Seussical The Musical
25th - 28th November 2009

Music by
Stephen Flaherty

Lyrics by
Lynn Ahrens

Book by
Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

Cat in the Hat originally played by
Eric Idle

Reviews

The Team

Director - Gill Miller
Musical Director - Steven Geraghty
Choreographer - Corin Miller
Wardrobe - Martindales Costumier / Carshalton Pantomime Society / Miller Centre
Stage Manager - Jade Hamilton
Lighting - Ben Ruddock
Sound - Jeremy George
Set Design - Amanda Miller / Ben Ruddock
Set Construction - Steve Miller / Gareth North
Properties Design & Construction - Amanda Miller
Flying - Kirby's AFX Ltd
Wigs - Bright's Barnets
Box Office / Publicity - Dawn Lambert
Photography - Tim Hinchcliffe
Poster & Programme Design - Les Watts

The Cast

The Cat in the Hat - Kevin Hayes
Jo Jo - Amy Hayes / Lucy Schofield
Horton the Elephant - Stuart Norris
Bird Girls - Phoebe Dunster, Sarah Ioannou, Lindsay Smith
Gertrude McFuzz - Natalie Cave
Mayzie La Bird - Vicky Terry
Sour Kangaroo - Amanda Miller
Baby Kangaroo - Macy Bird / Sidney Lopes
General Genghis Khan Schmitz - Colin McGinnis
The Wickershams - Serwah O'Neill, Sue Reader, Katie wookey
Mr Mayor - Bill Woodland
Mrs Mayor - Hayley North
Yertle the Turtle - Ray Beaney
The Grinch - Mike Williamson
Vlad Vladikoff - Alexandra Neal
The Pilberry Bush - Jenny Chadney
Cindy Lou - Eve Steere
Guest Juggler - Matthew Nichols

Ensemble
Jungle Animals: Jenny Chadney, Rikky Cox, Tyrone Haywood, Isabelle Hurrell, Francesca Pisani, Alex Neal, Beth Shepherd, Hannah Shepherd, Nicole Wood.
The Whos: Ray Beaney, Joe Clarke, Niki Davarias, Hannah Davies, Jonathon Deering, Charlotte Dowding, Cara Griffith, Dawn Lambert, Kiera Maguire, Hanns Rossbach, Anya Sayadian, Thomas Smith, Maree Waller, Pat Weston.

Children - Team Eggs
(Wednesday evening, Thursday matinee, Friday evening, Saturday matinee)
Caragh Barry, Phoebe Barry, Sadie Byers, Naomi Hughes, Tiana Kelly, Megan de Luzio, Samantha Lyons, Michael Madigan, Niamh Rush, Eve Steere, Calvin Thomas, Danielle Whelan, Leah Woosnam-Savage.

Children - Team Ham
(Thursday evening, Friday matinee, Saturday evening)
Jordan Anderton, Hannah Brandon, Ethan Galloway, Jade Holland, Rita Luthra, Louisa Martin, Harri Nichols, Rebecca North, Talia Palamathanan, Zoe Stanek, Eve Steere,
Jessie Stroud, Lucy Vevers.

The Story

Act I
("Overture") The "The Cat in the Hat", acting as narrator, sits on a bare stage, save for an odd multi-colored circle background ("Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!").

In the Jungle of Nool, where Horton the Elephant is bathing ("Our Story Begins"), he hears a strange noise coming from a speck of dust. He rescues the speck and places it on a clover to guard ("Horton Hears a Who"). The other animals mock him, except for Gertrude McFuzz, who admires his compassion and begins to fall in love with him ("Biggest Blame Fool"). Horton hears the mysterious voice again, which belongs 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 as the Whos are revealed. The Mayor and the Whos reveal their planet is so small and fragile they are constantly threatened with death, and beg Horton to help protect. His resolve strengthened, Horton promises he will guard the dust speck ("Here on Who")

The mayor's son, Jojo, is scolded for thinking "thinks", imaginary thoughts which disrupt his school classes and anger his teachers ("A Day For The Cat In The Hat"). Although he tries not to think thinks, he starts to imagine his tub is McElligot's pool where his thinks soon spiral out of control ("It's Possible") and cause time to fly. 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, who is preparing to go to war with those who eat their bread butter side down ("The Military").

Horton meets Jojo, with whom he bonds as a fellow social 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"). Mayzie La Bird, whose tail is enormous and dazzling, advises Gertrude to obtain pills from Doctor Dake, 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.

Horton is ambushed by a group of mischievous monkeys, the Wickersham Brothers ("Monkey Around") who steal the clover and give it to an eagle, Vlad Vladikoff, who drops it into a large patch of identical clovers ("Chasing the Whos"). The Cat in the Hat freezes the action and delivers an ironically cheery tune about how fortunate the audience is not to be the Whos ("How Lucky You Are"). Horton looks for the clover, while Gertrude 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" (Reprise)). Horton reluctantly agrees, and Mayzie flies away, never to return. As winter approaches, Horton is captured by hunters. Gertrude makes an attempt to rescue him, but the size and weight of her new tail prevents her from flying ("Horton Sits on the Egg").

Act II
("Our Story Resumes")Horton is transported to New York City ("Egg, Nest and Tree") and auctioned off to the circus ("The Circus McGurkus"), lamenting his sorry state ("The Circus On Tour"). Mayzie is lazing about in Palm Beach, where she admits she tires of the monotony of sunbathing ("Mayzie in Palm Beach"). She decides to attend the Circus, where she reunites with Horton and the egg. Horton pleads for her to take it back, but Mayzie refuses, and gives the egg to Horton to keep forever ("Amayzing Horton"). Alone with the egg, a sorrowful Horton vows to nurture it himself ("Alone in the Universe" (Reprise)) and sings a lullaby about a magical world called "Solla Sollew".

On Christmas Day, Jojo and his fellow cadets are deployed to fight in the Butter Battle. Jojo finally confronts General Schmitz, declaring his belief in the immorality of the war and deserting the army. However, he causes an explosion which seemingly destroys him ("Green Eggs and Ham" ("Transition to Butter Battle)"). Jojo's parents learn of his death ("A Message From The Front") at the Christmas Pageant. The Cat in the Hat, however, reenacts the scene, changing it so that Jojo is now alive, but lost in some dark place far from Whoville ("Lost in Whoville"). Jojo forgives the Cat in the Hat for his perceived offenses, taking his advice and trusting his hunches to lead him back home. He and his parents share a joyful embrace ("Havin' a Hunch").

At the Circus, Gertrude reappears and frees a bewildered Horton. She has 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 begins to fall in love with Gertrude. However, their happiness is crushed as the Sour Kangaroo and the Wickersham Brothers drag Horton back to the Jungle of Nool, and put him on trial for the crimes of "talking to a speck of dust and loitering on an egg". Gertrude and Horton make a stand at the trial, but in vain; Yertle the Turtle 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 that she will help Horton protect the Whos. In Whoville, Jojo is honored as "Thinker Non-Stop" and finally wins the appreciation of his parents.

The egg hatches, and a tiny "Elephant-Bird" emerges. 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 sums things up ("Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!" (Reprise)), "Green Eggs and Ham".

(Synopsis sourced from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seussical)