Oh A Show You Should See
SOTA's Seussical enchants audiences
By Miguel Gamalinda
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – You've probably seen the Cat in the Hat many times on a page, however, did you ever think you'd have the chance to see him onstage? As if the Cat already had so much life in the iconic books by Dr. Seuss, being able to see him, and many other landmark Dr. Seuss characters moving around live in front of your eyes brings so much more life and vibrancy into their characters.
I'm of course talking about the musical Seussical, which I had the wonderful opportunity to see at School of the Arts (SOTA) in San Francisco. The show features many of the popular characters from the Dr. Seuss books coming together into one amazing and mindblowing musical which seems to have both children and adults on the edge of their seats, absorbed by the highly energetic characters that make the show what it is. Most noteworthy of these characters are The Cat in the Hat and Horton the Elephant, played by SOTA Seniors Adam Maggio and Zach Padlo, respectively. Maggio brings much life, an enormous amount of energy, and a slight amount of flamboyance into The Cat, who serves as both a character and the narrator of the show, breaking the fourth wall and interacting with audience and orchestra members quite frequently, even once going so far as to conduct the band, much to Music Director and Conductor Sean Bart's annoyance. Other actions of the Cat include making insulting remarks about orchestra members's outfits during intermission, hugging random audience members (And Conductor Sean) while crying very melodramatically; and taking on smaller roles in the show, similar to that of the Stage Manager in Thorton Wilder's Our Town.
Padlo, while not as flamboyant, still pours an equal amount of energy and character into his role as Horton, an elephant who in rather intent on making sure that the Whos, tiny people only heard by Horton and unseen to the naked eye, remain safe on the one flower that they live on. Throughout the whole show, Horton repeatedly reminds the audience that, “A person's a person no matter how small.” As a result of being very adamant in protecting the Whos, Horton ends up facing much ridicule by many others that live around him. The only person who believes Horton is his friend and next-door-neighbor Gertrude McFuzz (Played by Senior Chloe Miller), in unrequited love with Horton and very self-conscious about her one-feathered tail, going so far as to acquire pills from a doctor with a Russian accent (Another role played by the Cat) in an attempt to get Horton to notice her. This proves unsuccessful, as Horton still doesn't notice her and her tail ends up being too heavy for her to fly.
Meanwhile, in Whoville, a young girl by the name of JoJo (Played by Sophomore Ixchel Cuellar) is repeatedly getting herself into trouble at school and at home because of her tendency to seem to “think too much.” In reality, this is because she is repeatedly visited by the Cat, who, despite her initial objections, convinces her to think using her imagination, such as imagining that her bath is not only a bath, but a pool connected to a river. As a result, JoJo ends up overfilling the bathtub, causing the water to spill into the whole bathroom and parts of their house. This proves to be the final straw with JoJo's parents, the Mayor and Mrs. Mayor of Whoville, (Played by Nick Kempen and Cassie Grilley, respectively) resorting to sending JoJo to a Military School for “troubled” youth run by General Ghengus Khan Schmitz. (Played by Junior Rafael Molina) Students have been sent to this school for various “problems” which vary from not coloring within the lines to actually having an opinion.
Other cast members include Kelsey Lauritano as Sour Kangaroo, Iva Dixon as Baby Kangaroo, Montana Mirandilla as Mayzie La Bird, Aaron Rhodes as the Grinch and Yertle the Turtle, Joe Burke-May as Elephant Bird, Havel Weidner as the Ringmaster; and Jeffrey Hyche, Nico Sanchez, Harrison Baer, Max Colter, and Ryan Doyle as the Wickersham Brothers.
The show includes a large ensemble ranging from SOTA students to students from various elementary and middle schools throughout San Francisco who do an amazing job at supporting the show through acting, song, and dance. The show also features a twenty-three member orchestra, led by Music Director Sean Bart. The orchestra sounded less like a high school and more as if they were a professional band, never once sounding out of tune.
Seussical originally opened at Broadway's Richard Rogers Theatre on November 30, 2000, where it played 198 performances before closing on May 20, 2001. After the original Broadway run, two National Tours were launched, one in 2002 and 2003 starring Cathy Rigby, and the other in 2003 and 2004. It also played one scaled-down Off-Broadway performance on July 19, 2007. It has since been performed in numerous schools and community and regional theatres.
The music for Seussical was written by Stephen Flaherty with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; who both wrote the book for the show. The SOTA production was conceptualized, designed, and directed by SOTA Drama teacher Dan Kryston, with Music and Vocal direction by Sean Bart, choreography by Katie Kerwin, and circus training by Trapeze Arts. Seussical opened on Friday, March 5 and runs through March 21. It plays Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM and Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2 PM. Depending on which show you attend, tickets are $18-$25 for adults and $15-$20 for Students and Senior Citizens. Seussical is presented through special arrangements with Music Theatre International (MTI).
SOTA's Seussical enchants audiences
By Miguel Gamalinda
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – You've probably seen the Cat in the Hat many times on a page, however, did you ever think you'd have the chance to see him onstage? As if the Cat already had so much life in the iconic books by Dr. Seuss, being able to see him, and many other landmark Dr. Seuss characters moving around live in front of your eyes brings so much more life and vibrancy into their characters.
I'm of course talking about the musical Seussical, which I had the wonderful opportunity to see at School of the Arts (SOTA) in San Francisco. The show features many of the popular characters from the Dr. Seuss books coming together into one amazing and mindblowing musical which seems to have both children and adults on the edge of their seats, absorbed by the highly energetic characters that make the show what it is. Most noteworthy of these characters are The Cat in the Hat and Horton the Elephant, played by SOTA Seniors Adam Maggio and Zach Padlo, respectively. Maggio brings much life, an enormous amount of energy, and a slight amount of flamboyance into The Cat, who serves as both a character and the narrator of the show, breaking the fourth wall and interacting with audience and orchestra members quite frequently, even once going so far as to conduct the band, much to Music Director and Conductor Sean Bart's annoyance. Other actions of the Cat include making insulting remarks about orchestra members's outfits during intermission, hugging random audience members (And Conductor Sean) while crying very melodramatically; and taking on smaller roles in the show, similar to that of the Stage Manager in Thorton Wilder's Our Town.
Padlo, while not as flamboyant, still pours an equal amount of energy and character into his role as Horton, an elephant who in rather intent on making sure that the Whos, tiny people only heard by Horton and unseen to the naked eye, remain safe on the one flower that they live on. Throughout the whole show, Horton repeatedly reminds the audience that, “A person's a person no matter how small.” As a result of being very adamant in protecting the Whos, Horton ends up facing much ridicule by many others that live around him. The only person who believes Horton is his friend and next-door-neighbor Gertrude McFuzz (Played by Senior Chloe Miller), in unrequited love with Horton and very self-conscious about her one-feathered tail, going so far as to acquire pills from a doctor with a Russian accent (Another role played by the Cat) in an attempt to get Horton to notice her. This proves unsuccessful, as Horton still doesn't notice her and her tail ends up being too heavy for her to fly.
Meanwhile, in Whoville, a young girl by the name of JoJo (Played by Sophomore Ixchel Cuellar) is repeatedly getting herself into trouble at school and at home because of her tendency to seem to “think too much.” In reality, this is because she is repeatedly visited by the Cat, who, despite her initial objections, convinces her to think using her imagination, such as imagining that her bath is not only a bath, but a pool connected to a river. As a result, JoJo ends up overfilling the bathtub, causing the water to spill into the whole bathroom and parts of their house. This proves to be the final straw with JoJo's parents, the Mayor and Mrs. Mayor of Whoville, (Played by Nick Kempen and Cassie Grilley, respectively) resorting to sending JoJo to a Military School for “troubled” youth run by General Ghengus Khan Schmitz. (Played by Junior Rafael Molina) Students have been sent to this school for various “problems” which vary from not coloring within the lines to actually having an opinion.
Other cast members include Kelsey Lauritano as Sour Kangaroo, Iva Dixon as Baby Kangaroo, Montana Mirandilla as Mayzie La Bird, Aaron Rhodes as the Grinch and Yertle the Turtle, Joe Burke-May as Elephant Bird, Havel Weidner as the Ringmaster; and Jeffrey Hyche, Nico Sanchez, Harrison Baer, Max Colter, and Ryan Doyle as the Wickersham Brothers.
The show includes a large ensemble ranging from SOTA students to students from various elementary and middle schools throughout San Francisco who do an amazing job at supporting the show through acting, song, and dance. The show also features a twenty-three member orchestra, led by Music Director Sean Bart. The orchestra sounded less like a high school and more as if they were a professional band, never once sounding out of tune.
Seussical originally opened at Broadway's Richard Rogers Theatre on November 30, 2000, where it played 198 performances before closing on May 20, 2001. After the original Broadway run, two National Tours were launched, one in 2002 and 2003 starring Cathy Rigby, and the other in 2003 and 2004. It also played one scaled-down Off-Broadway performance on July 19, 2007. It has since been performed in numerous schools and community and regional theatres.
The music for Seussical was written by Stephen Flaherty with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; who both wrote the book for the show. The SOTA production was conceptualized, designed, and directed by SOTA Drama teacher Dan Kryston, with Music and Vocal direction by Sean Bart, choreography by Katie Kerwin, and circus training by Trapeze Arts. Seussical opened on Friday, March 5 and runs through March 21. It plays Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM and Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2 PM. Depending on which show you attend, tickets are $18-$25 for adults and $15-$20 for Students and Senior Citizens. Seussical is presented through special arrangements with Music Theatre International (MTI).
