by Jennifer Mustoe
Seussical the Musical at the SCERA Center for the Arts, performed by their youth theater group ACTING UP, is a splendid way to spend an evening, and I recommend you get your tickets and get to Orem to be highly entertained. Suessical the Musical is a Broadway musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss, and you can only imagine the fun-tastic options a theater company can do with this. Well, SCERA ticks all the boxes there.
Music, color, dancing, fun bedazzled me and my six-year-old. My girl is a talker, but she sat transfixed looking at the stage. There is so much good in the SCERA’s Seussical. Okay, there is everything good. As you know, Front Row Reviewers celebrates the GOOD in the Arts, but on Saturday night, I probably watched the show with a more discerning eye. My son had been one of the Wickersham Brothers when he was in junior high and since I went to every single one of the shows (that’s what moms do), I know this show pretty well. The cast in SCERA’s Seussical made not a mistake. Not. One.
I’ll start with the dancing, because it is fantastic. Assistant Director/Choreographer Brodee Ripple took this cast and challenged them. The dances are effective but not because they are easy. They are not. I’ve been in many community theater musicals and most of the time, the dances are “dumbed down” to make sure they look smooth and enjoyable, and that is perfectly okay. This cast of teenagers has each step and each snap right. It is marvelous. A pleasure to watch.
The tech crew has given the audience delight onstage like only a musical about Seuss’s quirky characters can do. Lighting Designer Elizabeth Griffiths, Sound Designer Chase Elison, Scenic Designer Shawn Herrera, Ripple as costumer, and props design by Christy Norton take us to a place that is off the charts Seuss-ish. The colors! The lighting! The sounds! The gorgeous, sumptuous, kooky costumes (and those boots! and those feathers!) The set with all its Seuss-y looking swirls and windows. It’s magical.
Director/Musical Director Kathryn Laycock Little harnesses all the talent of her young cast and they perform with aplomb, confidence, and plain spunk. It’s hard to fake those smiles onstage and these kids were having a great time. And guess what happens when the cast is having a blast? The audience does, too.
All the kids are stars (and there are so many of them!) but the principals really rocket this show to the stars. Luke Elison as Cat in the Hat is so animated and sings so well and interacts so well with others onstage, he is a force to be reckoned with. The Cat has to be a bit sneaky, a bit funny, and a bit sweet. Elison brings all of this. JoJo/Boy (Casey Garner) has a challenging role and he carries it off very well. JoJo is one of the sweet characters in the show, and I felt his difficulties trying to fit in. His elephant friend and hero, Horton the Elephant, played by Max Wright, work well together, two characters stuck in places they didn’t want to be but unwilling to give up. Like I said, there are a lot of Seuss creations in this show and they all are amazing. Here is the list of them. (Note: I usually list maybe 10 players in a show, but each of these leads are great, so here goes.) (My girl’s favorite) Gertrude McFuzz (Juniper Gray), Mayzie LaBird (Elena Dutton), Bird Girls (Eloise Brown, Lily Martin, Rachel Paz, Sophia Rush, Tanya Cespedes, Vashti Coray (also Jungle Dance Captain), Sour Kangaroo (Hannah Mildenstein), Young Kangaroo (Colette Stringham), the fabulous Wickersham Brothers (Cairo McGee, Cyrus Beaumont, Dean Salvesen, Eli Palmer), Mr. Mayor (Max Warren), Mrs. Mayor (Gabriella Droubay), General Genghis Khan Schmitz (Thayne Larson), Thing 1 (Al Sorenson), Thing 2 (Averie Bartholomew), The Grinch (Chrestian Scorup), Vlad Vladikoff (Ian Pollack), and Judge Yertle the Turtle (Mark Triplett.)
Seussical the Musical is a wonderful family-friendly musical, but, if you look for them, it has the typical philosophical meanings Theodore Geisel brought to his work. Bring your kiddos, your whole family. The SCERA has even provided a cry room. Buy some snacks when you go, too. They are affordable and delicious and all the kids behind the counter, volunteers I’m sure, are pretty fun to interact with.
Seussical the Musical is just fun.
SCERA Center for the Arts presents Seussical the Musical, by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
SCERA Center for the Arts, 745 S State St, Orem, UT 84058
January 27-February 11, 2023 Mon, Tues, Thursday-Saturday 7:30 PM
Tickets: Child (3-11), Senior (65+) $8, Adult $10
Contact: 801-225-2787
SCERA Facebook Page
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