“Don’t give up! I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small! And you very small persons will not have to die. If you make yourselves heard! So come on, now, and TRY!” says Horton, the Elephant, in Dr. Seuss’s book Horton Hears a Who. If this interests you then you would enjoy the Lewis Cass Choir Department performing Seussical.
Seussical is a child-friendly musical that focuses on an elephant named Horton, who discovers a tiny world on a speck of dust, inhabited by the Whos. As Horton strives to protect the Whos and their homes, he encounters various Seuss characters like Cat and the Hat, Jojo, and Gertrude McFuzz. Seuss characters that try to stop Horton and take the speck are the Sour Kangaroo, the Wickersham Brothers, Vlad Vladikof, and Judge Yertle the Turtle.
The Lewis Cass Choir Department Will have a cast A and a cast B that will be performing. In cast A we have William Rose as Cat in the Hat, Bentley Fross as Jojo, Jenny Romero as Gertrude McFuzz, Eli Martin as Horton the Elephant, Lexi Alford as Mayzie, Maddy Willis as Sour Kangaroo, Nathan Zoubul as Mr. Mayor, Lillian Hintz as Vlad Vladikof, and Chloe Waterson. In cast B we have Kennedy Thorpe as Cat in the Hat, Maleigh Deeter as Jojo, Raegan Mundy as Gertrude McFuzz, Cameron Fuller as Horton the Elephant, Maycee Armstrong as Mayzie, and Gracie Spicer as the Sour Kangaroo.
Senior performer, Kennedy Thorpe, says, “I am honored to have received the lead role, I enjoy the responsibility of having an important role and helping to bring the story together. My role as the Cat in The Hat brings the whole show together as the Cat is the storyteller.” The Lewis Cass Choir Department has put on several shows over the past few years, “I have been a part of Three musicals my sophomore through senior year.” Thorpe stated. The Lewis Cass Choir Department has performed Into the Woods, Oklahoma, and now Seussical. The show has five seniors this year, but the seniors do not have to worry about their shoes not being filled with the rest of the class being juniors all the way down to Junior High. Thorpe says, “I am sad about leaving behind such an influential and fun part of my life. My plans are to attend Summit Salon Academy Kokomo and get my license in Advanced Cosmetology. I am very excited about this new chapter and the opportunities in my life. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had in high school, especially in choir and musical theater.”
Senior performer, Cameron Fuller, is slated to play the role of Horton the Elephant in Cast B. Fuller had this to say, “I have enjoyed the musical so far it has helped me to improve on my performing skills.” Fuller is in his third musical and finally has a leading role this year.
To determine which cast and what role each person gets, the director, Lauren Dubois, held auditions in November. Lauren Dubois said, “At the auditions, I looked for students who naturally fit the roles I was casting for, as well as students who put in the work and came prepared for their auditions and callbacks. On top of that, it’s always important to cast students who are easy to work with, and have the potential to be great with some hard work.” A callback is what helps the director determine which actor gets the lead role. Many times at auditions, a director would like two or three people to have the same role but the callbacks will make each actor compete for the spot making the best actor get the role. Seussical is a child-friendly musical based on several of Dr. Seuss’s greatest pieces. Dubois said, “I chose Seussical because there are so many different roles for students and lots of opportunities to feature lots of different people in different ways.” The cast has been putting in multiple hours of hard work. This includes memorizing lines, learning choreography, and perfecting melodies in the music. Dubois stated, “As always, the weeks leading up to show week are difficult. There are so many pieces that need to fall into place. I continue to see the show come together piece by piece, and with hard work and dedication from the students and their busy schedules, I believe we will have a great show by showtime!
Wrapping up the final musical of my senior year is bittersweet. I have performed for the Lewis Cass Choir Department over the past six years and participated in numerous performances. I would like to thank the Choir Director, Mrs. Dubois, for introducing me to new traditions and my variety of talents. Come Out and see Seussical on March 7, 8, and 9 at the Lewis Cass Auditorium.
