“Seussical” takes center stage at TCU this week
The Cat in the Hat acts as emcee to a host of characters from Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel's children's books.
by Rick Waters '95
Updated: Tuesday, April 17, 2012
TCU musical theater students bring favorite Dr. Seuss characters to life in "Seussical," onstage April 17-22. (Photo by Amy Peterson)
Had TCU Theatre's original plan gone through, this week you might be watching Horned Frog undergrads jazzing out to "Chicago," the Prohibition-era satire on corruption and the legal system.
Instead, audiences will enjoy the whimsy of another kind - The Cat in the Hat and a cast of characters from the imagination of Dr. Seuss.
Today, "Seussical" takes the spotlight at the Spencer Hays Theatre on campus for a five-day run. Nightly performances are at 7:30 p.m. from April 17-21 with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Hays Theatre in Walsh Performing Arts Center, located at 2800 S. University Drive.
The Cat in the Hat is host and emcee for this whimsical show that features favorite Dr. Seuss characters in musical mode. Seussical runs April 17- 20 at 7:30 p.m., April 21 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and April 22 at 2:30 p.m. Hays Theatre is located in Walsh Performing Arts Center at 2800 S. University Drive.
Tickets are $15 for the public and $10 for TCU faculty, staff and students. Students from other schools and senior tickets (age 60 and older) are $10.
Call the TCU Box Office at 817-257-8080 to reserve seats. The box office is open from 12:30-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and will open one hour before each performance.
"Seussical" became a fun alternative to "Chicago" when TCU Theatre was unable to obtain royalties for it, none of which bothers the show's director, Jennifer Engler, an associate professor for theatre.
"It is kind of fantastical," Engler told TCU360 last week. "I do think there is a sweet story line. I think anybody who knows the story of Horton Hears A Who! and that idea of someone standing up for what they believe despite how they may be treated or perceived is very timely right now. We look at kids, and we see that need for them to hang on to their imagination, for them to explore and not feel different or persecuted because they have fantastical ideas. That is the heart of the show."
The Hays Theatre also gives musical theatre students a new venue, she said.
"This is not normally were we do our musicals," she told TCU360. "This gives us certain scenic constraints. ... [But] I felt that 'Seussical' is a show that would be successful in that space.' "