Oakcrest School Seussical the Musical

By Cappies • Mar 9th, 2012 • Category: Cappies, Virginia

Have you lost a tall, striped, red and white hat? There was one left on the stage at Oakcrest School. Underneath the hat sat an unusual cat. This cat is a think and just in a blink, he had the stage swirling and twirling with fun. This was Oakcrest School’s production of Seussical the Musical.

Seussical the Musical, written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, first graced Broadway in 2000. Shortly after, it embarked on two national tours across the US in 2002 and 2003.

Seussical the Musical is a musical based on the iconic works of Dr. Seuss. The story, told by the Cat in the Hat to a young boy named Jojo, follows Horton the Elephant on his journey to save the microscopic world of “Whos.” Horton faces many obstacles while trying to keep the Whos safe including rambunctious monkey brothers, Sour Kangaroos, and purple polka-dotted eggs.

Everything about this show was fun and whimsical. Most of the plot is portrayed through song and dance, and the rest through rhyming dialogue.

Being an all-girls school, Oakcrest School attacked the challenge of an all-female cast head-on. Horton the Elephant (Sophie Buono) used a deep, full, masculine voice both during her strong singing and emotional dialogue. Buono offered a heart-felt and genuine performance throughout the whole show. The Cat in the Hat (Danielle Dar Juan) was suave, smooth and energetic. Dar Juan was entirely committed to her character, taking every comic opportunity and running with it, quite literally. She interacted with the audience in a tasteful and appropriate way and while on stage, spiritedly imitated and reacted to the other characters, engaging the audience in the action. At some points, this became distracting but was overall very effective and entertaining.

The character of Jojo, played by Madeline Lucas, sang up the octave which worked for the part of a young boy. Lucas showed immense enthusiasm and dedication. Gertrude McFuzz, a timid bird who loves Horton, was played by Carolyn Lucas. Lucas shone in “All for you,” the song where Gertrude professes her love and devotion to Horton. She took advantage of the entire stage as she dramatically reenacted her journey. Lucas used her whole body, including her very emotive facial expressions, to portray her feelings.

Each actress on stage had unique and fitting makeup, from the rosy-cheeked Whos to the dramatic, feather-eyed Bird Girls. The makeup of the Cat showed a balance of Cat and man while Horton’s pigtails were a cute symbol for elephant ears.

Though at points the recorded music drowned out the singing of the performers, the performers reacted well to every challenge thrown at them. During some numbers, the ensemble seemed unsure of the choreography and did not seem entirely confident but in the end, the show put a smile on every audience member’s face as they exited thinking about the marvelous mind of Dr. Seuss and this wonderful showcase by the Oakcrest girls.

by Kelleen Moriarty of The Madeira School