Our intro into the play was a mime act by Thing 1 (Liz Burnier) and Thing 2 (Lindsay Spencer), while the rules of the theater were being announced.  The two Things were hilarious and already beginning to show their mischievous side.  The ever-enchanting, troublemaking Cat in the Hat (Harrison Ashley) is our guide and narrator through this wonderful and marvelous adventure. He is as animated as he is charismatic, bringing to life everything one ever thought the Cat would be and more.

Horton (Hayden Ashley), a sweet, sincere elephant, is the star.  He stays in character during all the scenes whether he is talking, singing or listening to the crazy jungle animals.  Horton’s crime, as far as the Jungle of Nool animals are concerned, is trying to save The Whos, because “a person’s a person no matter how small” and loitering on Mayzie LaBird’s large egg “no matter the cost.” Mayzie (Abby Newell), the outlandish, self absorbed, “amazing” bird, plays her role extremely well while she sings and dances and even shows concern for her egg and baby at a couple of points in the show.  Her facial expressions are priceless during all her scenes.  Horton is bullied, teased and becomes very nervous because of the taunting of the ever talented Sour Kangaroo (Kaylie Church), who belts out her songs and dances with such pizzazz. She breaks herself way into the heart of the show, stealing her scenes.  Her little daughter Little Sour Roo (Madeleine Dorren) also shows great talent in mimicking, singing and dancing, and she is absolutely adorable to boot.  The Wickersham Brothers (Jesse Sault, Josh Lyberg, Kali Libby, Dustin Turner, Aiden Olsen, and Cliff Martin) are the other main tormentors of Horton.  These “monkeys” are great at their evil antics, making Horton a nervous wreck and make you believe they are very troublesome monkeys indeed (hopefully they behave better at home).

The only two real allies that Horton has are JoJo (Jacob Groth) and Gertrude McFuzz (Amanda Duvall).  Jacob does a first-rate job playing the Mayor’s son, a troubled Who that worries his parents because of his dangerous and imaginative “thinks”.  Both feel like they’re Alone in the Universe until they find each other singing the duet by the same name, becoming fast friends as they sing their duet, their voices blending beautifully as they both look wistfully into the air. The special effects with a twirling disco ball make the audience feel like they are flying together through the universe with them.  Amanda Duvall, as the pigeon-toed, head-over-heels-in-love-with-Horton Gertrude stole the show with her squeaky little speaking voice and her supreme, exquisite, strong singing voice.  She is so cute as she tries every possible way to get Horton to notice her, and she becomes his ultimate friend with her loyalty and determination to help him no matter what.  She is definitely the “bird” next door that any Horton would want to have.

Other characters that stand out are the tyrannical General Schmitz (Aaron Mikottis), with his eccentric ways, with Aaron doing a fantastic job bringing out the worst in the general’s personality.  The Mayor of Whoville and his wife (Andrew Coopman and Megan Myers) add laughter and a true sense of love to their parts and their singing is very pleasant.  They made you feel like they were very worried about their son and they loved him deeply.  Mayzie’s remorse for losing her baby gives her a little bit of credibility, and Abby pulled that off very very well.  The rest of the ensemble is absolutely fantabulous with their acting, singing, dancing and guiding the audience into the world of Dr. Seuss.  The colorful and unique costumes and the help of all the adults made this a show to remember. 

Performed May 11-19, 2007.

Roshelle Hall
National Youth Theatre

Cat in the Hat: