The staff advisors at East Northumberland Secondary School are pleased to announce that students and volunteers are already hard at work on the coming spring’s production of Seussical, the Musical. The production, written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, was first presented on Broadway back in 2000.
The story revolves around the characters of Dr. Seuss’ beloved books, in particular Horton, the Elephant, and his relationship with the people of Whoville. In total, the play draws on characters and settings from 17 of Seuss’ books.
Many of the lead characters will be portrayed by veteran actors of E.N.S.S.’ successful production of Beauty and the Beast; Danielle Sanders is undertaking the mischievous Cat in the Hat, Alex Prue takes on the faithful Gertrude, the bird, and Horton himself is being played by Nathan Sharp. The supporting cast of Monkeys, Birds, Who’s and even the Grinch are undertaken by a host of promising young student actors. Seniors, Tegan Lewis and Mallory Morgan, are joined by veteran Kirk McGhee (formerly the Pharaoh Elvis of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat) as the stage managers.
“We wanted to attempt a completely different kind of musical this time. And though Seussical provides some interesting challenges, our people are bursting with ideas about reaching a new summit in high school theatre,” says Phill Kinzinger, the show’s producer. A new choreographer has also joined the production team this year. Anna Gartshore, who has studied animal movement and physical theatre, is adding an extra dimension to the actors’ portrayal of characters.
Bruce Tonkin, the musical director, says, “the score blends a lot of musical styles together. Each character has their own theme; examples are found in the production of soul, pop, and jazz genres.” The pit band, which consists of twelve members, will join the action on stage for the first time in many productions.
The Seuss-locale feel of the production will owe itself to Angela Young, the Art Director. Since the early part of last summer, she has been working on various props and scenery, with the help of Gord Buxton. Both Ms. Young and Mr. Buxton are art teachers at E.N.S.S.
The teacher-director, Paul Hussey, and the producers are getting THINGS (1 and 2) in order for the performances, which will run from Wednesday April 28, 29, 30, May 1 through May 5, 6 , 7 ,8, 2010. This is definitely another E.N.S.S. musical extravaganza not to be missed.
Seussical, the Musical Director Paul Hussey instructs Jojo ( Aaron Robertson) on how to deal with a bathtub overflowing with fish!
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