T H E AT E R
BY RICK LEVIN
DARCY RUST AND TONY RUST IN SEUSSICAL
OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO
Cottage Theatre scores a holiday hit
with the Broadway musical Seussical
I
n all honesty, I must admit that I copped quite an attitude before walking into Cottage
Theatre’s current production of Seussical, a Broadway musical based on the work of
beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss, aka Theodore Geisel. First of all, I absolutely
adore Geisel, and not least for his resistance, during his lifetime, to having any of his
lovely creations — all those hunches and sneetches — run through the grinder of crass
commercialization and corporate marketing.
Rare among children’s writers, Geisel refused to infantilize children, and beneath
the playful eccentricity of his language resides a romantic sensibility that bestows an
uncommon respect to the imaginative powers of the very young. Couple this with his
deeply ethical and somewhat tragic vision of a fallen world, and you’ve got a powerful
antidote to the dunderheaded escapism of so much kids’ entertainment.
I like musicals quite a lot, but sometimes it seems Broadway can’t keep its glitzy,
reductive hands off anything, especially something as sacred and product-pure as Dr. Seuss.
With my heart full of unwashed socks and charming as an eel, I took my seat at Cottage
Theatre and, within five minutes of the opening song, I felt my Grinchy heart swell four
sizes, at least. This fantastic musical — co-conceived by Monty Python alum Eric Idle —
bestows absolute honor on the works of Dr. Seuss, maintaining at once the peculiar joys
of his wonky voice and, even more importantly, the pervasive humanity that girds his
storytelling.
Directed by Keith Kessler, and featuring a live orchestra, this lush and frenetic production
hits every right note, from the acting and choreography (by Janet Rust) to the impressive
costumes (Chris Carter, Autumn Carter) and spot-on set design (Janet Whitlow). The story
is something of a hodge-podge, taking bits and pieces from Seuss’ vast canon, but centered
primarily on Horton Hears a Who!, about an angelic elephant’s endeavors to protect the
microscopic residents of Whoville.
The music is surprisingly catchy, and the controlled chaos on stage — slapstick, action,
song and dance — evokes a kind of pleasant delirium that replicates the populist fantasias
of Seuss’ books. Even more impressive, the language — the unmistakable anapestic
tetrameter of Geisel’s poetic rhythms — is lovingly and respectfully rendered, casting a
kind of spell that is somehow fresh and nostalgic at once.
The cast, which is huge and vastly multi-generational (the youngest actor, Anwen Dickinson,
is just four!), couldn’t be better. Mark Van Beever is downright adorable as the good-hearted
Horton (Van Beever is also the show’s vocal director); Tony Rust is aptly mischievous as
The Cat in the Hat, the show’s wacky master of ceremonies; Madison Baker is captivating
as Gertrude McFuzz, the sweetly persistent bird who pursues Horton; Autumn Carter gives a
great diva turn to the saucy role of Mayzie La Bird; and Darcy Rust is a powerhouse as JoJo,
the young boy whose “thinks” represent the free spirit not just of besieged youth, but of us all.
The holiday season, for all its good cheer, tends to produce (and reproduce and
reproduce) a lot of saccharine schmaltz and fluff-spun sentimentality, but this is not so with
Cottage Theatre’s staging of Seussical. In channeling the defiantly joyful soul of Geisel,
this show captures something essential in our shared humanity — our individual yearning
toward community and goodness that is childlike without being childish.
To quote the master himself, from The Lorax: “Unless someone like you cares a whole
awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Seussical plays 8 pm Thursdays through Saturdays and 2:30 pm Sundays through Dec. 23 at Cottage Theatre.
Tickets and info at CottageTheatre.org or 541-942-8001.
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eugeneweekly.com • December 7, 2017
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