A young outcast stumbles upon an unusual looking hat. Curious, he picks it up and is suddenly whisked away by the Cat in the Hat into the storybook pages of the world of Dr. Seuss.

The Syracuse University Department of Drama kicked off its 2013 season with the zany production of “Seussical The Musical” a mix of Dr. Seuss’ most famous books, co-written by Lynn Ahrens, an SU alumna, and Stephen Flaherty. The musical opened Oct. 10 and runs through Oct. 20. It is directed by David Lowenstein, an original cast member of the Broadway production that ran for six months. The show has since toured nationally on two separate occasions.

On opening night, the jokes resonated with the audience, who really seemed to enjoy the production from start to finish. There were many moments where they were thrown into fits of laughter and at the end of the show they rose to their feet to give the cast a standing ovation.

The Cat in the Hat is the narrator of the show and leads the curious boy to the Jungle of Nool, where Horton the Elephant resides. Horton discovers a speck of dust floating in the air that carries the Whos. But no one else believes anyone is there.

A voice calls “Help!” from the speck of dust, which Horton hears because of his large elephant ears. He catches the speck of dust and places it on a pink, fuzzy clover for safekeeping. However, the only one who truly believes Horton that there is a city — called Whoville — of people living on this speck of dust is Gertrude McFuzz, the bird with the lone tail feather and her own Dr. Seuss storyline.

It turns out that the Whos that Horton discovers are being sent away for any thought or action that is too strange, like those who choose to eat toast with the buttered-side down. This includes Whoville’s mayor’s son Jojo, who is sent to boot camp to be “straightened up.” Jojo, according to the law, thinks too many “thinks” for his own good.

The entire cast does a wonderful job of portraying their characters. It almost rivals an off-Broadway production. During the musical numbers, the cast’s voices blend well together — key for the success of a musical production.

Robert Axelrod, a senior acting major, embodies his character of the Cat in the Hat. His physical antics — being able to bend his body in a creepy way, but in an instant, able to stand tall again — paired with the honest delivery of his lines give him a personality that makes you want to hug him at times and push him away at others. 

Opposite Axelrod, Ben Odom, a junior musical theater major, is a great Horton, wearing a long grey shirt, a tie to represent his trunk and a gray winter hunting hat, with the side flaps acting as his ears. His performance makes the audience believe he can actually see the Whos on the speck of dust. He is also able to convey real emotion when the other characters call him a fool for thinking there are people living on the speck. It isn’t easy playing a character that is larger than life, such as an elephant.

But the female lead of Gertrude, played by Sydney Patrick, a senior musical theater major, is amazing. She’s quirky and fun as she flaps her arms in the air as if they were wings. Her character is a little dimwitted, but Patrick pulls it off.

Although Jojo is a young boy in the storybook, junior musical theater major Raven Gabrielle Perez is perfectly charming in her portrayal of Jojo. She has the ideal rebellious demeanor for the role.

The cast was dressed in neon and bright pastel tops accompanied by just-as-brightly-colored bottoms, thanks to costume designer Meggan Camp. The costumes made the audience use its imagination, such as when birds wore feathered hats and skirts to represent tails. For fish, ensemble members wore bell-bottom pants and swim caps on their heads.

“Seussical” is a show for all-ages. The language is simple enough for the little ones to understand, with some room for things to be left up to the imagination.

Published on October 14, 2013 at 2:04 am

Contact Claudia: ctceva@syr.edu