In previous shows that the Annandale Theatre Company (ATC) produced, they discussed serious topics and mature themes that many high school students would be able to relate to in their current lives. For this year’s spring musical, AHS students can relate to the themes or ideas of the musical in a different way; they are able to relate to it through their childhood experiences.

The musical, Seussical, reflects a combination of multiple Dr. Seuss books and characters that many have grown to appreciate and love. The audience can view their favorite characters such as The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, and the Sour Kangaroo, come to life before their very eyes.

Seussical discusses the treacherous journey and adventures of Jojo, who’s guided by the Cat in the Hat. As the Cat is guiding Jojo through the Seuss world that he created, they come across the caring Horton the Elephant, who soon finds himself in possession of a clover, carrying the town of Whoville on the small speck of dust.
Through Horton’s journey in trying to maintain the livelihood of The Who’s (Whoville citizens), by venturing to the highest mountain from the Jungle of Nool.
As he continues his quest, he meets various villainous and sassy characters such as the Sour Kangaroo and Mayzie La Bird who ends up giving him an egg for him to take care of towards Act II.

Though the story of Seussical seems very complicated, the interwoven stories and characters create a new world for the audience members to experience.
Since many of the notable Dr.Seuss characters act in a certain absurd way, with a tremendous amount of energy, this means that many actors would need to continue with the general sentiments and feelings of such characters.

“I hope to see us bring every character to life and get the audience laugh-crying,” junior Savannah Gravitt, who plays a Bird Girl, said.
Despite the lightheartedness of the musical, it does not hinder its ability for it to relate to all age ranges.

“It’s really deep and it touches on subjects that I think are important, that deal with acceptance of people regardless of their size or what kind of animal they are, where they’re from, what they believe,” theatre director Katherine Brunberg said. “It’s a fun silly show, but it’s a good message.”

Through the larger than life characters that ATC is hoping to create, it surely requires them to not only act on behalf of their character, but also continue at the same pace and level of animation throughout the show. Every day for the past month (since late January) they have been rehearsing various aspects of their performance, whether it be the music, dance or specifically acting. This show revolves a lot around the actors, their ability to dance and flexibility.

“I’m hoping to see a fun musical because it’s the most dance heavy musical that we’ve done up until now,” junior Ioana Marin said. “If we can get the musical together, it has the potential to be great because of the songs, dancing and colors involved.”

The show has to reflect the sentiments and themes of Dr. Seuss, since it pays tribute to his sense of imagination and the amount of passion that he had for entertaining the younger audiences and spurring the creativity in their young minds.

Aside from the amount of color used by the tech, the various music arrangements that were composed by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, incorporates a combination of instruments.

This coupled with the dramatic acting being performed on stage should make for a stellar performance. The show dates for the musical are on March 28-29 at 7 p.m. and March 30 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.