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Culture Theatre

Seussical

SEUSSICAL by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, directed by Allen MacInnis (Young Peoples Theatre, 165 Front East). To December 30, Monday-Thursday 10:15 am and 1 pm (with some exceptions), Saturday-Sunday 2 pm, December 27-30 at 11 am and 2 pm youngpeoplestheatre.ca. $15-$20. 416-862-2222. See listing. Rating: NNNN

There’s magic onstage at Young People’s Theatre, magic for all ages.

Seussical, the Stephen Flaherty/Lynne Ahrens musical, blends Dr. Seuss tales, child-friendly rhymes and colourful characters. It gets a fine production in the hands of a talented troupe directed by Allen MacInnis.

Apart from some problems at the one-hour mark, the show is a winner.

At one level, it’s all entertainment and musical numbers. But underneath is the idea that it’s fun to use your imagination, that limitless pleasure and new worlds can spring from inventive play.

At the start of the show, we meet Jojo (Jennifer Villaverde), a child of the tiny planet of Whoville, who’s inspired by the lively, bouncy Cat in the Hat (Damien Atkins) to exercise her mind and imagine all sorts of things.

Another main figure is Horton (George Masswohl), the elephant who helps the citizens of Whoville and later hatches an egg that the bored bird Mayzie (Sharron Matthews) is too restless to sit on. Add a little romance for Horton with the shy Gertrude McFuzz (Jane Johanson), and there’s lots of story for a 70-minute production.

The musical numbers run the gamut from Latin beat to lullaby, bouncy Broadway ballad to Motown and vaudeville chorus, each delivered with conviction and verve under musical director Diane Leah. Nicola Pantin’s inventive choreography gives the production an extra lift.

Clad in Judith Bowden’s multihued costumes, the energetic cast portrays a disapproving kangaroo (Nichola Lawrence), mischievous monkeys (David Lopez, Dale Miller and Desmond Osborne) and colourful birds (Bethany Kovarik and Natasha O’Brien). They act as choral narrators and support for the main figures.

Everyone’s terrific, beginning with Villaverde as the smallest citizen of the dust-speck world of the Whos, with an imagination that won’t be quieted, and Masswohl as the reticent but determined, endearing Horton, who won’t go back on his promises to help Whoville and to sit on Mayzie’s egg.

The two central birds are a study in contrasts: Matthews’ self-centred Mayzie is megawatt from the start, while Johanson’s Mayzie, wanting more than one feather in her bedraggled tail, becomes the avian equivalent of a bust-enhanced model when she visits a doctor for the right pills to improve her looks. Gertrude goes from insecure to razzle-dazzle, but realizes that putting on extra frills doesn’t improve who she is. It’s a lovely, touching performance.

You won’t find a better Cat than Atkins, who wins us with his playful smirk and sparkling cameos as a judge, a snobbish doctor, a rattling auctioneer and others, including a quick appearance as the Grinch. You’ll recognize the Cat’s trademark red-and-white colour scheme in his every appearance.

The show’s energy dips a bit when Horton ends up in the circus – you can tell by the young audience’s restlessness – but it revs up again for the climax, in which everyone gets her or his heart’s desire.

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