Just What the Doctor Ordered

Seussical The Musical is about to bring some of the ‘best medicine’ for families to Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre, and Coral Drouyn is treating her inner child to some feel-good fun.

It’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival time! Which means Mayhem ..with some 200 shows on offer. There’s so much available that it’s hard to know where to look….especially with some of the cruder shows which pass for comedy making you bury your head in dismay. But then, with all the offbeat charm that Dr Seuss books themselves bring to families, in the midst of all this adult humour comes Seussical The Musical, a marvelous and colourful musical for kids from 4 to 94 (I’m somewhere near the upper end of that scale) which promises to entertain without offending.

Seussical the Musical – by Lyn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty – opened on Broadway in 2000, and it wasn’t initially a success, but over the years it has been reworked and streamlined into an appealing show for all ages.

This production is from OCPAC (Old Carey Performing Arts Club) – a group of friends who decided that doing theatre together in their school years was so fantastic that they didn’t want to stop. Last year’s smash hit production of Seussical as a community theatre piece won several awards, and was praised as one of the highlights of Musical Theatre in 2013. In the interim, some OCPAC members have gone on to professional theatre and I managed to catch up with Director Josh Ellwood while he was performing in Manilla Street’s hit version of Blood Brothers recently.

Ellwood is an impressive performer himself, with a great voice, but Seussical is his first time out as a director. “I’m still passionate about my singing,” Josh says, “and I want to keep performing, but in Australia you have to have as many strings to your bow as possible. Directing gives a performer extra insight into a role and a show as a whole. I also discovered what makes theatre so special to kids, even those in the audience, as well as performers.  Seussical has been a challenge, because we need to find our inner kids in order to connect with those in the audience. So the directing process was very much one of exploring and expression. The last thing I wanted was just to give everyone line readings. I’m young enough to still be in contact with my childlike side. In fact Josh (Robson - OCPAC producer) and I love the fact that shows like Seussical mean we don’t have to grow up – or old – any time soon. So this was a chance to look for the magic that children want to see on stage.”

But isn’t there a danger of bringing such a show to a theatre in the midst of what is essentially an adult festival? Seussical is a very colourful but innocent show in a collection of deep blue to purple offerings. What about those who might be expecting “Fox in F**ks”, or “Horton hears a Fart?” Josh laughs. “I suppose there may be some who come expecting something like an x-rated version of the Doctor Seuss characters. All I can say is that once they get over their initial shock, they won’t feel short-changed at all. You can’t help but feel good. And much of the joy is watching the kids in the audience react to Horton the elephant and others. They know these characters, and so do their mums and dads. Watching them come to life is something quite magical. It’s the same award winning cast we had last year, but we’re not complacent or blasé about anything. It’s still a joy at every performance and an actor like Mark Yeates, who plays the Cat in the Hat, has terrific ad lib skills to improvise with the children depending on their reactions. It’s been such a treat for all of us and we can’t wait for this return season”.

Josh’s enthusiasm is contagious and my inner child can hardly wait to see this show. There are only 10 performances, so don’t miss out, book now. Even if you don’t have kids, your inner child always needs something to sing about.

Seussical The Musical plays at the Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne from April 7^th -21^st, 2014.

Click here for more details.

CREW

PRODUCER: Matthew Cox


DIRECTOR: Joshua Ellwood


CHOREOGRAPHER: Kelsey Andrew


MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Daniel Donovan


CAST


THE CAT IN THE HAT - Mark Yeates

HORTON THE ELEPHANT - Sam McPartlan

JOJO - Andreas Katsiroubas


GERTRUDE McFUZZ - Eleanor Horsburgh

MAYZIE LaBIRD - Elise Cavallo


THE MAYOR OF WHOVILLE - Nathan Slevin


MRS MAYOR - Sophie Loughran

SOUR KANGAROO - Nicholas Renfree-Marks

GENERAL GHENGIS KHAN SCHMITZ - Zak Marrinan


THE WICKERSHAM BROTHERS - 
Josh Gavin, 
Patrick O'Bryan & 
Josh Robson

THE BIRD GIRLS - 
Charlie Helliwell
, Samantha Paulin & Sarah Cuthbert

ENSEMBLE - 
Ellie Foster, 
Claire Reynolds, 
Lucy Johnson, 
Ashlee Rigg
, Kate Murphy, 
Dom Hennequin, 
Josh Mills
, Michael Uccellini
, Sean Walpole, 
Erynn Christensen & 
Emma Russell.