The Maryvale Theatre Department recently showcased the Middle School play Seussical Jr., and it has received praise from the whole school community.
The story takes place in the “Jungle of Nool” where Horton the elephant lives. One day, Horton finds a speck of dust that contains the town of Whoville. On this speck of dust lives JoJo, a Who that is often scolded by his parents for his “thinks”. JoJo and Horton become friends, and JoJo vows to protect the speck of dust from being hurt. While Horton recognizes the Whos that live on the speck, the other creatures in the Jungle of Nool do not believe him. The animals in the jungle make fun of him for protecting a speck of dust and try to tear Horton and the speck apart. But no matter what obstacles came in his way, Horton would always protect Whoville. By the end of the play, all of the creatures come together and realize that “a person’s a person, no matter how small.”
Since late November, the cast and crew have worked diligently to showcase their musical and acting talents. Along with the many hours spent after school rehearsing, the cast and crew had to overcome many obstacles. The snow and ice canceled many rehearsal days on the week of opening night. Seussical was originally scheduled to perform from February 14 to February 16, but icy roads canceled the show on the 15th and rampant winds disrupted the closing night. To make up for these cancellations, Maryvale presented Seussical to the Middle School on February 21.
Despite all of these challenges, both the cast and crew remained optimistic and gave it their all on the stage. Ms. Pantano, the director of Seussical, praised the production for their hard work, saying “I am so very proud of our Cast and Crew for pulling together despite all of the cancelled rehearsals and days scheduled to build the set”. Sophie Arnold, who plays Horton the elephant, shares similar sentiments. She believes that the cancellations and challenges “made us better” and inspired the cast to.
From the first day of rehearsal to closing day, the cast and crew of Seussical have given it their all and proved that no matter what, the show must go on!
