Airdrie-based theatre company Nose Creek Players has partnered with the Bert Church LIVE Theatre to produce Seussical: The Musical from May 26 to 29 – a fantastical, magical, and musical extravaganza, according to director Steven Morton.
He said this is the first time both the theatre company and entertainment venue have produced a mainstage production together, and the first time Nose Creek Players will mount a musical.
“Typically, the Bert Church Theatre hosts touring acts and is a space for the high school to perform in, so for Bert Church to be one of the producing partners of this show is a first – which is significant,” Morton said.
He said both teams were looking for artistic direction and called on him to direct the music and choreography for the production, adding he works both professionally and privately as a music and performance teacher.
“They wanted to hire some people who have experience with musicals to come in and mentor the team,” Morton said. “It’s a pretty sizeable production – we have 19 people in the cast.”
Alongside Morton’s directorial expertise is music direction from Jocelyn Brayne, choreography from Jessica Bordley, stage management from Charlene Brydges, and costume and hair design from Joyce Wall.
Alongside that team, Nose Creek Players president Robin McKittrick is serving as directing mentee and company secretary Warren Jones is acting as music directing mentee and head set builder.
Morton said for many cast and crew members, this is their first-ever musical production, and for several it will be their first ever theatrical production.
“It’s a new experience for a number of people in the cast, and for a lot of people who have been doing theatre for years, it’s [about] getting back to a passion,” Morton said.
He added that doing community theatre is about creating a community, and the richness of it lies in making connections with other people.
“This group of people that we have pulled together has become a community,” he said. “It’s just so much fun to put on a show and to sing and dance and act and get into fun costumes, and then to hear the audience’s reactions.
“Those things are all fun and rewarding, but ultimately, what keeps a lot of people there is having that community.”
According to Morton, one of the themes of the Dr. Seuss-inspired show is the idea of connections between the show’s zany characters.
Morton said the Seussical musical combines various elements of several Dr. Seuss tales, but primarily covers the story of Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches an Egg.
Horton, the main character of the show, is an elephant who discovers a speck of dust that contains the Whos, including Jojo, a Who child sent off to military school for thinking too many “thinks,” with the Cat in the Hat operating as a narrator.
“Jojo gets in a lot of troubles because he has big crazy ‘thinks,’ and sometimes this gets him trouble,” Morton said. “But we learn that it’s because Jojo has such amazing ‘thinks’ that he is able to think of the word that saves the Whos.”
Throughout the narrative, Horton faces a challenge as he must protect the Whos from the world of naysayers and dangers, and also guard an abandoned egg left in his care by the irresponsible Mayze La Bird.
Morton said though the production is family-friendly, some of the themes within the show are relevant for adult audiences as well as children.
“Trying to fit in those kinds of messages and teach our kids you need to be okay with who you are and love yourself for who you are,” he said.
Throughout the story, Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping, and even a trial, but the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him.
Morton said though some productions across North America have featured a literal interpretation of the Dr. Seuss tales, he has opted for a non-literal one.
“Horton is not going to have big ears, or a big trunk, but he does have some big grey baggy pants on [and] Maisie Bird will not have a literal feathery tail,” he said. “I think the concept of design is going to be somewhat unique.
“It’s all about indulging the imagination and what can we do and where can we go?”
For tickets to Seussical: The Musical, visit tickets.airdrie.ca
