Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

Book by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty; Based on the works of Dr. Seuss

Co-conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Eric Idle

Featuring Spencer Higgins, Michael Paylor, Justin Eddy, Sara E Peters, Jessica Hilton, Ariel Wiseman, Parker Sweet-Boulay, Alexandra Grant and an ensemble of many young actors

***½ /4

“Oh, the thinks you can think when you open your mind, all the thinks you will find!”

As I made my way through the group of moms, dads, grandparents and siblings, the air was buzzing with excitement for opening night of Seussical Jr. at London’s new performing arts theatre: London City Music Theatre.

LCMT is celebrating its first anniversary and kicks it off with its first in house production: Seussical Jr. And what a kick-off it is!

With a very large cast of local young actors the talent encompassing the stage last night was very impressive! In three and half weeks of rehearsal not one detail was missed on this production. The colourful set and creative props complimented the bright and fun costumes. From the tips of their toes to the top of their heads, nothing was overlooked! Makeup provided by students of the Marvel Beauty School in London is something to see, especially the cat faces.

For a musical to be successful you need to cast those that possess the “triple threat” quality and kudos to the creative team for finding so many. And the best part? They’re all kids from London and surrounding area. In a few years as these young actors develop, we’re going to see much more of them in their careers ahead. Not only could this entire cast sing, dance and act, but some were brilliant acrobats. The ‘acro’ work was completely unexpected but what an added touch! At the ‘circus’ scene and ‘monkeying around,’ I was mesmerized and in awe. So were the 200-plus crowd in attendance. Watching the performers do their flips, I reached for my Robaxicet in awe!

There were a few technical challenges with the mics, but hats off to all the perfomers for not letting that get to them. No one missed a beat. Very professional!

The evening was filled with inspirational lyrics and dialogue such as, “Tell yourself how lucky you are,” “A person’s a person no matter how small,” “Anything’s possible!” and, “Who has all the instructions to raise a child?”

The evening would just not have been right without the infamous, “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am!” which closed out the ninty-minute show.

I’m not going to highlight certain actors or performances, so as not to take away from the entire cast, that in all honesty, were very committed to their characters and the production. Each and every one of these young actors should be proud of their work, just as the moms, dads and grandparents were while waiting patiently with bouquets of flowers to congratulate their youngsters.

Katrina Callahan is a London native who keeps busy outside her day job as a stage manager, writer and triathlete.