive, when Gertrude, who has followed Horton all this distance, catches up with him. Her tail is now gorgeous, if impractically large. She tries to catch his attention, but he is too busy looking for the Whos to notice her ("Notice Me, Horton"). She retreats to take more pills while he continues searching. After searching 2,999,999 clovers, Horton loses hope, and he sees Mayzie La Bird high in a nest. Apparently, she was in Fort Worth, when she met a nightingale named Tweet McFirth. After 'three weeks of bliss', Tweet left her with an egg. Mayzie then persuades Horton to give up on the search for the Whos and sit on her egg while she goes off for a vacation. Horton reluctantly agrees, and Mayzie flies off ("How Lucky You Are (Mayzie's Reprise)"). Horton waits on the egg for months, bearing harsh weather conditions and having to decide whether to keep Mayzie's promise or find the Whos.("Horton Sits On The Egg") Horton is captured by hunters, Gertrude tries to save Horton, but the size and weight of her new tail does not allow her to fly. The Cat in the Hat, backed by the full company, sings another 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 McGurkus (If I Ran the Circus) ("Egg, Nest, and Tree"). After going on the road and "sitting on the egg for 51 weeks, sitting here while people have paid to take peeks," Horton meets up with Mayzie again, and tries to give the egg back to her. She selfishly insists that he keep it as a rather dubious gift, wishes him a sarcastic good luck when it hatches, and leaves. Horton, betrayed and alone, sorrowfully remembers how no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't save the Whos, or poor Jojo. Realizing that the egg also is alone without its mother, and he is the only one who can help it. With a brave determination, declares that he'll do better than try, and protect the little egg with everything he has ("Alone in the Universe (Reprise)"). Then he sings the egg a lullaby about a magical world called Solla Sollew. At the same time, Jojo, the Mayor, and the Mayor's Wife, lost in the clover field, reflect on recent events, wishing they could all be in Solla Sollew as well ("Solla Sollew").

The Battle of Butter finally commences, but Jojo rebels against General Schmitz and abandons the army. He hands in his sword and hat and unwittingly runs out onto a minefield, vanishing in an explosion. The General assumes that Jojo has committed suicide by running into a minefield, and heads back to Whoville to deliver the sad news to his family. The Cat reveals to the audience that Jojo did, in fact, survive, but Jojo quickly discovers that he's lost, and doesn't know where to turn. After being confronted by the Cat and the Hunches (Hunches in Bunches), Jojo finds his way home by the power of his Thinks ("Havin' a Hunch").

Meanwhile, Gertrude sneaks into the circus where Horton is kept at night and frees him. She explains the troubles she went through to reach him, including getting all but one of her tail feathers plucked out to allow her to fly, and finally confesses her love for him ("All For You"). What's more, she found Horton's clover, as well! Horton is delighted to find the Whos alive and well, but the happy ending has not arrived yet: the evil Sour Kangaroo suddenly appears and with the Wickersham Brothers, kidnaps Horton. Horton is dragged back to the Jungle of Nool and put on trial for "talking to a speck, disturbing the peace, and loitering...on an egg." The Cat plays the bailiff, and Judge Yertle the Turtle presides over the case. Gertrude and Horton make a stand at the case, but the verdict is obvious from the beginning: Horton is remanded to the "Nool Asylum for the Criminally Insane," and the clover is to be boiled in a kettle of beezlenut oil. Horton, aghast, encourages the Whos to make as much noise as they can, to prove they exist. Their efforts initially seem futile, until Jojo comes up with a new word, "YOPP," his shouting of which reverberates throughout the world and finally makes the Whos heard ("The People Versus Horton the Elephant"). The court acquits Horton, and the Sour Kangaroo ends her wicked ways and decides to do her part in protecting the clover. On Who, Jojo is celebrated for his achievement, to be honored as Thinker Non-Stop.

Suddenly, the egg hatches: to everyone's surprise, a tiny flying Elephant-Bird comes out. Horton panics, realizing he can't handle flying progeny, and asks Gertrude what he should do. She responds, "I have wings, yes I can fly...you teach him earth, and I will teach him sky." They agree to raise the child together as mother and father. The Cat in the Hat appears one final time to sum things up ("Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! (Reprise)"). The scene dissolves, leaving only Jojo, now just a boy again, and the strange hat from the top of show. The Boy walks up to the hat, and pulls it over his head and says "Seuss!" Blackout. The curtain call is accompanied by a final number set to a verse of Green Eggs and Ham.

Songs

* = Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Dr. Seuss
** = Not present in current revision of play

^ = Not on Cast Recording

Songs in Seussical Jr.

Instrumentation

The licensed orchestration for Seussical stays true to the original Broadway production's seventeen musicians. The instrumentation calls for two keyboards, bass guitar, two guitars, drums, percussion, three woodwind players, two trumpets, trombone, two violins, viola, and cello. Both guitarists are called to play both acoustic and electric guitars, and the second part doubles on banjo. The first woodwind part doubles on piccolo, flute, clarinet, and soprano and alto sax; the second part doubles on oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor sax; the third part doubles on flute, clarinet, bassoon, and baritone sax.

Characters

Major Characters

• The Cat in the Hat – The main character who is the mischievous, imaginative, comedic narrator of the show. The Cat acts as a mentor to Jojo throughout the play. The Cat also plays several other characters in the story, including the Bailiff in "The People vs. Horton The Elephant," Mr. McGurkus, Jose the Pool Boy in "Mayzie in Palm Beach," Doctor Dake in "Amazing Gertrude," a piano player imitating Louie Armstrong, an auctioneer, and others. Some productions have The Cat also play Yertle the Turtle, Vlad Vladikoff, and in Jr. productions, The Grinch. The Cat often breaks the fourth wall for comedic effect. The script allows for the Cat to be played by either a girl or a boy, with only minor script changes which are detailed in the back of librettos. David Shiner originated the role.
• Horton the Elephant – While the Cat gets top billing, Horton is the heart and soul of Seussical. He is described as a thinker and an outsider, almost a blue-collar worker. He tries to protect the Whos and care for the egg Mayzie leaves behind even though the animals think he is crazy. He and Gertrude become the parents of the elephant-bird. Kevin Chamberlin originated the role.
• The Boy/JoJo – A thinker, the child of The Mayor and Mrs. Mayor, gets into trouble for thinking. He and Horton bond over the fact that they are outcasts because of what they do (Horton protecting the Whos and Jojo's "thinks"). He is appreciated in the end. Originally played by Anthony Blair Hall & Andrew Keenan-Bolger.
• Gertrude McFuzz – The loyal bird-neighbor of Horton, she loves him but is shy due to having only one feather for a tail. She has major insecurities about her tail and seeks help from Mayzie La Bird because she has a tail Gertrude envies. Gertrude changes throughout the show from being nervous and self-aware of her imperfect tail to focusing instead on accepting who she is and caring for the baby elephant bird. Horton eventually falls for her and she becomes the adoptive mother of the elephant bird in the end.
• Mayzie LaBird – A vivacious, self-centered, selfish and vain bird who tells Gertrude to take pills so her tail will grow longer. Mayzie never admits her flaws and is manipulative with Horton so that she can escape her responsibilities. She is the mother of the elephant-bird Horton and Gertrude adopt but she abandons him and goes to Palm Beach.
• Sour Kangaroo – A rude kangaroo who teases Horton and calls him the "biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool" because he tries to protect the Whos. Later, she gets him arrested and put on trial because of protecting the Whos and caring for Mayzie's egg after she deserts it. At the end of the show, she realizes that the Whos are real. She offers Horton to help care for them.

Supporting Characters

• The Mayor - The mayor of the Who's, Jojo's father.
• Mrs. Mayor - The Mayor's wife, Jojo's mother.
• General Genghis Khan Schmitz – The general of the Whos' military. He leads Jojo to war against the Butter-Side-Downers. He is removed in the Jr. version of the play.
• The Wickersham Brothers – Three mischievous monkeys who steal Horton's clover from him. They work as henchmen for the Sour Kangaroo.
• The Young Kangaroo – The Young Kangaroo can be played by a puppet attached to the Sour Kangaroo's costume or a person. Does everything Sour Kangaroo does.
• The Bird Girls - The Bird Girls are a type of Greek chorus who are Mayzie's friends. They act as the narrators when the Cat in the Hat is not around.
• The Grinch - The Grinch is a notable member of Whoville, known for organizing their Christmas pageant.
• The Elephant Bird - Usually played by a small child actor, the elephant bird is revealed in the finale as a cute and whimsical mix of dramatic Mayzie and humble Horton.
• Yertle the Turtle - Yertle is the judge of the jungle, appearing at the beginning of the show and in "People vs Horton the Elephant"
• Vlad Vladikoff - A cameo role. He is hired by the Sour Kangaroo to steal Horton's clover. Due to his cameo role, he may also be in the ensemble.
• The Hunters - They hunt and capture Horton. They take him to New York City and auction him to the Man from the Circus. The Hunters usually go up to 2-6 Hunters.

Ensemble Characters

• The Whos - Citizens of Whoville, idealistic citizens of a "pleasantville"-type town. Also included in this category are The Cadets, boys in Schmitz's military.
• The Jungle Creatures - Flexible movers who appear as dancers and singers in jungle scenes.
• Hunches - These are representations of Jojo's thoughts, and are controlled by the Cat in the Hat.
• Circus Performers - Acts in the Circus McGurkus. Clowns, animals, gymnasts - they sing backup in "Solla Sollew".
• Fish - They are JoJo's "Thinks" in "It's Possible". They sing back up for "It's Possible" too.

Characters Played By The Cat In The Hat

• The Bailiff
• Mr. McGurkus
• Jose the Pool Boy
• Doctor Dake
• Louie Armstrong/Piano Player

"The Lorax" sequence

An extensive 10-minute sequence adapting The Lorax was seen in the original script for Seussical. It faced numerous difficulties due to the already lengthy running time of the show, being cut to 5 minutes before being replaced with a reprise of "Solla Sollew" before being removed entirely after its Boston tryout. Lorax-themed lyrics were added to the end of Here on Who as a replacement, though these lyrics would later be cut from the Jr. version. This sequence being cut also seems to explain why the second act is substantially shorter than the first.

While much of Seussical was an amalgamation of several stories and books, this 10-minute sequence largely preserved the text of the original book and limited itself from crossing with the other characters. After "Havin' a Hunch", JoJo would stumble upon a dark room in which a phone would be placed, the Cat leaving him. JoJo would pick up the phone, and a voice would sing the beginning of The Lorax. This would take JoJo to the shack of the Once-ler. The Once-ler would speak to Jojo in a croaky voice, before leaping from his hut and singing his song as choral voices echo behind him, the song being notably darker than the others. Numerous elements of the book appear (i.e. the Truffula Trees, barbaloots, humming fish, swammy-swans and the Lorax himself, gradually disappearing as the song goes on. The song ends with the Once-ler back in his hut, giving Jojo the last Truffula seed. The song's final lines, "No matter how small you are now... The future's in your hands..." were intended to give Jojo the courage he needs to later save all of Who-ville.

Recently, as of 2013, MTI has begun offering the sequence as an independent "mini-musical", advertising it on the back of Seussical librettos and scripts. It's possible that if the stage rights for both were acquired, one could stage them in the same production as originally intended.

Seussical Jr. removals

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. Because of this, the songs "The Military", "Havin' A Hunch" and "Message from The Front" were also removed. Jojo remains a lead, but his role is shifted to an average boy sucked into the vortex in The Cat in the Hat's hat, and feels out of place throughout the rest of the story, thus explaining why he feels different.

Also, many songs were shortened or their reprises were cut. For example, "How Lucky You Are", the first version is not there, but the reprise is credited as the full song. Also, "The People Versus Horton the Elephant" is split into two parts.

All of the Grinch scenes are removed. Due to this removal, the characters of Max the Dog and Cindy Lou Who are removed. However, the Grinch still plays a small role in the song "Here on Who." - having one line. Due to this minimal amount of time, some productions choose to have the Cat in the Hat play the Grinch in this song using a Santa hat and a mask.

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Original Off-Broadway production

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Seussical

• Seussical at the Internet Theatre Database
• Seussical at the Internet Broadway Database
• Seussical at the Music Theatre International website
• Seussical JR. at the Music Theatre International website
• Seussical: Theatre for Young Audiences Version at the Music Theatre International website
• Seussical Audition Advice and Show Information from MusicalTheatreAudition.net
• New York Times Article on the Theatre For Young Audiences version
• Seussical the Musical Lyrics