Who are the Whos? What makes them sing?
“Seussical the Musical,” that’s the thing.
The Box in the Wood Theatre Guild will bring a number of Dr. Seuss tales to life this week at the Mielke Arts Center, N5649 Airport Road, Shawano. The show starts its two-week run Friday night.
There will be red fish and blue fish, Horton the elephant, the Cat in the Hat, Mayzie LaBird and a plethora of Whos singing and dancing across the stage. There will even be a brief cameo by the Grinch.
“Seussical the Musical” seemed like the right fit for Box in the Wood’s summer show after the huge interest in the guild’s children’s theater workshop last year, according to show director Brandon Byng.
“A lot of them were, ‘OK, we’ve done this. Now what else can we do?’” Byng said. “It was an opportunity to throw out ‘Seussical’ to the community and say, ‘This is something kids of any age can be a part of.’”
A cast of 33 has been practicing two to three times a week since April to get the show ready. The show is expected to last around two hours, with a 20-minute intermission between the two acts.
The main plot follows Horton, played by Byng, and tells how he discovers a speck of dust populated by Whos. While protecting the Whos from a group of folks who don’t believe anything living could exist on dust, Horton is left with an egg to watch over after the irresponsible Mayzie LaBird decides to take off and pursue other things.
The show is familiar territory for Byng, who co-founded the Byng Community Theater in Abrams with his late great-aunt, Nancy, in 2003. Byng directed “Seussical” in 2011 for Abrams Spotlight Productions, the troupe that occupies the theater, and he was able to bring a lot of the props and materials to the Box in the Wood production.
“When (Box in the Wood) talked about what they wanted to do here involving kids, I said ‘Seussical,’” Byng said. “I knew I had all of the stuff.”
More than 40 people tried out for the show, which was the biggest audition turnout Box in the Wood had seen in years, according to Byng. It helped that the show had numerous spots available for teens and elementary school-aged children, he said.
For Byng, it’s more fun to produce musicals than plays. While plays can be a challenge to direct, depending on the material, there are a lot more moving parts in musicals, he said.
“You get the singing, the dancing and the acting,” Byng said. “It’s the triple threat.”
While the show is geared for children, Byng expects to see other adults besides parents filling up the seats.
“Young and old would definitely get something from ‘Seussical,’” Byng said. “Definitely, the kids will love it because it’s colorful and crazy, but then there are all kinds of things throughout the show that will entertain the adults.”
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