THE EVER popular works of Dr Seuss are celebrated in the musical Seussical which runs at the Town Hall next week, in a production directed by Association of Irish Musical Society award winners Brian Power and Seán Power, with AIMS award winner musical direction by Shane Farrell, and choreographers Katie Upton and Declan Gardiner.
Seussical the Musical brings all of your favourite Dr Seuss characters lovingly to life, including Horton the Elephant (Michael Cooney ), The Cat in the Hat (Declan Gardiner ), Gertrude McFuzz (Kate Mahon ), Mayzie La Bird (Jenni Flaherty ), The Wichersham Brothers, The Sour Kangaroo (Lisanne Jacob ), General Gengus Khan Schmitz (Patrick Byrne ), The Mayor and his wife (Karl O'Doherty and Hannah McCreanor ), a little boy with a big imagination JoJo, (Ailbhe NíMhórán/Katie Larkin ) and many more.
The colourful characters transport us from the Jungle of Nool to the invisible world of the 'Whos'. Join The Cat in the Hat as he takes you on a journey into the fantastical, bombastical and songtastical world of Dr Seuss. Horton the Elephant discovers a small world floating by on a speck of dust. This small world is floating out of control through the universe and is the home of the Whos, including Jojo – a Who with “thinks” that defies all description. Between them they must find a way to save 'Who' from a world of naysayers and dangers.
However Horton faces a double challenge. He has been left alone to guard an abandoned egg, abandoned by non other than Mayzie La Bird. Caught between a dust speck and his incubating egg, Horton is truly alone in the universe, but while he faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping, and ends up on trial, little does he know the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family, and community are challenged and emerge triumphant.
Only Tony Award winners Stephen Flaherty and Lyn Ahrens, helped with a sprinkling of the fantastical from Monty Python’s Eric Idle, could bring the magical “thinks” of Dr Seuss to the stage. So let your toes tap, your fingers snap, and your imagination run wild in the world of Dr Seuss. Seussical is a delightful show for adults and children alike. This catchy musical score emerges as a Seussian gumbo of musical styles ranging from Latin to pop, swing to gospel, rhythm’n'blues to funk
“A lot of Dr Seuss’s characters feature in the show,” says co-director Sean Power. "There is terrific music that will appeal to both adults and children alike. The story is uplifting and it is a fantastic musical with a great variety of music; soul, rock’n’roll, Latin, it is not high brow, it is very easy on the ear. Another big appeal is how colourful the show is and with great characters like The Cat in A Hat who is always up to mischief. He ties the show together as he brings us on a journey where we meet Horton the Elephant and Jojo, a child with fantastic imagination like any child in the world has. We also have a 10-piece professional orchestra under the baton of Shane Farrell so this is a production that everyone can enjoy.”
Seussical runs at the Town Hall Theatre from Wednesday August 12 to Saturday 16. Tickets are available through 091 - 569777 or www.tht.ie
