Rangeley Lakes Regional School’s Drama Club staged three performances of Seussical the Musical on November 17-20 at The Lakeside Theater. Participating students ranged in age from 11 to 18 years, sixth grade to high school seniors, and some played multiple roles in order to fill out the ensemble. Music teacher, Erin Perkins (Class of 1995), directed the show, which she has done since 2007, with Brittany Wetherill (Class of 2009) as her assistant director.
Many of us grew up having Dr. Seuss read to us by parents and babysitters, and this musical borrows from 22 of his books, mainly blending together stories and characters from Horton Hears a Who!, Gertrude McFuzz, and Horton Hatches the Egg. Eric White (Class of 2024), who played Horton the elephant, said his main take away from the show is that “we should recognize people for who they are,” and then borrowed a line from one of the songs he sang, “‘…person to person no matter how small.’” We predict that Eric’s voice will someday be heard in Carnegie Hall.
The four graduating seniors took center stage for their final bows: Eric White as Horton the Elephant, Averie Flewelling as Gertrude McFuzz, Angelica Chavaree-Woodward as Mayzie La Bird, and Anna Ross as the Grinch. Naturally, it was a bittersweet moment for all.
Horton sticks to his credo from beginning to end, “I meant what I said and said what I meant, an elephant’s faithful 100 percent,” helping the Whos escape their life-threatening predicament, sitting on Mayzie’s egg until it hatches, and finally hearing Gertrude’s profession of love for him. The play promotes many lessons worth being learned by young and old, alike; from the futile destructiveness of war, overzealous parenting, unrequited love, unfairly judging others, prejudicial persecution, all heard through the snappy music of Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens.
The set design, by Jess White, was deceptively simple but very much in line with the Seuss sensibility, trippy and outside the box. Lighting by Justin Orazi added skewed angles and tension to the plot’s rising action. Props to Wendy Caisse for her props and stage manager Millie Hoekstra for managing the stage. Jimmy and Alex Hathaway arranged the pieces on the stage like checkers on a chessboard, and their mother Rowenna was spot-on with the spotlight. Accompanist Sue Downes-Borko lent her digits to the piano keys while the pitties sang angelically and Gia Walton‘s flute, sax and clarinet reminded us how lucky we are to have so much talent in our midst.
RLRS is special in that it doesn’t have cliques as much as it has morphing groups. There’s room enough for everyone to try their hand in different arenas, as long as they have the time and desire. Theater kids can also play sports, participate in school government, be gamers, hold down jobs, apply themselves to their academics, etcetera. The theater can be a refuge for some, a place for expression and growth, a place that becomes a second home with a second family. As Eric said, “I found my family in the theater. Theater sets attainable goals…It’s a lot of hard work but the finished product makes it all worth it.”
Shirley Truland was the Cat in the Hat, a whimsical troublemaker bent on breaking things, only to piece them back together again in better shape than they had been before. It was obvious that Shirley was having fun in the role, skipping and rhyming and tweaking, ripping and singing and speaking. We’d all be so lucky as to have a Cat in the Hat in our lives like Shirley.
Averie Flewelling played the lovelorn Gertrude, mooning over Horton from start to finish. Averie’s smile lit up the stage, as wide as her bird’s tail was long. Averie hopes to make a life in theater, and with her tireless devotion and boundless talents we can see that happening.
Angelica played Mayzie La Bird, a floozy with an uzi for a heart. But when she abandons her egg, leaving it in the care of Horton, it becomes abundantly clear that it was for the better and she may have known it from the start. Angie always delights the audience with her high-kicking dancing and full-throated singing and she certainly did not disappoint this time around.
Anna Ross played the Grinch, Christmas’s favorite villain, whose heart had already grown three sizes bigger. Her costume, by Pam Ellis and Sonja Johnson, and Grinchy makeup done by herself, allowed Anna to be the loving Grinch from Whoville, an endearing reminder that redemption is possible for all.
Kayla Brewer is as natural singing on stage as the kangaroo she played was with hopping. The Bird Girls, Ollie Sherrer, Audrey Sutherland, Sarah Murphy, and Kylie Slagg, acted as the Greek chorus, setting the stage and splicing the scenes together. Their scattered feathers will be found throughout the theater for years to come.
Olivia Heatley made her stage debut as JoJo, a child with her own thoughts and a personality overflowing with longing, love, and imagination. Troy Hathaway and Ana Orazi scrambled for answers as JoJo’s befuddled parents. Alden Sutherland marched onto the stage as the warmongering Gen. Genghis Schmitz, comically scary. Mo Webber, Hannah Snow, and Lance Cunningham teamed up to play multiple roles apiece, but most memorably the Wickersham Brothers, monkeys of mayhem. We hope all these young stars will shine on stage for years to come.
We cannot praise these kids enough for their hard work and talent in bringing this fun musical to The Lakeside Theater’s stage, along with all the many volunteers who give of their free time, and the audiences in attendance, who continually support the kids.
