Whoville Is Coming To Newtown

Suessical the Musical will be performed Friday, July 18, through Sunday, July 20, on the stage of Edmond Town Hall’s theater, 45 Main Street.

Seussical is a musical based on the books of Dr Seuss that debuted on Broadway in 2000. The play’s story is an amalgamation of many of Seuss’s most famous books. The overarching plot of the show mirrors Horton Hears a Who!, centering on Horton the elephant’s endeavors to protect the people of Whoville, who live on a tiny speck of dust.

The play also features characters and scenarios from many other Seuss books, including the Butter Side Uppers/Downers from The Butter Battle Book, Gertrude McFuzz, and even some characters who never made an appearance in any of Dr Seuss’s books.

The following characters and their associated books are featured in the musical: Horton (Horton Hears a Who! and Horton Hatches the Egg); Jojo, Sour Kangaroo, The Mayor of Whoville and The Wickersham Brothers, all from Horton Hears a Who!; Mayzie, from Horton Hatches the Egg; Gertrude, from Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories; General Genghis Kahn Schmitz, of I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew; and The Grinch, from How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Eleven additional Dr Seuss books are represented during the course of the musical.

The Cat in the Hat acts as narrator, outside observer and even devil’s advocate, sometimes leaping into the action to create conflict and keep the story moving.

Five performances, including two matinees, are planned: Friday at 7:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 pm.

The show is being produced by Sabrina’s Encore Productions (SEP), a Newtown-based performance school which is in its second year, has already grown out of its space, and will be moving in the fall. There are several new teachers and over 200 students enrolled. Students are from Newtown, Bridgeport, Monroe, Stratford, Southbury, Woodbury and other neighboring towns have enrolled in the school and are involved in the production.

Newtown High School graduate Brett Boles has been tapped to play Horton. Brett was one of a few high school students selected to perform in the closing of Les Miserables on Broadway.

He went on to Ithaca College where he composed and wrote a musical based on The Count of Monte Cristo. His show was produced and performed at Ithaca in the spring of 2007 with amazing reviews.

Brett continues to compose original music, including music for SEP. Serendipity, a small performance group, traveled to schools and libraries to perform an adapted children’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring Brett’s original score.

Newtown Middle School student Taylor Varga, age 12, will be playing JoJo.

Taylor will be remembered for his work in the role of Snoopy in last year’s SEP production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Taylor has been called back many times for various Disney Broadway productions and was even training with a choreographer on the trapeze equipment to play Young Tarzan in the new Broadway musical before the show closed.

There are a lot of very talented kids in the production, and they will be accompanied by a professional orchestra that include a few musicians with Broadway credentials.

Tickets for Seussical the Musical are $18 for adults and $13 for students and senior citizens. They can be reserved by calling 304-1236 or purchased at the door prior to any performance.