Aurora Student to Perform as 'JoJo' in Seussical the Musical

11 year old Still Middle School student, Toby Elliot, doesn’t yet know exactly what he wants to be when he grows up, but he thinks that reading Dr. Seuss a lot will influence his decision. That, and playing the role of JoJo – the misunderstood smallest of Whos with great “thinks” - in the hit musical Seussical Jr., opening at the Batavia Fine Arts Center on Thursday, October 8th.

Having done 4 prior musicals with Aurora’s Spotlight Youth Theater, the role of JoJo is one Elliot truly enjoys. “My favorite part of being JoJo is working with Horton the Elephant. No one understands JoJo but Horton, and that really comforts JoJo, knowing that someone is out there with the same problem.” Working with actor Keith Mankowski, who plays Horton, to make that connection “has been awesome”.

While Suessical Jr. has many favorite Suess characters – The Cat in the Hat, Mayzie the bird, Yertle the Turtle, Gertrude with her one feathered tail – Elliot stresses that everyone in the cast plays an important part. “Working with the cast and directing team of Seussical is amazing. Everybody really owns their role. Just looking at all the Whos and the jungle animals and hearing all of their life stories, you see they’re just as detailed as the descriptions of the lead characters. They have just as much importance as Cat or Horton or JoJo, we wouldn’t have a show without them.”

Aurora’s Spotlight Youth Theater offers classes, and puts on three fully produced, professional quality, family friendly shows every year. Casts are made up entirely of young actors, aged 8-18, and community, as well as excellence is encouraged. Says Elliot, “I enjoy being around all of these people who love to act and sing just like me, who all share my faith in Jesus.” And his thoughts about the directing team? They are “just AMAZING! They have put in so much work for our show to be amazing! And they really don’t get enough credit. Id like to thank each and every one of them for helping Seussical be a reality!”

Performances for Seussical Jr. run thru Sunday, October 11th, and tickets can be obtained by calling the Spotlight Youth Theater box office at 847.516.2298. Toby Elliot thinks audiences will not only enjoy the lively, colorful musical, but might just also take away something meaningful as well. “After seeing this show you’ll look at the world and all its problems and see that most of these could be solved easily if we would “Just Think.”