By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” – Horton Hears a Who.
You can easily say that Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was definitely a man before his time. The words he penned in the late 1960s (“Horton Hears a Who” was published in 1970) have become almost a mantra for today as we celebrate the uniqueness every person offers.
“People come in all shapes and sizes,” said Jared Martin, a 10th grader at East Kentwood High School. “People are unique and we should celebrate that from the smallest of the small to the tallest of the tall.”
Starting Oct. 20, Martin, as Cat in the Hat, along with 29 other castmates celebrate the woods of wisdom of Dr. Seuss in the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s family production of “Seussical the Musical” at the theater’s downtown location of 30 N. Division Ave.
“It’s bright and happy and I think that is something that we all need right now,” said Wyoming resident Rachel Turner, who plays a Bird Girl in the production. “It’s light, it’s crazy, and there is fun in everything you do. It’s a happy production with an elegant, good message.”
In Dr. Seuss’s writing he covered so many different topics, bullying, drug abuse, child abandonment, Martin said. Many of which are covered in the musical which blends several of Dr. Seuss’s most famous stories together. The elephant Horton (from “Horton Hears a Who”) discovers a speck of dust that contains Whoville. He meets Jo Jo, a Who child sent to military school for thinking too many “thinks.” Horton faces a double challenge: not only must he protect Jo Jo and the Who’s from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. All of which is narrated by the Cat in the Hat.
“I love the opening song ‘All the Things You can Think’,” said Wyoming resident Samantha Miheve, a 10th grader at Grand Rapids City High School who plays a Who. “It’s the first thing you see and it is so lively and fun and really sets the stage.” With Wyoming resident Aaron Siebelink, an 11th grader who is homeschooled and plays a Wickersham Brother, adding “It’s like getting hit in the face with a happy brick.”
But that is Dr. Seuss. The topics are serious, but the way he presents them are fun and light, Turner said, adding that it is what has made him such a classic but still relevant today.
“It’s going be the most fun you ever had,” Siebelink said. “It’s weird. It’s wild. It’s Dr. Seuss.”
The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s family production is a shorter version of “Seussical the Musical,” only 70 minutes with no intermission. There are nine shows from Oct. 20 – 29. Tickets are $16 – $10. For more information, calll 616-222-6650 or visit www.GRCT.org. There is a low sensory performance available for children with low sensory needs and their families. Call Chelsea at the Civic Theatre, 616-222-6650, ext. 0.
