The Musical 'Seussical' Is a Family Treat

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The New York Times called Theatreworks USA’s SEUSSICAL “a smaller Seuss, for those with big imaginations…the strictly for children staging of the Seuss-based show (has) unforced charm.”

Cal Poly Arts presents the touring musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss on Sunday, October 28, with a 3 p.m. matinee curtain in the Cohan Center. This show is part of the Cal Poly Arts low-cost Family Event Series.

“Oh, the thinks you can think” when Dr. Seuss’s best-loved stories collide and cavort in an unforgettable musical caper. Adapted from the Broadway version, this Seussical is written by Broadway veterans Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

The Cat in the Hat is the host and emcee – and all-around mischief-maker -– in this romp through the Seuss classics. When the sweet, good-natured elephant Horton hears a small cry for help coming from a small speck of dust, he promises to rescue and guard it because "a person's a person, no matter how small."

On that small speck of dust lives JoJo, an imaginative young Who. JoJo has astounding "thinks," in which anything's possible, but his parents believe this creativity is inappropriate for the son of the Mayor of Who-Ville.

Meanwhile, the one-feathered bird, Miss Gertrude McFuzz, desperately wants Horton to notice her. And the amazingly lazy Maysie La Bird connives, cajoles, and convinces Horton to sit on her egg while she goes off on a spree.

Will the planet of Who survive? Will Horton pay attention to Gertrude? Will Maysie ever return for her egg?

Dr. Seuss's beloved classic characters find themselves intertwined in an incredible musical adventure, in which the power of imagination and the most miraculous "think" ever save the day!

The afternoon performance is recommended for audiences ages 4 and up.

TheatreworksUSA is America's largest and most prolific professional not-for-profit theatre for young and family audiences. Since 1961, TheatreworksUSA has performed for over 68 million people in 49 states and Canada.

The company has a distinguished history of not only exposing young audiences to the performing arts, but also giving young actors, writers, directors, and designers an early opportunity to work in the field.

TheatreworksUSA alumni include Broadway director Jerry Zaks, television writers Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and award-winning actors such as F. Murray Abraham and Henry Winkler.

Under the direction of Artistic Director Barbara Pasternack and Managing Director Ken Arthur, TheatreworksUSA is one of the most honored theatres of its kind: it is the only children's theatre to receive both a Drama Desk and a Lucille Lortel Award.

General public tickets for the performance are $18 all seats; students/child seats are $14. Tickets may be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

To order by phone, call 805/756-2787; to order by fax: 805/756-6088. Order on-line at www.pacslo.org.

Sponsored by Gerry and Peggy Peterson; KSBY TV; Embassy Suites Hotel; and KJUG 98.1 FM.

For more information on all Cal Poly Arts events, including audio and video samples, please visit www.calpolyarts.org.

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