October 22, 2019 by Roy Harris
“Seussical the Musical” opens with a hat.
Just a tall, red-and-white-striped stovepipe—stumbled upon by a curious boy, JoJo, played on the Hingham Civic Music Theatre stage by Marcus Myers. What ensues—or, perhaps “en-Seuss”—is a rollicking time of dance, song and glorious costumes. And yes, the wisdom that’s often entwined throughout the peculiar stories spun by the late master children’s author, Theodor Seuss Geisel, the pride of Springfield, Mass.
An enthralled first-weekend audience gave standing ovations to the colorfully adorned characters, led by Weymouth’s Michael Warner, who dons the two-toned chapeau to become the Cat in the Hat, a sort of master of ceremonies for the show’s antics. He starts by leading young Marcus, a sixth-grader from Brockton, through such very un-South-Shore environs as the Jungle of Nool and the Planet of Who, a tiny dust speck discovered on a cloverleaf (the garden variety kind) by Horton the Elephant.
Horton, played by Quincy’s Justin Grankewicz, gets into all sorts of trouble: coerced into sitting on the nest of Mayzie La Bird (Quincy’s Carole Shannon); menaced by the monkeying around of the Wickersham Brothers, and eventually hauled into court to be judged by Yertle the Turtle (a basso profundo Athan Mantalos.) Channeling Aretha Franklin is Sour Kangaroo (Katia Greene), who proclaims Horton to be “The Biggest Blame Fool” in the Jungle of Nool. And her Young Kangaroo echoes mamma’s soul-sister taunts.
In the second act, look for ingenious use of umbrellas in the staging of “Havin’ a Hunch,” which adds a new dimension to the better-known opening number, “Oh the Thinks You Can Think” (When You Think about Seuss!) The thrilling choreography is by Hingham’s Liz Tronni. The show is directed with skill by Victoria Kirichok-Pratt, with music direction by Jose Merlo.
Other scenes worthy of note are any containing Jack Ferdman as General Genghis Kahn Schmitz, the powerfully voiced terror of all young military recruits—until he shows a softer side later on. Paul Antico and Jean Lyon are believable as can be as the Mayor and Mrs. Mayor of Who, and the scolding parents of JoJo. Bruno Barbuto’s Grinch makes a fun appearance in Whoville. And kudos go to the children’s and adults’ ensembles, which seem to be everywhere—though hardly as ubiquitous as Warner’s Cat. (He’s a doctor, a helicopter news reporter, a piano player, a pool boy, and more.)
In the youth ensemble are Angela Kennedy, Riley Byrne, Grace Byrne, Maeve Murphy and Lilly Weymouth, all of Hingham. Other young Hinghamites, Sydney Steele and Oisin Rowan, play Thing One and Thing Two. And among the adults, the mischievous Wickershams are Ricky DeSisto, Evan Cole and Ferdman, with Audrey Clark, Anne Martland and Morgan Campbell flying through the show as Bird Girls, and Ella Botogowski as one particular bird, Vlad Vladicoff. In the adult ensemble are Abby Tondorf, Lily Grazioso and Nicole diRuzza.
The show continues this weekend on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and a final 2 p.m. Sunday matinee, at Town Hall’s Sanborn Auditorium, 210 Central St. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors and students. Children under 12, accompanied by an adult, are $15. Tickets may be purchased by calling 781-749-3400, or by visiting the website https://hcmtseussical.bpt.me.
