top of page

Seussical the Musical - Leatherhead Operatic Society


Last night, I had the opportunity once again to see one of my favourite musicals performed by a local company.

To me, Seussical is an odd phenomenon that seems to pass a lot of people by (perhaps due to it never having a UK professional outing) but when anyone hears it for the first time, they instantly love it. It's hard not to love such a whimsical musical, which covers more Dr. Seuss stories and characters than I would care to count.

The main bulk of the story follows Horton The Elephant as he hears a Who and tries desperately to save them, despite the rest of the Jungle of Nool thinking he's crazy. There is one characters however, Gertrude McFuzz, who not only believes Horton but is equally desperate in trying to get him to notice her even though she only has one droopy feather in her tail. Narrating all of this is the Cat in The Hat, pushing the story along and quite literally pushing the character of Boy into the middle of Who-ville and the middle of the story.

Reading the programme (which is very nice by the way), it was interesting to read director John Harries Rees has experience directing experimental improvisation, so I was prepared for a very kooky world of Seuss. However, what we got was a very precisely staged show that created the Jungle and Who-ville and the circus with great accuracy. Choreographer Louise E. Wilson and Assistant Choreographer Karen Ward created some very distinct numbers that began to emulate the full body movements of Dr. Seuss's characters. I personally particularly enjoyed the movements of the Bird Girls who, donned up in the their feathers, chassed and preened their way across the stage in almost perfect time.

Leatherhead Operatic took the decision to cast Jojo, the small Who boy, as a small Who girl which, besides for a few small changes to lyrics only the die hard fans among us would notice, worked perfectly. Zoe Burton (sorry Zoe, I can't work out how to add an umlaut in my browser!) has an amazing ability to look in total wonder at what is happening around her. She always appeared thoughtful, dreamy, and in awe of the story which really helped draw the audience into this odd little tale.

Propelling her around the stage was Matt Howes as the The Cat, who really amped up the excitement in the moments he engaged with the audience. He was a more still, stayed Cat than my preference, but his charm made him likable and amusing.

Tom Paine as Horton the Elephant sounded perfect, doleful and a bit lonely, with 'Alone in the Universe' between him and Burton a very sweet moment.

Millie Jane Franks as Sour Kangaroo was suitably soulful and fierce as anything. Her change at the end to support Horton was handled well, as it could so easily seem rushed when the character so swiftly changes her mind. While discussing Sour Kangaroo, now seems the opportune moment to mention the costumes. I say this because one of my favourite things on stage visually was Franks' hair, twirled into two vertical shafts perched on her head. Costumes in general were visually exciting and cast a definite difference between the world of the jungle animals and the world of the Whos. Costume designer Michele Jordan did well to keep the humanity of the people playing as animals, for example Horton wore a grey boiler suit, so that they remained relatable to us.

A stand out for me was Jo Cullen as Gertrude McFuzz. Every moment she appeared on stage contained well crafted movement and well thought out delivery. I read in the programme she played as Glinda in The Wizard of Oz last year for LOS, and it's worthwhile coming back to another Leatherhead production just to see Cullen perform again as she seems to be 'a regular'.

There was one things that did disappoint me in this production and that is the absence of a low voice singing in The Wickershams and as The Grinch and Yurtle the Turtle. I missed the low bass-y notes that contrast so well with the higher voices, giving us the timbre of all the animals that are lumbering and flitting around the jungle. That does not mean that I did not enjoy these characters, just as a fan of a show it felt very definitely that something was missing.

One thing Leatherhead would benefit from for this production going forward is to ramp up the excitement levels. Seussical is odd. Some of it only just about makes sense. Performers have to really sell it to an audience to get them to buy into it, and you can never have enough enthusiasm as a performer in this show. My opinion is that it comes down to what performers are wanting to convey to the audience and what the audience is going to expect before curtain up. In a story about imagination, about morals, about thinking the widest thinks you've ever thunk before, the pace has to keep up, the performers have to be bouncing around the stage to really sock it to the audience. This is a very personal response and could be looked at by focusing more on the naturalistic connection to character by the actors as it is all to easy to get swept away in the oddness of Seuss.

I very much enjoyed my evening watching Seussical. I'm still singing the songs now and I expect I will be for the majority of the next week. If I could squeeze it into my day, I'd be going to watch it again this evening. Leatherhead Operatic has done well with this mile-a-minute show. It's deceptively hard to do but LOS has made it into something sweet. happy-go-lucky, and lovely.

Featured Posts
Recent Posts
Archive
Search By Tags
No tags yet.
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
bottom of page