Musical fun for the whole family
A crazy cat (Abel Knobel), wearing a red- striped hat, has a story to tell. It's the tale of Horton the elephant (Grant Towers), out on a mission to protect his tiny friend JoJo the Who (Emma Rogers).
JoJo lives on a speck of dust, along with his father (the mayor) and mother and all the other Whos in Whoville. Placing them on a clover, Horton sets out to protect the speck, because “a person’s a person no matter how small”.
It’s been 20 years since Theodor Seuss Geisel, better know as Dr Seuss, passed away, but his stories live on. Seussical Jr is filled with his imaginative characters and bright bursts of colour, carbon copies of the storybook tales. The cast employ the same rhymes, many of which has been arranged into catchy songs that remain fixed in the mind long after the curtains fall. This delightful musical combines many of Dr Seuss’s stories, bringing themes of friendship, loyalty, family and community to the forefront.
Horton is also left with the task of caring for Mayzie LaBird’s (Christel Mutombo) abandoned egg, while she takes a vacation.
Mutombo puts on a noteworthy performance, as do her co-stars. Each one goes about their role with heart and precision giving life to their weird and whacky characters while falling down on the ground and throwing a tantrum or purposefully singing out of tune.
This is an excellent family adventure, suitable for both adults and children.
Seussical Jr will be showing at the National Children’s Theatre in Parktown, until December 22. Tickets: R110 for chairs, R90 for cushions
Available from bookings@nctt.org.za
