Not everyone may like green eggs and ham, but “Seussical” will offer something for everybody when the Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant and the grizzly Grinch come to Brigham Young University for a series of musical performances Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, at 7 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
An additional matinee performance will be available Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets at $6 for children ages 2 to 11 and $8 for adults are available at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-4322, byuarts.com/tickets.
Called “a whimsical charmer of a show” by The New York Times, Dr. Seuss’ best-loved stories collide in this unforgettable musical caper, adapted especially for children by TheatreWorks USA. Originally written by Broadway veterans Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, TheatreWorks’ adaptation features 12 actors and more than 20 musical numbers, including “Oh The Things You Can Think,” “Horton Hears a Who” and “Green Eggs and Ham.”
In the play, the Cat in the Hat is the host and all-around mischief-maker as he romps through several of Seuss’ classics. When the sweet, good-natured elephant Horton hears a small cry for help coming from a small speck of dust, he promises to rescue and guard it because “a person’s a person, no matter how small.”
On that small speck of dust lives JoJo, an imaginative young Who. JoJo has astounding “thinks,” in which anything is possible, but his parents believe this creativity is inappropriate for the son of the Mayor of Who-Ville.
Meanwhile, the one-feathered bird, Miss Gertrude McFuzz, desperately wants Horton to notice her. Maybe, she thinks, she just needs a more impressive tail. At the same time, the amazingly lazy Mayzie La Bird connives, cajoles and convinces Horton to sit on her egg while she goes off on a spree.
Will the planet of Who survive? Will Horton pay attention to Gertrude? Will Mayzie ever return for her egg?
TheatreWorks USA was founded in 1961 and is America’s foremost professional theater for young and family audiences. Its mission is to create imaginative and thought-provoking shows that are educational, entertaining and memorable.
For more information about the play, contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu. Learn more about the play by downloading the PDF study guide at www.byuarts.com/downloads/Seussical_Study_Guide.pdf. For information on TheatreWorks USA, visit www.theatreworksusa.org.
Writer: Philip Volmar
