Limelight's 'Seussical' a Hit

OK. Remember my last article when I mentioned how excited I was about Seussical coming to town?

I'm thinking the entire cast and crew read that because Thursday's show opened up with an electrifying opening number seemingly saying, "Hey, Ryguy! You aint seen nothin' yet!"

The rest of the show, to put it simply, blew me away.

I was afraid this show wasn't going to seem the way it should to me since I would undoubtedly be feeling emotional not participating in Limelight Theater Company this season and already having the show pretty much memorized.

As the show progressed, though, the talented cast made me feel as though this was my first experience both with this show and with Limelight. It was an honor watching some of my best friends that I have had the opportunity to watch grow up and mature through theater, both at Oswego High School and Limelight.

When Horton The Elephant must defend a planet of tiny people from certain doom when his friends in the Jungle of Nool call him a fool for caring about such "insignificant" people, he introduces a couple of themes that appear throughout the show and form its "feel-good" core.

The first is the notion that, as Horton sings, "a person's a person no matter how small." What a powerful statement that even the biggest of elephants nowadays can learn from.

Today's society will sometimes advocate against people who are different or leave them out because they don't fit a certain mold; Thursday's stellar performance from the Limelight Theatre Company reminds us of this and encourages us (in perhaps the most fun way possible) to be aware of this and its dangers.

The second, and more general, theme is, as the Cat in Hat brings up, "any'thinks' possible." A motto of optimism, hope, and creativity coming at us from a young group of kids doing their best to find their way, both on stage and off.

Again, this served, for me at least, as an excellent kick-in-the-pants reminder that I should never fall too comfortably into things ... anything is possible! Our opportunities in life are endless and bountiful if we dare to dream outside of the box.

So, as I stood in the back of the Performing Arts Center watching my friends sing, boogie, and groove, I, with the rest of the audience, sat back and enjoyed Seussical the Musical 98 3/4% more than I could have ever imagined.

Seussical the Musical continues Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the OEHS Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $9 for Adults and $7 for students and seniors.