playbill vip

Good Evening Arts Patrons,

Welcome to this year’s Fall musical production of Seussical, which has been a return to a combined Middle School/High School production. As always, the cast and crew have worked very hard to bring you a few hours of entertainment - sit back, relax, and enjoy the effect of live theatre!

Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991) was an American author, political cartoonist, poet, animator, book publisher, and artist, best known for authoring children's books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. His work includes several of the most popular children's books of all time, selling over 600 million copies and being translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death. Geisel adopted his "Dr. Seuss" pen name during his university studies at Dartmouth College and the University of Oxford. He left Oxford in 1927 to begin his career as an illustrator and cartoonist for Vanity Fair, Life, and various other publications. He also worked as an illustrator for advertising campaigns, most notably for Flit and Standard Oil, and as a political cartoonist for the New York newspaper PM. He published his first children's book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street in 1937. After serving in World War II, Geisel focused on children's books, writing classics such as If I Ran the Zoo (1950), Horton Hears a Who! (1955), If I Ran the Circus (1956), The Cat in the Hat (1957), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957), and Green Eggs and Ham (1960). He published over 60 books during his career, which have spawned numerous adaptations, including 11 television specials, four feature films, a Broadway musical, and four television series. He won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958 for Horton Hatches the Egg and again in 1961 for And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Geisel's birthday, March 2, has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association.

Seussical, based on Seuss’ iconic characters, opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on November 30, 2000. Directed by Frank Galati with choreography by Kathleen Marshall, throughout the original Broadway run, there were many celebrity Cat in the Hat replacements, including Rosie O'Donnell and Cathy Rigby. The production received lukewarm reviews, with critics focusing on the huge cast of characters and unsympathetic plotlines. The Broadway production closed on May 20, 2001, after 198 performances and 34 previews. Since then, Seussical has lived on in National Touring shows and international stagings.

As always, the cast and crew are thankful for all the support they’ve received during the production season.  Rehearsing a fully-staged musical is a very taxing process, and these students have risen to the occasion like champs.  I always enjoy my time working with them, watching them grow into strong, confident and capable young adults.  Also, a huge thank you to all of the adults involved in bringing this production to life!

Again, thank you for your patronage, and we hope you enjoy the show… and the many other musical, theatrical, and artistic offerings we have for you this school year.

Jason A. Anderson, M.M, M.Ed.

Artistic Director - Seussical