i meant what i said, and i said what i meant. seussical’s worth seeing, one hundred percent.
By annemarie on December 5, 2010 | Filed Under faces & places, guest bloggers
Carousel Theatre’s hit production Seussical the Musical returns this holiday season running now through January 1, 2011 at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island.
We were front and centre for opening night yesterday and are happy to report that the show is as captivating as ever. There is something quite magical about taking little kids to the theatre and Seussical delivers all the enchantment one could wish for.
Seussical the Musical is based primarily on two Dr. Seuss stories: Horton Hears a Who! And Horton Hatches the Egg. In the first, Horton the elephant endeavours to protect the people of Who-ville, who live on a tiny speck of dust, in the second, he is convinced by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird to egg-sit. But Seuss aficionados of all ages will be pleased to spot other favourites such as The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2 and Miss Gertrude McFuzz.
It was hard for our four year old to keep still, but in a good way. As the tunes rolled out (with Thing 1 & Thing 2 on keyboards) he was clapping, singing and quite literally dancing in his seat (And has spent today singing “A person’s a person, no matter how small!”). The group song and dance numbers in particular energized the audience.
Affirming our own childhood memories that there is nothing quite as fascinating as the plant in the audience, he was thrilled by Jojo “who was pretending to be part of the crowd but was actually part of the play”.
The seven year old’s favourite part was when “Jojo’s imagination turned the bathtub into a boat. There were fish everywhere and he paddled with the Cat in the Hat’s cane.”
The Cat in the Hat, who narrated the show, was a big hit with both (natch).
The sets were boldly coloured and visually stimulating; the tumbleweed-like pink clover stood out, as did the vivid backdrop.
The costumes were very simple, and yet evocative. Horton, for example, wears a toque with ear flaps and a grey hoody whose floppy sleeves do double duty as a trunk. The Whos were introduced wearing black so their own bodies essentially disappeared – all you saw were the puppet bodies they manipulated topped by their own heads in shocking red wigs. Puppets were also used effectively for Sour Kangaroo’s Joey and Horton’s hatchling.
After two sold out Jessie Award winning runs in 2008 and 2009 we’re guessing these will be hot tickets this holiday season so if you are planning on taking in this Seuss-fest you will want to book sooner rather than later. Call Carousel Theatre Box Office at 604-669-3410 or purchase tickets online at www.carouseltheatre.ca.
And make sure you show up in plenty of time to find parking. We got there half an hour before and nabbed a just-vacated spot a stone’s throw from the Theatre but, unless you get lucky, parking on Granville Island can be tricky.
by Shoni Field
Photo by Tim Matheson
