Behind the Scenes of Rec Dept.'s "Seussical Jr."

Brian Lang, student director of the youth theater program at the Madison Recreation Department, explains what exactly goes into preparing a musical for production in these programs.

Lang dedicates five to seven hours a day to working on Seussical Jr., which, to run Aug. 12-13 in the Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. He also credits his peers for their talents, as well.

“Kasey Colligan, our choreographer, has invented dance moves that will make the audience want to get up and join a long with the kids on stage. I marvel at her energy during rehearsals,” said Lang, “Her assistant, Ally Dupree, has been such an amazing help with everything. I am so happy both of them are in charge of making these kids dance, something I would never be able to succeed at doing on my own. My assistant, Stephanie Litchfield, also our stage manager, has been so dedicated to this show.”

Lang and Litchfield would arrive early every day to make sure they complete the set on time. Lang is proud of the great production staff.

Seussical Jr. was a logical choice for Lang and Colligan; together they have been in six different productions of this show.

Auditions began during the last week of school. At first, the cast list was at a minimum but Lang and Colligan were able to cast the ensemble and the lead character, Horton the Elephant.

Lang shows a lot of appreciation for his child cast as well.

“Rehearsals have been very fun to run. I love getting to teach these kids the music. I hope years from now they’ll look back on this experience as one of their favorite memories. I love seeing these kids getting excited about putting on this musical.

"They light up with energy every time we start to play the overture and the lights dim to a spotlight on the Cat in the Hat’s red and white striped hat.”

Seussical Jr. is drawn from a combination of Dr. Seuss books. Though Seussical was originally produced on Broadway in 2001, it had to shut down after 201 performances, among other productions, as the attacks of Sept. 11 took a toll on tourism in New York City.

A revamped Seussical has undergone some editing, such as story-shortening and key-changing, thus creating Seussical Jr., a version of the original perfect for younger audiences because of its entertaining plot. However, some of the editing cut out major plot lines, shortening the show from two hours to around one.

Lang believes that this production of Seussical Jr. will not disappoint young viewers. "Kids who come to see this show will love to see all their favorite Dr. Seuss characters come to life right before their eyes. Seussical and Seussical Jr. together are the most common productions for high school regional and community theaters today.”

Tickets for Seussical Jr. are $10 for adults and $5 for students with valid ID and children under the age of 13. Please come out and support these wonderful kids in their summer musical production. Interested audience members can reserve tickets at madseussjr@gmail.com.