Category: Shows

We had our opening night for Seussical the Musical last night. It was absolutely fantastic. Over sixty kids on stage and a twenty piece orchestra. I had previously been told I would not be able to coordinate that many children musically with such a large orchestra. But we’ve done it, and done it well.

A BIG thank you to Kyle Blevins our sound designer. He is an excellent audio tech and has done an outstanding job fulfilling the demanding requirements of the show.

SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Book by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty
Co-Conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Eric Idle
Based on the works of Dr. Seuss
November 3 thru 12, 2006
McIntyre Hall, Mount Vernon

PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL TEAMS

Producer – Kate Kypuros
Directors – Dave and Carrie James
Vocal Director and Conductor – Conrad Askland
Choreographer – Skye Dahlstrom
Stage Director – Ryn Bishop
Sound Design – Kyle Blevins
Set Designer – Elizabeth Stam
Lighting Design – Don Willcuts
Lead Costume Designer – Kathryn Gildnes
Bird Costume Designer – Mary Jo Henning
Cat and Kangaroo Costumes – Maura Marlin
Assistant to the Directors – Jen Spence
Assistant to the Producer – Susan Arthur
Parent Volunteer Coordinator – Justine Sanders
Photography by Sergei Petrov and Greg Sanders
Set Building – Aviathar Pemberton, Sergei Petrov, Leo Kypuros, Jeff Whidden
Set Crew – Rob Bonner, Paul Thelan, Nate Young, Robin Miller, Spenser Demarais
Scenic Painters – Elizabeth Stam and Sergie Petrov
Make-up Direction – Janae Moorehouse
Make-up – Stephania Kay
Fly Crew – Dave Mumford and Spencer Desmarais
Spot – Paul Thelan
Deck Crew – Suzann McLamb, Robin Miller, Amanda McDaniel
Props Creation – Holly Bunnell, Justine Sanders, Annie Bratun
Props Mistress – Annie Bratun
Graphics – Kristin Jensen
Bookstore and Lobby Kiosks – Deborah Cleave-Trepus

ORCHESTRA

Conductor – Conrad Askland
Keyboard 2 – Brianne Weaver
Keyboard 3 – Lauren Lippens
Keyboard 4 – Ruth Haines
Keyboard 5 – Kathryn Kahn
Trumpet I – Cindy Luna
Trumpet II – Bryan Frank
Trombone – Paul Brower
Alto Sax – Kyle McInnis
Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Michelle Hanna
Baritone Sax, Oboe, Clarinet – Rebecca Wright
Flute, Piccolo – Alicia Jackson
Violin I – Luke Hansen
Violin II – Louise Cheney
Cello – Sharon Sparling
Harp – Christy Swartz
Bass Guitar – Peter Bridgman
Drums – David Bridgman
Percussion – Oscar De La Rosa
Conductor’s Assistant – Andrew Teijan

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SEUSSICAL CAST
(In Order of Appearance)

Jojo – Ireland Woods
Cat in the Hat – Mike Marlin
Horton the Elephant – Matt Olsen
Gertrude – Bianca Campbell
Mayzie – Ashley Henning
The Sour Kangaroo – Falon Calderon

BIRD GIRLS
Lynette Cole
Zoey Kypuros
Corinn Holberg
McKenzie Willis
Mary Witt
Savanna Woods

THE WICKERSHAMS

Michael Giles
Karina Grech
Jessiejo Huizinga
Trevor Hansen
Tiffany Richardson

Yertle the Turtle – Sam Mitchell
Vlad Vladikoff – Kaylah Golub
Mayor – Nate Young
Mrs. Mayor – Paige Woods
General Genghis Khan Schmitz – Mike Krugel
The Grinch – Jayme Craig

CITIZENS OF WHOVILLE

Katie Arthur
Jackson Dillard
Elle England
Olivia Pedroza
Brittany Schmidt
Mariah Schmidt
Robert Summers
Selena Tibert
Nathaniel Voth

CADETS

Adele Clark
Brooke Desper
Seth Laurence
Whitney Lindquist
Jahldi Merritt
Tatum Sprouse
Zoe Whidden

CITIZENS – CIRCUS – FISH

Sarah Bamba
Courtney Bunnell
Blakelee Clay-McBee
Drew Erlandson
Devon Fair
Chamidae Ford
Makenzie Fox
Bailey Hodges
Emma Johnson
Katie Keck
Kiara Landi
Magdalena McGuire
Elena Olfke
Susie Pollino
Lauren Riley
Paris Sanders
Summer Sanders
Nicole Trepus
Angela Uptain
Miranda Uptain
Jensen Weynands-Mains
Emily Watilo
ORCHESTRA SPONSOR:

The Floyd and Delores Jones Foundation
THANK YOU FLOYD!!!!!

Seussical the Musical presented by
META Performing Arts
through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI)

SPECIAL THANKS
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church
Sewer’s Dream
Skagit Valley Performing Arts Council
Elfa Gisla
Copy This, Mail That
Insta-Signs
Village Theatre
Cascade Pizza
The Lincoln Theatre
Kelly Pollino
Joan Landi
Diane Giles
Rob Bonner
DIRECTOR’S NOTES:

Not that long ago, children were taught to read using books that were dry, dull and devoid of any attempt to entertain the brand-new readers at whom they were aimed. But in 1936, while returning from Europe on a steam ship, Theodore Geisel had an idea for a book about a young child who dreams up an increasingly wacky story about his adventures walking home from school.

The words in the book were written while Geisel listened to the rhythm of the ship’s steam engines, and thus followed their meter. Publisher after publisher told him that such a book could never be printed, people wouldn’t accept it, and that Geisel should forget about writing stories for children.

He didn’t forget about it. When the 29th publisher finally agreed to print “And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street”, literature changed forever. Although few people know about a children’s book writer named Mr. Geisel, his middle name is known in every American household: SEUSS!

While Seussical the Musical may have had a rocky road to Broadway (Rosie O’Donnell is probably not America’s greatest thespian), the first time we saw it performed, we were blown away by the message about the awesomeness of imagination taught to us by Jojo. Our hearts melted at the love story between Horton and Gertrude. We cheered for the Whos as they tried to save their tiny planet, and we left the theater singing our favorite songs from the show!

After such a fantastic experience, it was a no-brainer to choose this as META’s fall musical. We have had such an amazing time working with these talented actors and actresses. Conrad has taught us “volumes” about music, and Skye has taken the cast’s dancing skills to new levels.

Our sincerest thanks go to our cast and crew for their hard work and dedication. They made our work enjoyable, and our rehearsals fun.

Carrie and Dave – The Directors

UPDATE 02/07 – Free Download of Seussical Sound FX

Here’s a list of sound effects I prepared for Seussical the Musical. Most are called for in the score. Some of them are timed with the music so I prefer to have myself or one of the musicians trigger audio fx for the show.

I use Kontakt by Native Instruments which is a virtual keyboard for computer. I load my sounds into a laptop and program my sound effects across the keyboard – usually layered in sequence for when they occur in the show. Preproduction of audio effects is done on ProTools, where I have full control of high end delays, reverbs and panning. I run sound effects stereo and make sure the sound team is processing my sounds in stereo. I think it’s important to clarify whether you have a stereo setup available at your performance, because it will change how you pre-process your show sounds and foley.

Subtle sound effects add another subliminal layer of depth for any show presentation, so I encourage you to take the time to create them to the best of your ability. Having the actors do the fx like is “ok”, but take the time to make it super-duper cool.

SOUND EFFECTS FOR SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL

Slide Whistle (you’ll get better samples than performing this live)

YOPP! (Jojo’s yell in Act II – I process multi-tap delay with panning, so it “calls across the universe”)

Elephant Call

Egg Hatching

Explosion

Water Splash (For the Cat’s sneeze onto the Planet of Who, my own twisted addition)

ACT II Entracte – Overture clangs and bangs

Thunderstorm (To add to ACT II melodrama string music)

Bird Chirp

Animal Grunts (For intro of Monkey Around, listen to CD)

Dog Bark “woof”

Who is Dr. Seuss?

Visit the Wikipedia Dr. Seuss page.

Visit the Dr. Seuss National Memorial.

Visit Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons.

Visit The Political Dr. Seuss.

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Dr. Seuss’s Biography

A person’s a person, no matter how small,” Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, would say. “Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted.”

Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped millions of kids learn to read.

Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University, intending to acquire a doctorate in literature. At Oxford, Geisel met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. Upon his return to America later that year, Geisel published cartoons and humorous articles for Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time. His cartoons also appeared in major magazines such as Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. Geisel gained national exposure when he won an advertising contract for an insecticide called Flit. He coined the phrase, “Quick, Henry, the Flit!” which became a popular expression.

Geisel developed the idea for his first children’s book in 1936 while on a vacation cruise. The rhythm of the ship’s engine drove the cadence to And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

During World War II, Geisel joined the Army and was sent to Hollywood where he wrote documentaries for the military. During this time, he also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which won him an Oscar.

The Cat in the Hat is born

In May of 1954, Life published a report on illiteracy among schoolchildren, suggesting that children were having trouble reading because their books were boring. This problem inspired Geisel’s publisher, prompting him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important for children to learn. The publisher asked Geisel to cut the list to 250 words and use them to write an entertaining children’s book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him, published The Cat in the Hat, which brought instant success.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and three Academy Awards, Geisel authored and illustrated 44 children’s books. His enchanting stories are available as audiocassettes, animated television specials, and videos.

While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.

THE ADVERTISING ARTWORK OF DR. SEUSS

Before Theodore Seuss Geisel found fame as a children’s book author, the primary outlet for his creative efforts was magazines. His first steady job after he left Oxford was as a cartoonist for Judge, a New York City publication. In 1927 one of these cartoons opened the way to a more profitable career, as well as greater public exposure, as an advertising illustrator. This fortuitous cartoon depicts a medieval knight in his bed, facing a dragon who had invaded his room, and lamenting, “Darn it all, another dragon. And just after I’d sprayed the whole castle with Flit” (a well-known brand of bug spray).

According to an anecdote in Judith and Neil Morgan’s book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel (Random House, 1995), the wife of the ad executive who handled the Standard Oil company’s account saw the cartoon. At her urging, her husband hired the artist, thereby inaugurating a 17-year campaign of ads whose recurring plea, “Quick, Henry, the Flit!,” became a common catchphrase. These ads, along with those for several other companies, supported the Geisels throughout the Great Depression and the nascent period of his writing career.

The Dr. Seuss Collection, housed at the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego, contains many examples of Dr. Seuss’s advertising artwork. The library has scanned a selection of these advertisements for greater access. Besides promoting the Standard Oil companies Flit and Esso, Dr. Seuss’s creations have hawked such diverse goods as ball bearings, radio promotional spots, beer, and sugar.

Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons from WWII Era

Parody of Lindbergh around 1941

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The, Feb 27, 2004 by MICHELLE MORGANTE

San Diego — Near the end of his life, Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel sat down with his wife, Audrey, to speak of the past and of things to come.

” ‘I’ve had a wonderful life,’ ” Audrey Stone Geisel recalls him saying. ” ‘I’ve done what I had to do. I lived where I wished to live. I had love. I had everything.’

” ‘But,’ he said, ‘now my work will be turned over to you. And you will have to deal with those consequences.’

“And oh-ho,” says the 82-year-old heiress of the Seuss world, “has that been true!”

Nearly 13 years after her husband’s death, Geisel leads the global enterprise that has sprouted from Seuss’ beloved books — watching over the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch and all the other critters and characters who live on in movies, toys, games and ventures that perhaps not even the imaginative doctor could have envisioned.

Ted Geisel came into the world on March 2, 1904, when children learned from dull primers. In 1937, Geisel had just suffered his 27th rejection for his first children’s book, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” when he bumped into a friend who worked for Vanguard Press.
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“Ted told him that he’d been refused all of these times and he was going home to burn it,” Audrey Geisel says.

The encounter, of course, led to publication. The book created a stir among teachers and parents who feared it would encourage children to lie.

“It was so off the wall,” she says. “They even thought, ‘Oh, it might teach a child to fib,’ instead of imagine, you see?”

The book became a hit, and over the years, Dr. Seuss became one of the most popular children’s authors ever. He published 44 children’s books in more than 20 languages, and one non-children’s book, “The Seven Lady Godivas,” which was not a hit. More than 500 million Dr. Seuss books have been sold worldwide.

Death to Dick and Jane

Dr. Seuss has often been credited with killing off “Dick and Jane,” the sterile heroes of childhood readers of yore.

“With Dick and Jane, there was never much of a story there,” said Barbara Parker of the National Education Association, whose annual “Read Across America” event culminates on Tuesday, the 100th anniversary of Ted Geisel’s birth.

Dr. Seuss’ books, however, appealed to children — and adults — with their clever rhymes and plot twists.

“In ‘The Cat in the Hat,’ for example — kids really, really like that because they’re expecting the boy and the girl to get in trouble when the mother gets home, but suddenly it’s the cat to the rescue,” Parker said.

Philip Nel, a Kansas State English professor and author of the new book “Dr. Seuss: American Icon,” says Seuss’ heroes are rebels and underdogs.

“They go against the grain. They don’t do what they’re expected to do,” he said. As in “The Cat in the Hat,” Nel said, “Why not fly a kite in the house?”

Part of Seuss’ charm is his ability to make the ordinary into the extraordinary.

“Ham and eggs is just ordinary, but if you turn it around so that it’s eggs and ham, that’s interesting. And then if you make it green, there’s real genius,” Nel said.

One year celebration

Audrey Geisel is presiding over a year’s worth of ceremonies celebrating “Seussentennial: A Century of Imagination.”

The events include the debut of a Postal Service stamp; a tour of theatrical performances and children’s workshops across 40 cities; a series of Dr. Seuss celebrity book reviews; exhibits of items from the Dr. Seuss archives and of Ted Geisel’s art; the unveiling of a Dr. Seuss sculpture at the Geisel Library at the University of California at San Diego; and the presentation of a star honoring the author on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

As she gazes toward the Pacific from her hilltop home, Audrey Geisel says she understood the weight of the job immediately upon inheriting it, but was surprised by how it steadily grew heavier.

“And then suddenly, I had so much to do each day,” she says, describing business responsibilities as well as her philanthropic work as head of the Dr. Seuss Foundation. “But I’ve complicated my own life to a degree, and I don’t deserve much sympathy.”

Geisel is a disciplined and opinionated leader, whose mission is largely to protect the integrity of her husband’s creations.

Geisel, a former nurse, holds court early each morning at a nearby hotel restaurant, arriving in her faithful 1984 Cadillac with the personalized license plate: GRINCH.

“I come down the street and no one has seen anything like it,” she says with a laugh.

Guardian of integrity

As president and CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Geisel is tough on those encroaching on Seuss trademarks and copyrights. And when she wanted to have the local Old Globe Theater produce “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” years ago, she went to New York to free the miserly character from a production that later evolved into the musical “Seussical.”

Here are pictures from community theatre and professional productions of Seussical the Musical. You can use them as reference to get your creativity in flow for creating your own production. These are NOT photos of the show I am conducting for META Perfoming Arts. As of this posting we haven’t opened yet, I’ll have pictures of our production posted later. Of course, I consider our production to be the ULTIMATE STM presentation. 🙂

Visit my general Seussical the Musical category here on my blog for lots of notes on set design, orchestration and musicians, costumes, etc.

Also on this post are pictures of Seussical the Musical flyers, different costume approaches to the Cat in the Hat, Who costumes, JoJo outfits, Who’s hair and costume design, various scene set designs, Horton and Sour Kangaroo costumes and whole set photos.

See detailed Seussical Set Construction from the Spring High School Website

Samples of flyers for Seussical the Musical.

Different looks and costumes for the Cat In The Hat. Some people like using makeup, some don’t.

Various character and stage set photos of Seussical the Musical