Seussical at HCT

It is no secret that I do not like the musical Seussical.  In fact, when I saw the Broadway touring production a few years ago I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen and, if I hadn't been with a friend who drove, I would have left at intermission.  I wasn't very happy when HCT announced this show as part of the 2019 season because I vowed to never see it again.  The only reason I decided to see it last night is because I really loved what Dave Tinney, the director, was able to do with Matilda and Cinderella, two other shows that are not my favorite.  He turned the dark and dreary Matilda into something fun and whimsical and he made me giggle out loud at the magic of Cinderella so I had high hopes for his version of Seussical.  Jojo (Parker Burnham) is a young and imaginative boy who sometimes gets in trouble for the thinks that he thinks so the Cat in the Hat (Ryan Simmons), acting as a Master of Ceremonies, takes him on an adventure where he meets Horton the Elephant (Travis Anderson), Gertrude McFuzz (Kelly Coombs), the Amayzing Mayzie (Bailee Morris) and her Bird Girls (Kennedy Johnson, April Kerr, and Tianna Maxwell), the Sour Kangaroo (Mack) and the Wickersham Brothers (Abrin Tinney, Jason Buonforte, Ben Butters, Sam Cooper, Patch Wendel, and Josh Lee), the Mayor of Who-ville (Cameron Garner) and his wife (Morgan Western), and General Genghis Khan Schmitz (Zac Zumbrunnen).  Jojo ultimately learns that anything is possible and that he can go anywhere he wants just by thinking his thinks.  I don't think I will ever really like this show because the story is nonsensical, convoluted, and loses focus in the second half but I was really impressed with what Tinney was able to do with it.  The staging and choreography are incredibly imaginative and visually spectacular, particularly the aerialists (Jessica Bird, Olivia Lee, Jessica Kehl, and Jane Jackson) in "It's Possible" and "Alone in the Universe" because there was always something to draw my eye everywhere I looked (I loved the fish).  I also really enjoyed the Wickersham Brothers in "Monkey Around," the circus performers in "Circus McGurkus," and the cadets in "A Message From the Front."  The costumes are bold, colorful, and fun and I especially loved the fanciful feathered costumes worn by Mayzie, Gertrude, and the Bird Girls and I thought it was really clever that the Wickersham Brothers were dressed like an adolescent street gang.  The puppets used by the Whos are absolutely ingenious and I really enjoyed them in "Here on Who."  The sets come straight out of a Dr. Seuss book and are incredibly whimsical.  The entire cast is very strong but I was most impressed with Coombs as Gertrude because she is so endearing and Anderson as Horton because he is quite sympathetic.  Simmons is absolutely hilarious as the Cat in the Hat, particularly when he spontaneously interacts with the audience (I loved the Les Miserables reference).  I didn't love this show but I enjoyed it and I definitely recommend it for families this holiday season (the children in my audience were riveted).  It runs on the HCT Main Stage until January 18 (go here for tickets).