The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant and Mayzie La Bird will spend Christmas at the Arts theatre this year when they are joined by the rest of their surreal, fantastical friends for the return of family musical Seussical.
Sell A Door Theatre Company’s young audience-friendly version of the acclaimed musical based on the works of children’s favourite Dr Seuss will play a limited festive season at the Leicester Square venue from 30 November to 5 January.
First seen at the Arts theatre last Christmas, when Broadwayworld.com declared it “that rarest of beasts… a show for all the family”, Seussical reunites the Tony Award-winning team behind Ragtime The Musical with music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, alongside an added sprinkling of kooky humour from Monty Python’s Eric Idle.
At the centre of the story is Dr Seuss’ most popular character, the eccentric Cat in the Hat who leads audiences on a strange and magical journey filled with intriguingly named songs including The One Feather Tail Of Miss Gertrude McFuzz and Nest And Free.
The musical also features many other popular Dr Seuss characters, including Horton the Elephant who discovers an entire world floating out of control through the universe on a speck of dust. This is the world of the Whos, a community he must help save from a world of naysayers and dangers. The adventure doesn’t stop there, however, as Horton is also loaded with the responsibility of guarding an egg abandoned by Mayzie La Bird.
The bombastic, songtastic musical is programmed with family audiences in mind, offering family-friendly matinees and a special early evening performance on Mondays. Casting is yet to be announced.