With 55 cast members, around 30 songs, and a classic story, the Hutchinson Middle School spring musical is shaping up to be worth trumpeting about.
Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat and other famous Dr. Seuss characters will be on stage in “Seussical Jr.,” a musical by Tony-winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. The show will bring audiences to the Jungle of Nool and the Circus McGurkus as the Cat in the Hat narrates the story of Horton the Elephant, who discovers a speck of dust containing the tiny Whos. While trying to guard an abandoned egg left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird, he must also protect the Whos from naysayers.
“It’s really wacky,” said seventh-grader Cameron Ziemer, who plays The Cat in the Hat. “There are many fun characters.”
“It’s a lot more upbeat (than prior shows),” said eighth-grader Avery Schiller, who plays Mayzie La Bird. “There are a lot of characters everyone gets to play. Everyone gets their own part.”
It’s the diversity and sheer number of roles that helped attract director Lara Liepold to the show in the first place.
“We have a lot of kids who try out,” she said. “I wanted there to be a lot of opportunities. And it has many different roles to give out.”
The hour-long show is a full-fledged musical, with the story mostly told through song and a few spoken lines between. The central messages: take care of one another, believe in yourself, believe in others.
“Horton the Elephant is a caregiver,” Liepold said, “and wants everyone to believe there are little people on the speck of dust. And no one believes him.”
The show opens at 7 pm Friday and Saturday at Hutchinson High School Auditorium, followed by a matinee at 2 pm Sunday. Tickets are available at the door — $7 for adults and $5 for students. The show is free for those age 4 and under.
Ziemer hopes audiences get a kick out of his character — the Cat in the Hat — performing alongside JoJo, played by Wyatt Golde.
“We’re a tag team, doing dances and stuff,” he said.
To prepare for such a performance, which includes acting as the narrator of the story, Ziemer found himself stepping out of his comfort zone.
“I get to be a very wacky character,” he said.
On the other hand, Schiller found herself wearing familiar shoes as Mayzie La Bird.
“She’s kind of very attitude filled,” she said. “She only cares about herself. She wants what’s best for her. She starts off like that, but by the end she figures out everything isn’t about her. … She’s basically me sometimes, I’ve been told. She has a lot of attitude and sass.Everyone is like, ‘Yeah, that’s you.’ I feel like watching her grow, it’s pushing me to be like… ‘Maybe you should try not to be her.’ It’s pushing me to be better.”
With such a large cast, Liepold has been busy keeping everyone moving forward, learning not only their lines, but singing and choreography as well. It’s nothing new, though, after more than two decades of Hutchinson Middle School shows.
“This is my 22nd musical that I’ve done at the middle school,” she said. “I started them back in 2000.”
The kids always keep it fresh.
“They get so excited about auditioning and being part of a group,” she said. “Just being part of something where they can fit in and be themselves and express themselves.”