"A person's a person - no matter how small" - and this show is designed for one and for all!
The Coterie Theatre (located in Crown Center, Kansas City) has brought to life the famous Dr. Seuss tales Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches the Egg in the current production of Seussical - a musical written by the Tony-Award winning team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
Seussical has always been one of my favorite theatrical productions, so when I was asked to check out a performance of The Coterie's version last week, I jumped at the chance!
The Coterie premiered this unique and critically acclaimed professional theatre for young audiences verison of Seussical back in 2004. As I mentioned, I am an avid fan of Seussical so I was curious to see what changes were made. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this version is a delight, and with a runtime of about one hour and twenty minutes, is perfect for a young crowd.
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| The Cat and the Hat (Tim Scott) and JoJo (Nick Grant) in Seussical at the Coterie Theatre. Photo by J. Robert Schraeder. |
There is something magical about The Coterie - and when you are attending a show along with a large group of children, there is so much excitement in the air you can almost taste it! The first time I visited The Coterie, I was a little girl and I remember being thrilled to sit so close to all the action on the stage. I could tell that the kids in attendance at this production of Seussical felt the same way. They were captivated by the entire production!
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| Is anyone there? Thing 1 (Lily Giovagnoli) and Thing 2 (Morgan Hennessy) with Mrs. Mayor (Katie Karel), JoJo (Nick Grant) and Mr. Mayor (Steven Eubank). Photo by J. Robert Schraeder. |
If you're not familiar with Seussical, it is a story that you don't want to miss. It takes place in the Jungle of Nool and tells the story of Horton the Elephant (played by Seth Golay) and his adventures in protecting the smallest of creatures unlikely to be noticed by others: a whole world that lives on top of a small speck of dust, and an unwanted egg.
The music is beautifully written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty - they have been favorites of mine since the release of 20th Century Fox's animated featured film Anastasia (1997). The Coterie's production moves along at a very quick pace - keeping the young audience enthralled with Amay-zing Mayzie and McElligot's Pool - yet it still elicits emotion during the show's beautiful slower numbers Alone in the Universe, Notice Me, Horton and Solla Sollew. Monkey Around/Chasing the Whos was especially enjoyed by the children in attendance as Horton was actually chased through the audience!
The full ensemble was strong and each character was a joy to watch - so much personality on one stage! What a fun production for the whole family.
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| The Sour Kangaroo (Enjoli Gavin) – and her little one too in Seussical. Photo by J. Robert Schraeder. |
My only complaint about the shortened version is that I miss the fun (traditionally tap) number Havin' a Hunch. However, I didn't even realize that it was missing until I sat down to look at a list of the song titles several days after I attended the show - so it is definitely not a dealbreaker for me.
Seussical is playing at The Coterie now through December 31, 2011. You can view the schedule here. Ticket prices start at $10 for youth and $15 for adults. Holiday pricing (Thanksgiving - December 31) is a bit more. If you're looking for a fun family event to attend, this one will certainly keep the whole family smiling.
If possible, make sure you reserve tickets for a Saturday performance so that you can take advantage of the Target Saturday Matinees deal: Saturday attendees receive a free ticket (one per order) and a free book (based on availability and also one per order). Details can be found here!
If you attend The Coterie's Seussical, be sure to let me know what you think! And in case you're wondering why I love this show so much, here's a little fun fact for you: several years ago I played the role of Gertrude McFuzz in a local community theatre production of Seussical. My costume was a whole lot pinker than the one featured at The Coterie!
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| Me (right) as Gertrude and my amay-zing friend Kayte as The Sour Kangaroo! |
Gertrude is played by Jennie Greenberry in The Coterie's production - Jennie, from a fellow McFuzz, you rocked that one-feather tail! :)
Thanks to The Coterie for providing me with tickets to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own.
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