This was the first time I have ever seen this musical performed as an 'adult' show. I have seen Seussical Jr several times, performed by children and youths, but didn't actually realise that there even was an 'adult' original. In a way, it is not dissimilar from Avenue Q in that the musical takes characters and storylines originally meant for children and puts a very adult spin on them. It's fun, it's sexy, it's sassy, and yet it is also extremely heartwarming and sweet too without it becoming twee and infantile.
Most of us will be aware of if not familiar with at least some of the creations of Dr. Seuss [a Swiss, and therefore in reality his name ought to be pronounced more like Zoyis, however.....] in particular The Cat In The Hat who features in this story as the narrator and instigator of the story.
UMMTS {The University Of Manchester Musical Theatre Society} is a fully-functioning Amateur Theatre Company outside the remit of the university but their membership is made up entirely of current university students. And although several of the cast are in fact reading theatre at the university, many are not and come from all different faculties. One thing is certain though, the commitment and the talent are never lacking.
Seussical mixes several of Dr. Seuss's books together to create this somewhat confusing story of Horton The Elephant taking care of The Who (a race of microscopic people who live on a speck of dust attached to a clover), whilst being coerced into sitting on and incubating an egg for the flirtatious and glamorous Mayzie, being chased and captured by The Wickersham Brothers, hounded by a forceful and very Sour Kangaroo and finding the true meaning of friendship and love through both a young boy Jojo (actually a Who who becomes life-size and visible - not sure how, except through the magic of our own imaginations!), and a rather plain but dependable bird called Gertrude.
Everything about this show was first class. - well, everything except for one... the microphones! The sound levels were forever bobbing up and down, with some a little too high, and some of the smaller principal roles having to work un-mic'd thus making their singing almost inaudible against the band. Perhaps there weren't enough mics to go round, but unfortunately this really made for a rather uncomfortable listen as one was constantly having to adjust our own audial receptors to try and block out or hone in at various times.
However, that stumbling block notwithstanding, the musical was hugely enjoyable, highly entertaining, and excellently put together. Directors Freya Parry and Nick Bond have much to be proud of, and with a very minimalist set, showed us exactly what is possible with just a few cardboard cut-outs and a huge dollop of imagination. I loved the costumes - a woolly elephant hat for Horton, and a glove-puppet kangaroo for The Sour Kangaroo and the choroegraphy (Georgina Rosser) was excellent throughout. Although it did puzzle me why The Mayor of Who wore a young boy's school blazer and short trousers whilst his wife wore a rather dowdy and middle-aged twin set?! Muscially it was at times a little too loud, but that was not the fault of MD Dexter Drown who made the most out of his talented band (playing unusually at the rear of the audience).
Hugh Summers made a smarmy Cat In The Hat, devious and slippery. He also played several little cameos throughout as part of the role, and each was very different in terms of body language and accent, and this showcased his obvious acting ability excellently. Roman Armstrong's Horton was plaintive and sincere throughout, an almost naive determination to keep his elephant promise to look after a person, no matter how small. Ottilie Nye was convincing as the young boy Jojo, whilst Elle Klouda and Hebe Church made lovely polar opposites as frumpish but sincere Gertrude and coquettish, sexy and highly insincere Mayzie. The biggest surprsie for me came from Jordan Jones' Sour Kangaroo. A hugely impressive stage presence and lovely strong voice combined with his obvious love of playing a rather evil character shone through. Is the part written for it to be played in drag, or was that just a stroke of genius on the part of the actor / director? It worked excellently, although a little more practice wearing high-heeled shows would have been preferable.
Another very pleasant surprise came from three talented young ladies who formed a pop-style backing group a la The Shirelles, or The Ronettes, except this time they were 'The Bird Girls'. (Lauren Owen, Carol-Ann McConnellogue and Mary Morris).
The entire cast were excellently chosen to optimise their abilities and create the required mood. And despite this story being child-like, one couldn't help sympathising and being swept up in it, such was the energy and dedication of the entire cast. Beautiful harmony singing, robust choreography, bold yet simple direction, with fully-rounded characters which we could actually care about, brought this show very much to life.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 26/3/19
No comments:
Post a Comment