Geneva High brings ‘Seussical’ to life in playful musical romp
Geneva High School’s theater department has been working hard to prove that “anything’s possible” with their spring musical “Seussical”
The show pays homage to the characters and stories of Dr. Seuss, drawing from “Horton Hears a Who,” “The Cat in the Hat,” and other classic books that many will remember from their childhoods. All these stories combine to make for a musical that’s full of fun, feeling, and more than a little bit of chaos.
“Seussical” has no shortage of intoxicatingly fun musical numbers — the show is essentially an operetta, told almost entirely through music.
One of the Wickersham brothers, Cam Winsininski, says he’s excited for the audience to see the hard work that has gone into the performance, including the Wickershams’ signature number “Monkey Around.”
Other notable songs include the energetic opening, “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think,” Horton’s lullaby-ballad “Solla Sollew,” and the musical court scene of “The People Versus Horton the Elephant.”
The music and dance madness lends itself to many intertwining plot lines, and the audience will find that there are meaningful messages dispersed throughout the show. Horton spends the show arguing for the Whos’ right to exist even though he is mocked and belittled for thinking outside of the norm. Meanwhile, the Whos engage in meaningless war and conflict, further endangering their small world.
The spring musical is always a bittersweet time of year for the senior students as they work to put together their final show at Geneva High School.
All the students have been putting everything they can into the show, including senior Alex Urban, who plays Horton the Elephant. Alex says that building bonds with the underclassmen has helped him to see how far he has come, and that “thinking about how far everyone else will go really makes this show special.”
Emelia Bellino, a sophomore who plays JoJo the Who, agrees that the relationships she’s built and “getting close with everyone” have been the most valuable element of working on the show.
Geneva High School’s production of “Seussical” is sure to leave you “havin’ a hunch” while you laugh along with classic characters! The cast and crew look forward to showing you all “the thinks you can think” next weekend.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, April 24-26, in the high school auditorium, 416 McKinley Ave. in Geneva. There also is a matinee performance on Saturday, April 26 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors, and free for kids under age 6. For tickets, go to genevatheatreboosters.org.