By Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens

London City Music Theatre

Directed and Choreographed by Lanny Mitchell

Played by a large cast

September 24 – October 1

*** ½ /4

Reviewed by Mark Killeen

Seussical is based on the books of Dr. Seuss and was first performed on Broadway in 2000. The story mainly centres around Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches an Egg. The script for the original production has gone through several revisions, but is now one of the most performed shows in the US.

It is amazing to see so many talented young performers on stage. One disappointing thing I see with many youth performances is secondary characters that really shouldn’t be on stage. That is not the case with this production! Every performer shone and stayed in character from the moment of entry to exit. Credit should go to director/choreographer Lanny Mitchell who I remember from a TV spot on Welcome Back Kotter. He has had a full career on and off Broadway and is currently artistic director for Falls Village Children’s Theatre Company in the USA. He has done an amazing job casting with such a young group and the show runs with smooth precision.

One thing that needs to be addressed is the sound system. I felt bad for some of the cast when the microphone system cut out on occasion –..just one too many times. Like wily veterans though, most of the cast projected louder when this occurred.

The play begins with the Mayor of Whoville’s son JoJo, wonderfully played by Justin Eddy. Upon seeing a strange red and white striped hat, he conjures up The Cat in the Hat, played by Spencer Higgins. Justin delivers a great performance with strong singing and acting, especially considering the fact that he is only in grade 5. Spencer as the Cat plays the narrator throughout the play and opens Jojo’s imagination to a Seussical world. Spencer told me later his favourite Dr. Seuss story is The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, because the movie version stars one of his main influences, Jim Carrey. He performs with the same precision as his idol, where a raised eyebrow alone garners lots of laughs.

JoJo’s imagination soon brings him to the Jungle of Nool where he meets Horton the Elephant, played by Michael Paylor. Michael creates the character exactly how I read it as a child. Michael is a big “kid” now, but confessed his favourite Dr. Seuss book is Horton Hears a Who. Just like in Horton Hears a Who he discovers a sound coming from a small speck. He is determined to let his world know there is another civilization of Whos within this speck.

Along the way Horton the Elephant meets many of the characters from Dr. Seuss’ stories. Gertrude is one, played sweetly by Sara Peters, who has a crush on Horton, but goes unnoticed until the end of the story. He also runs into Mayzie, from Horton Hatches an Egg, played by Jessica Hilton, who gets him to mind her egg while she takes a vacation. The villain Sour Kangaroo, played by Ariel Wiseman, mocks Horton and turns the Wickersham Brothers against him. The Brothers lead superbly by dance captain Geoff Masschelein, initiate many of the dance sequences in the show. Geoff’s jumps, kicks and flips wowed the audience many times over. The Mayor of Whoville and his wife are played by Parker Sweet-Boulay and Alexandra Grant respectively. Parker, who is a fifth grader, was a little stiff, but still delivers a believable performance as the scolding father of JoJo.

The Bird Girls, Jungle Creatures and Whos round out the large cast. Danielle Jones, also a dance captain, leads the jungle creatures in many dance routines and her one solo as Vlad is amazing for a 12 year old under that much pressure.

Being a huge fan of Dr. Suess I was thrilled to see this show and it did not disappoint. The music was catchy and the cast performed each song and dance very well. I still have The Thinks You Can Think in my head!

Mark Killeen has been involved in theatre for the last 3 years having performed in and produced over a dozen productions. He is a newly elected member of the Board at London Community Players and is a past member of the Board for the Elgin Theatre Guild. He is currently serving as treasurer for LCP’s committee that will be hosting Theatre Ontario Festival 2010. He is also an adjudicator for the core panel of the 2009 Brickenden Awards.