“Seussical” Review

Photo by Allison Stockwell

The voice of choir teacher Mr. Foley yells “OK guys let’s go.” For a quick second my eyes are blinded by a stray theater light. Backstage, students prepare to perform Seussical the musical.

As The Cat takes Jojo on a journey through Whoville, I am taken back to the days when I once spent my afternoons sitting on my light pink and blue carpet reading about Horton and his Whos.

Jojo, played by sophomore Megan Walstrom, is the daughter of the mayor and his wife of Whoville, but she’s looked down on by her parents due to her broad imagination. Jojo and the fellow whos never failed to show off their ever-changing emotions during each new song.

There is a whole jungle that exists outside of the spec Whoville lives on, with all sorts of animals and a variety of personalities. After following each family of animals, I was hooked on Mayzie the bird. Her purple feather and short purple bob brought her sassy personality to life. Every time junior Savannah Worthington flapped her feathers and stomped off stage with her nose high in the air I couldn’t help but laugh. You could tell Mayzie was meant to be the most important creature in the jungle, and Worthington never let you forget it.

Each song was followed by a different group of dancers, whether it was the four sassy bird girls, the group of monkeys doing hip hop or the cheetahs. Lack of talent was not an issue during this show Each group brought their individual personalities to the stage. The bird girls, dressed much like Mayzie, had the same “we’re better than you” attitude and showed that off during the performances by never letting a smirk leave their faces.

The sets and costumes also gave a pretty good reason not to get bored. Each set was brightly painted and looked as if it had been pulled straight from a Dr. Seuss book. The costumes were also colorful and added personality to each character.

The actors made me feel as if I was accompanying Jojo throughout her journey. After each song I found myself rooting more and more for Horton and the city of Whos that lived on their spec.