Review: 'Seussical' by Musicals at Richter

Photos by David Henningsen

"Cause I have wings, yes I can fly. Around the moon and far beyond the sky."

Danbury, CT - I have loved ‘Seussical The Musical’ since the first time I saw it, a magical production by NewArts with the fabulous John Tartaglia as the mischievous Cat in the Hat. I never get tired of the childlike quality of the story and the memorable score by Flaherty and Ahrens only gets better for me. Musicals at Richter closes its ambitious season with an eye-popping production of this mash-up of Dr. Seuss’ stories and characters that is directed joyfully by MAR Artistic Director Lauren Nicole Sherwood.

The Richter production is a feast for the eyes with magical lighting designed by the director and Mike Campbell and a cast of wonderfully talented community theatre practitioners. Led by the inimitable Robert Bria clad in black shorts over black tights as the wily Cat in the Hat, this large group of performers brings joy to the outdoor stage where Seuss-inspired trees on the set designed by technical director Jake McGuire blend well with the natural trees of the golf course. The actors made fine use of the plastic chute and firepole between the two levels.

For the most part, the costumes designed by the director and provided by DivaStar Productions looked amazingly fanciful. Horton the elephant was a simple gray outfit, the trio of Wickershams wore an unexpected royal blue and white with whimsical banana bling and the Cat had a slew of accessories. I loved the sky-high hair of Who Kids, the royal purple theme for the General and his cadets, and the black and white tones for the circus and the Hunches. The look of the dancers in the circus and in McElligot’s Pool was top-notch and the plaintive ballet of my favorite “Solla Sollew” was lovely. While I liked the feathery touches on costumes of critters, I was not a fan of the sparkly matching ensembles with a Las Vegas look for the four Bird Girls. The high wigs were wonderful, but I prefer that the bird backup singers each have their own colored plumage.

Mr. Bria, who just played Glad Hand in ‘West Side Story,’ helped me to have as much fun as he appeared to be having in the role of the infamous Cat in the Hat. Whether swimming in a yellow rubber ducky tube, baton dueling with conductor Zachary Kampler (a professor at Westchester Community College) for control of the wonderful orchestra after intermission or riffing on MAR’s previous show ‘West Side Story’ during a sad part in the action, I could not stop smiling whenever he was on stage.

Jesse Goodman of Mahopac, NY, definitely a theatre kid, did very well as the young Jojo and Daniel Assis of Stamford, in his third production of ‘Seussical,’ played the faithful Horton the Elephant. Making her MAR debut, Carly Post of Katonah, NY was perfectly cast as the elephant’s adoring neighbor Gertrude McFuzz; Ms. Post worked alongside her mother Ruth and best friend in this production. Catiana Tron of Bedford Hills, NY almost stole the shows as the glamorous Mayzie La Bird with her amazing comic timing and sparkly tiara.

The loyal bird girlfriends played by WCSU sophomore Emma Giorgio, Boston College student Elizabeth Koennecke, NYU grad Christina Kompar and English teacher Beth Saultz sang in a perfectly blended quartet and brought out the comedy in their supporting roles. Mother-daughter team Aaron-Noel and Samantha-Noel Treppeda sang well as the super-opinionated Sour Kangaroo and Baby Kangaroo. Will Armstrong, a WCSU students from Greenwich; Andre Grigorio, a UConn sophomore from Danbury in his theatrical debut; and Stephen Moores of Brookfield blended with the harmony of a boy band as the playful Wickersham Brothers. Every member of the chorus, from the smallest to the tallest, young as fourth grader to senior citizen, did well as Who citizens, animals in the Jungle of Nool, cadets, hunches, fish and circus performers.

Steven Taliaferro (Officer Krupke in the last show at MAR) and Shannon Grumet were cute as the Mayor and Mrs. Mayor of Whoville. Mike Armstrong took on the dual roles of General Genghis Khan Schmitz and Yertle the Turtle. Kevin McCarthy, Doc in West Side Story, was the very green Grinch, and tenth grader Emma Lubbers and Viktoria Wulff-Andersen were delightful as Thing One and Thing Two. Stage manager Katie Girardot came onstage as the flying Vlad Vladikoff; backstage she was assisted by Denise Milmerstadt (‘Ragtime’ at the Warner.)

Horton the Elephant (Daniel Assis) dutifully sits on Mayzie La Bird's nest guarding her egg as he endures a sea voyage. Also shown are Things One and Two (Emma Lubbers and Viktoria Wulff-Andersen) and two of Mayzie's bird friends, Emma Giorgio and Elizabeth Koennecke

SEUSSICAL at Musicals at Richter runs through August 12 Thursday-Saturday. Grounds open at 7:15 PM with show at 8:30 PM. Tickets/info: musicalsatrichter.org