This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

St. Agnes Summer Musicals Stages Seussical

Broadway Show Based on Books of Dr. Seuss


In the latest summer musical offering in a series that started in 2001, St. Agnes sponsored a youth production of Seussical, which is based on the children’s literature of Dr. Seuss.  The play is an amalgam of plots and characters from many of the Seuss books.

The primary thread of the show is an intertwining of the plots of Horton Hatches the Egg, in which an elephant is conned into sitting on a bird nest for an afternoon to protect an egg and is still there a year later because he meant what he said and said what he meant and an elephant is faithful one hundred percent, and Horton Hears a Who, where the same elephant hears a faint voice and discovers a microscopic society of Whos living on a speck of dust whom he offers to protect because a person’s a person, no matter how small.

 Subplots concerned a bird with severe tail-feather envy who fears her lack of embellishment is hindering her ability to catch the eye of her neighbor, the elephant, and JoJo  the Who, the highly imaginative  daughter of the Mayor of Whoville whose lack of focus in school is attributed to her constant thinking.  Other characters from different Seuss works are also woven into the plot.

 The result is a colorful, high energy production, which also includes circus performers, hip-shaking Bird Girls, crazed monkeys up to monkey business, a sour kangaroo, a general and her cadets who aim to right the picayune wrongs of the world, a malevolent eagle, and an ever-present Cat in the Hat.   Throughout, the moral messages of Dr. Seuss are maintained.

Find out what's happening in Readingwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 The set was designed to feature a typical Dr. Seuss book, with solid, bright colors, Seussian forests and villages and giant pages that could be turned to create different backgrounds.

 The adult team consisted of the crew of regulars who have put on the show over the years: director Kristine Tower assisted by Laura Rodgers put it all together, Jason Gaudette along with David Benedetto handled the pit orchestra, Julia Werth choreographed the show as well as danced, Suzanne Millet ,the producer managed the sound board, and Matt Heselton, the technical director, designed the set with Kristen Tower and Larry Testa.

Find out what's happening in Readingwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 As is their custom, the performance was free, but the cast solicited donations for two local organizations, Reading Food Pantry and Team Wilcox.









We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?