Middle School Actors Get Musical with 'Seussical'

More than 40 students at Merrimack Middle School are making the final push to memorize their lines and get their songs in tune to be ready to perform “Seussical the Musical” next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Working since just after returning from Christmas break the cast and crew of “Seussical” is gearing up for three evening shows that tell a story the melds together beloved characters from popular books by Dr. Seuss.

As a sneak peak, children are invited to gather at the Merrimack Public Library on Saturday, March 10, at 11:30 a.m. to watch a few excerpts from the performance put on by a handful of cast members.

Kurtis Beeten, an eighth-grader, plays JoJo, a character Beeten describes as someone who “gets into trouble for thinking too much.”

“He has a big imagination, and it causes trouble,” Beeten said.

The 13-year-old says the show has been a fun one to prepare and the script is enjoyable because it is written in rhyme, like a Dr. Seuss book.

Beeten is no stranger to the stage. He started acting with local theater troupes like the Peacock Players in Nashua and the Palace Theater in Manchester when he was just 7 years old.

This is Beeten's 22^nd play and its the fourth time he has been in Seussical. An old pro at this show, he says by and large the songs are more difficult to learn.

This is Beeten's second performance at Merrimack Middle School. He was part of the cast of last year's spring musical “Once on This Island.”

For Emily Eckert, a seventh-grader, this is also her second production at MMS. She was part of the cast of “12 Angry Men,” a drama that the school presented in the fall. She has also acted in productions with the local theater groups.

This is the first time MMS has presented two productions in the same school year.

Director Jeff Caron said the musical has been a completely different experience for the students who participated in the fall drama and he thinks the process has been a lot easier.

Eckert agreed. She said a drama is a little harder because of the blocking involved.

Caron said attendees of the show should have no difficulty recognizing the characters or the settings.

“We have, on purpose, tried to make everything look like it's coming straight from the books,” Caron said.

The original play, co-conceived by Lynn Aherns, Stephen Flaherty and Eric Idle, features music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, according to the press release. The middle school's version is directed by Caron, a seventh-grade science teacher nominated for teacher of the year. Jen Major, the mother of one of the actors helped plan the costumes and para-educator Carol Conti is the stage manager. Librarian Diane Fitzgerald designed the bulletin board announcements for the play.

The story is narrated by the Cat in the Hat, played by Kyle Lange according to a press release from Dayna Bergin. A love-struck bird played by Emily Duval plays Gertrude McFuzz, who desires Horton, the elephant played by Nathaniel Watson, to notice her.

The cast features more than 40 seventh- and eighth-grade students including: Laura Allen, Stephanie Aubin, Alli Batchelder, Kurtis Beeten, Connor Bergin, Aryanah Carboni, Alexa Cho, Shaun Collupy, Colleen Dow, Kent Dow, Emily Duval, Emily Eckert, Kalia Gorman, Rachel Gravellese, Kayla Grubis, Amira Grzywacz, Lauren Hatfield, Alexis Hogan, Alexis Islam, Lianna Klinger, Kyle Lange, Aliza Lavoie, Emily Major, Jimmy Mello, David Micali, Shaelagh Nelson, Addy Nozell, Sam O’Connor, Jessica Parker, Yuralis Paulino, Carly Perry, Meryl Rogers, Kristy Shaffer, Celina Simmons, Amber Smith, Taylor Smith, Tatiana Taylor, Emily Torres, Robbie Verdon, Nathaniel Watson, and Brittney Wigdorski.

The play will be performed Thursday-Saturday, March 15-17, at 7 p.m. in the middle school auditorium. Tickets are $10 per person and the show is appropriate for all ages. There will be a bake sale during the play and drinks available for purchase. Tickets are sold at the door.