"Seussical, Jr." Offers Charming, Entertaining Fun

By KATHERINE PARKER - Staff Writer for The Greenwood Commonwealth

The Greenwood Little THEATRE has produced a colorful and fun production for its first show of the season. 

“Seussical, Jr.,” a roughly hour-long musical, follows — through the imagination of JoJo, a boy who “thinks a think” — the story of Horton the elephant as he faces trials trying to save the Whos.

It invites the audience to explore their imagination and learn about values like friendship and loyalty. The refrain echoed throughout by Franklin Riley, playing Horton the Elephant, says, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” This statement justifies his continued efforts to save the Whos, but it also serves as the impetus for the entire production. 

Director Christine Hampton said her goal in producing “Seussical, Jr.” was to involve children from all throughout the county to foster community and grow a love for THEATRE. Judging from the performances given on stage, she did just that. 

In spite of some technical difficulties, the theater produced a show both charming and entertaining as Whos, birds and jungle creatures performed an hour long-musical narrated by Lucy Cheatham, in character as the Cat in the Hat. 

Cheatham’s “Cat” is complemented by the talents of Anne Thomas Joiner and Addey Oates, Things 1 and 2, respectively. Joiner and Oates tumble across stage and offer additional silent commentary on stage as they flank scenes and arrange prop pieces. 

They help tie together scenes introduced by Cheatham which are otherwise held together by talent, color and artful set design. 

Rosalyn Washington, in her role as “Mayzie La Bird,” gave a stand-out performance, helping to shift the tone of the musical as it progressed. Her foil, “Gertrude McFuzz,” played by Sophie Owens, rounded out the show. 

Washington’s character is a carefree mother bird who abandons her egg, shifting the play into the Seuss book, “Horton Hatches the Egg.” Owens’ character becomes the surrogate mother to the egg as she helps Horton in his plight to save the Whos. 

The colors of both characters also help keep the audience aware of scene shifts as different character groups are clothed in different colors. 

Whos show up on stage in shades of yellow, while birds are sparkling fuchsia and sea green. Other character groups are in sparkly browns, or, in the case of Horton the elephant, gray. 

For those unfamiliar with all of Seuss’ works — or those somewhat removed from their own childhood and not close with young children — the play has a surprise ending as Horton’s egg hatches. 

Cecilia Hinckley emerges as a baby elephant bird, stealing the hearts of audience members for the remaining minutes of the musical. 

Throughout the musical, scenes shift from various places in the Seussical canon, from Whoville to the Jungle of Nool, the circus and, briefly, to West Palm Beach, Florida. Each shift features cast members gathered in the area of the stage decorated to look like their setting, aided by signage for the audience’s convenience. 

Rigging of a curtain made out of bed sheets provides a back-drop for the circus scene, while Mt. Krumpit and clouds set the scene at stage right for Whoville. In center stage, scaffolding provides a place for jungle creatures to scamper about. 

Overall, the construction of the set complements the characters, and vice versa, creating a seamless transition that draws the audience into the story. 

The show opens Friday at 6 p.m. in Davis Elementary Auditorium. The show will also have a 6 p.m. show Saturday and a 2 p.m. matinee both Saturday and Sunday. 

Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for adults and may be purchased at greenwoodlittletheatre.com.