On the 30th of November, in the auditorium of Peacock school, the students work by day, to put on a musical performance for the school.
‘Seussical the Musical’ will take place at Peacock’s Centennial Auditorium, and will have four showings between Thursday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 2.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. on each date, with one exception for the matinee production on Saturday, Dec. 2. For the matinee show, doors open at 12:30 p.m. and the show starts at 1 p.m.
The Seussical musical comedy was created by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and debuted on Broadway in 2000. The title is a portmanteau of ‘Seuss’ and ‘musical,’ and has now become a frequent production for schools and various theatres.
“Seussical follows Horton (the Elephant), who hears a Who, and (is about) the adventure of him trying to save the Whos off the clover (flower). But he also interacts with Mayzie (La Bird) and her egg and gets sidetracked with having to save Mayzie’s egg and hatch it,” explained Ray Deans, the director of the show.
“It’ll be loosely based on the books, but it brings in a whole bunch of different elements,” Deans said. These characters include well-known favourites such as the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird, Gertrude McFuzz, Jojo, and is narrated by The Cat in the Hat.
The performance is put on by the Peacock Arts Collective, which draws in support from across the school and involves around 50 students from Grades 9 through 12.
“At our school we’re really privileged to have so many performing arts programs,” said Jennifer Hemstock, the show’s choreographer and musical director. “We have the drama program, music, choral, band, and we have the dance program.
“Musical theatre is a class, but a lot of these students are in all these other classes as well. And then also for our show, like for example for our Pit Band, we have some community volunteers, but a lot of our members are actually members of the band program,” Hemstock added.
“And then we also include the construction department, who is helping with the (production). We have (students) in there working on designing and building the set,” said Deans.
The school aims to mix up each year’s programming and this year the goal was a family-friendly production that would be easy to follow.
“We usually look at it and try to do different things for different years. This year we’re trying to focus on families and get a lot of young kids into the theatre and give them that theatre experience in a nice setting,” said Deans.
The show is a celebration of Dr. Seuss and his books, but also contains a few hidden gems.
“It shows and teaches compassion. The caring of Horton and how he cares for anything, no matter how big or how small you are – everything and everybody has a place in this world and can contribute,” explained Deans.
“Don’t give up! I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small,” cried Horton in ‘Horton Hears a Who.’
The production’s writing is thoughtful all the way down to its lyrical content.
“It’s really neat actually, when I looked at the vocals and taught the students all the words to the songs,” Hemstock said. “A lot of the lyrics are direct quotes from the books. So, for example, one of the songs at the beginning of the show, ‘Horton Hears a Who’, has the exact same words as the opening of the book, ‘Horton Hears a Who.’”
Any further surprises won’t be revealed until the showing of the musical. “I would say you have to come to the show to find out about any twists or surprises!” Hemstock suggested.
The musical will have four showings. Each showing is performed by the same cast and contains the same content to allow more flexibility with scheduling, but each show will have a unique theme:
- Thursday, Nov. 30: PJ and stuffy night
- Friday, Dec. 1: character night
- Saturday, Dec. 2 matinee show: milk and cookies
- Saturday, Dec. 2: ‘The Cat in the Hat’ cat night with face paint and kitty ears
For each themed showing, audience members are invited to join in with the designated theme. “If you want to come in your PJs on PJ night, no matter how old or young you are, come on in. Wear your onesie and enjoy the snow,” said Deans.
Tickets cost $20 for general admission, and children aged 12 and under are charged $10. Tickets are available now and can be purchased at SaskTix.ca. All proceeds go toward supporting the Peacock Arts Collective.
“There’s a lot of buzz about the show. Our students are very excited to put on Seussical this year,” Hemstock said.
“It will be a great show, no matter how young or old you are. You will completely enjoy yourself for the full 90 minutes of the show,” said Deans. “It’s a pretty big part of our season.”
Peacock’s Centennial Auditorium is located at 145 Ross Street East.
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