If you open your mind, oh the things you will find waiting to get loose!
When you attend the Reisterstown Theatre Project’s musical about Seuss!
Springing lively to the stage, in a full vibrant musical
Is a clever fun story, why it’s a musical called Seussical!
Directed by Thaddaeus Fillmore and Lynn Graham for Musical Direction
This production has some quirks but is very close to perfection.
With a whole crew of volunteers creating costumes and set
Fillmore’s vision of Seuss is the best you will get!
There’s an enormous top hat that is fit for a cat
Where these imaginative characters make their entrance like that!
The costumes are magical, a visual delight
Every color of the rainbow and more in plain sight!
There are great whacky costumes for every crafty jungle creature
All the styles true to Seuss, that’s what this company features!
Director Thaddaeus Fillmore makes a bold and curious choice too—
Making the little pouch animal a puppet voiced by Sour Kangaroo!
The one teensy problem and throughout the show it does last
Is that the mighty live orchestra overpowers the cast.
Conducted by Matt Elky, it’s a full-swelling sound
But please, Mr. Elky, there’s enough to go round!
Some songs move a little bit slower than they should
But for the most part, Mr. Elky’s orchestra is quite good!
Now imagine if you can, for a moment take this stance
A musical, like Seussical without any dance!
Thankfully you don’t have to entertain that thought of misery
For this show has dancing thanks to Choreographer Kristin Rigsby.
Rigsby keeps the dances very simple yet exciting
Why some of her dances are truly delighting!
The Hunches especially, moving with jazz guiding their feet
Make Rigsby’s Choreography a delectable treat!
Oh what talent you’ll find in this performance so great
With a limited run, best hurry and make a date!
There’s singing and dancing and acrobatics to see
A little bit of everything for ages one to 93
Why the tumbling acrobatics of Thing 2(Delancey D’Amico & Tamara Hurwitz) and Thing 1
With this energetic duo you’ll have cartwheels of fun!
And the incredibly deep sound that is heard near the very end of the play
Rises from Yertle the Turtle (Ben Garber) a belt of bass that will make your day.
So many people doing such wonderful things
What an incredible sound when they start to all sing
With numbers like “Oh the Things You Can Think” and “Chasing the Whos”
Everything’s so upbeat, I promise, you won’t get the blues!
There might be some time here to mention a few
Of the singers who standout in this production they do
There’s Tiffany Beam who plays Miss Sour Kangaroo
And as mentioned before, she plays her pouch cub too!
With a bitter attitude, more tart than all the rest
Beam really stands out when making her sour citizen’s arrest!
What a name on this character, after saying it your tongue will need a long soak
It’s General Genghis Kahn Schmitz (John Gurtshaw) and this man is no joke!
Gurtshaw runs his regime like a militant man, barking orders at Whos all throughout the land.
He’s tough and he’s nasty, a real grumpy schmuck, especially when fighting for toast with butter-side up!
Let’s not overlook Mayzie (Heather Fillmore) one over-the-top bird
Miss Fillmore plays this role different, she hardly sings a word.
But her attitude, oh my, what a great job she does
In proving her character is more amazing than poor Gertrude McFuzz.
Miss Fillmore sashays and salsas all over the stage
Her character is the type that could use its own page!
But we must move on and talk of the other birds in this show
Like Gertrude McFuzz (Andy Kay Wojciehowski) whose story is woe.
Wojciehowski has a beautiful songbird like voice
When she gets to singing the audience does rejoice.
Her patter is clear for her speedy intro to songs
And her voice is crystalline when notes she holds long.
“For You” is a solo with serene tranquility she completes
Even if she says her characters has quite pitiful tweets.
Singing together with Horton (Eric Besbris) makes for quite a delight
You could listen to that pair sing together all night.
Their voices meld together in harmony so delicate and full
That their songs do bring peace throughout the Jungle of Nool.
Besbris has a voice that’s crystal clear like a bell
And he sings with emotion, his heart in his voice, you can tell.
His rich voice excels to perfection in many a solo
But his best work is in duet with the little Who JoJo.
JoJo (Logan Dubel) has quite a wonderful sound
A pure bright voice that is heard all around!
Dubel and Besbris share “Alone in the Universe” a dulcet duet
That will lull you to sleep, but don’t worry, not yet!
They also sing livelier, sprightly tunes throughout the show
But you won’t get to hear them if you simply don’t go!
Horton the Elephant is not the only character with whom Dubel shares a duet
There’s only one more character that we haven’t mentioned yet
And I’ll bet that by now you’re about ready to take a good guess at
Which character’s left— it’s Megan D’Alesandro playing the Cat in the Hat!
She sings and she dances, she slides and she prances, a true charismatic charmer in a vest
Razzle-dazzling with songs like “How Lucky You Are” D’Alesandro is simply the best!
“It’s Possible” is that duet that she shares with JoJo
And together their voices making your imagination a Go-Go!
The smooth jazzy styles D’Alesandro takes to using
For “Havin’ a Hunch” she’s a cat quite amusing.
There are so many wonderful things to say about this fun loving show
But the best way to say it is to say “Go and see it, just go!”
It’s a very short run, only two weekends left!
If you miss this opportunity, you’ll surely be bereft!
So take your siblings, and children, everyone whosical
Has a longing desire to see RTP’s Seussical.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, with one intermission.
Seussical the Musical plays through April 5, 2014 at The Reisterstown Theatre Project, performing at Franklin Middle School -10 Cockeys Mill Road, in Reisterstown, MD-l(at the intersection of Main Street and Cockeys Mill Road). Tickets can be purchased at the door, or for advanced reservations call the box office at (443) 226-6401.
