#1
Posted: 11/20/08 at 2:02am
For some odd reason, I've been discussing Seussical with a few people in regional/community theatres lately. Maybe they are tired of Joseph and his colorful closet this time of year. Invariably, I've forwarded those people this article I wrote for the now long defunct lostmusicals.com (thank you internet piracy... but I'm not bitter).
Anyhoo, maybe this will help some theatres in deciding whether or not to place Seussical on their season.
In September of 2000, Cats closed on Broadway. Just as New York was cats-free, Broadway was then visited by The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss's paragon of mayhem. And mayhem was what the long awaited Seussical would encounter on and during it's trip to the legitimate stage. Seussical began life as a child of Livent, the producers of Ragtime and the 1990's Show Boat revival. During the workshop period, The Cat In The Hat was played by actress Andrea Martin, who had won a Tony for her performance in My Favorite Year, for which Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty had written the music and lyrics. Soon after Livent's much publicized financial demise, Seussical was then taken on by Barry and Fran Weissler, who had produced the successful revival of Grease (much to dismay of their numerous critics), SFX Theatrical Group and Universal Studios. The musical, set in and around Horton's home, the Jungle of Nool, included elements and characters from the Dr. Seuss catalogue, created an expansive world where The Cat in the Hat was a kind of tour guide. Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie LaBird and a brief appearance by a reformed Grinch and others sang about home, love, family, loss and imagination -- all "the thinks you can think." Seussical made its pre-Broadway tryout at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, during which Rob Marshall was brought in to doctor the show (his sister Kathleen Marshall was the show's choreographer) after it got mixed-to-negative reviews in its September tryout.. After the tryout, and numerous changes - the Lorax sequence was cut and there were numerous costume and set design changes, Seussical opened to critical pans on November 30, 2000.
From the Reviews:
"ACTUALLY there isn't much wrong with the new musical "Seussical" that a comparatively small earthquake could not put more or less right. In fact, apart from its routine music, limp lyrics and diffuse book, it is really only the concept that goes grievously wrong. It puts whimsy where talent should be...The show, which opened cheerfully enough at the Richard Rodgers Theatre last night, is absolutely waterlogged with sheer vacuity...You can see all too painfully what the self-styled conceivers of the show - Lynn Ahrens (the lyricist), Stephen Flaherty (the composer) and Eric Idle (the Monty Python) - thought they were conceiving. - Clive Barnes, The New York Post
"Who knows? Perhaps those positive-thinking gurus who counsel pageant contestants were brought in for a little last-minute confidence buffing. The songs in "Seussical" were written by the gifted musical team Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty ("Once on This Island," "Ragtime"), who also share credit for the book; otherwise, it is now difficult to say just who is responsible for what in this force-fed hybrid of stories by Dr. Seuss, the eternally beloved creator of whimsical children's books." - Ben Brantley, The New York Times.
"Seuss fans... rest easy. Whatever its earlier problems, ``Seussical,' which opened Thursday at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre, doesn't make mush of the good doctor and his more than 40 children's books chock full of sense and nonsense. In fact, this ``Seussical' sings and dances with style and charm. What's more, it's fun, a quality scarcely found in these days of pre-Christmas bustle and post-election uncertainty." - Michael Kuchwara, AP Drama Critic
"The biggest blunder committed by the now-beleaguered creators of "Seussical" was probably the first and most forgivable: surrendering to the seductive but dangerous idea that the fantastical world of Dr. Seuss could be handily lifted from the page and transplanted to the stage. (The show began as a glint in Garth Drabinsky's eye -- perhaps not the happiest omen.) Of course anything's possible, as Dr. Seuss himself would cheerfully remind us. But the delicate, deceptively simple aesthetic of Theodor Geisel poses challenges for adapters that require an inventive and rigorously refined approach to match his own -- something far from the standard Broadway formulas applied, and in many cases reapplied, here." - Charles Isherwood, Variety
"It is a relief to report no discernible blood on the slick, candy-colored walls of the busily fanciful production credited to Frank Galati but reportedly completed by Rob Marshall. Alas, there also is little reason for anyone over the age of 10 to attend unless forced by a very young child or paid to do so." - Linda Winer, Newsday
"After a catchy, promising opening (“Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!”), and beginning with the “Biggest Blame Fool” number, there’s a forced gaiety about the proceedings, substituting busyness and volume for charm. This contributes to the show’s lack of sufficient narrative interest: As the first act concludes, we don’t care deeply enough whether or not Horton will be able to save the tiny world of Whoville, if JoJo will find his way back to Whoville, or if Mayzie will return to claim the egg she has relinquished to Horton. For too much of the time, especially in its first half, Seussical doesn’t manage to draw us into its world." - Ken Mandlebaum, Broadway.com
"It was probably a clever idea to turn the jingly rhyming stories of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), much beloved of boomers and their kids, into musical entertainment. The gargantuan grosses of Jim Carrey's Grinch will attest to that.... But if families looking for their Seuss fix can get a Hollywood superstar and the latest in technology for the price of a movie ticket, what makes anyone think they'll be willing to shell out $85 (U.S.) for a no-name cast in something that might have trouble making the cut on a Disney cruise ship?" - Richard Ouzounian, The Toronto Star
"The good news is that they develop their idea as well as anyone could expect. The bad news is that it's not a very good idea in the first place... The problem for Ahrens and Flaherty is that it's hard to add anything to Dr. Seuss' books. They already function a bit like musicals. The drawings are the sets and costumes. The words are the book and lyrics. The rhymes and repetitions are the song and dance. So where's the added value going to come from?" - Fintan O'Toole, New York Daily News
Published critics weren't the only ones who had a voice in Seussical's demise. Over the past few years, quite a few shows have had their champions: Jeckyl & Hyde had it's "jeckies", Side Show had it's "freaks", Les Miserables has it's "mezzies" and Cats had its, well, detractors. Seussical was no exception in that its champions were the Seussies. These fans saw the show numerous times at a hefty Broadway ticket price. Seussical had, also, those who didn't like the show and made their voices heard on the internet. Frequently. Damningly. On-line chat rooms were abuzz about the Seussical from day one. On these forums, chaterri posted their often glib critiques of Seussical and Broadway felt the shudder. Perhaps in the first time since Broadway's first bow, word-of-mouth had never taken on such important role in a show's success. From it's first tryout performance, Seussical was labeled a "show in trouble" and it never recovered from those first painful blows.
Potentially, Seussical stood to be THE new "family entertainment" show for the 2000-01 Broadway season. However, musicals based on children's literature tend to have short life spans: The Wind in the Willows, Raggedy Ann, and Alice in Wonderland for example. During the run of the show, the Weissler machine went into motion. David Shiner, as the Cat in the Hat, went on vacation early during the run. His substitute was Weissler favorite Rosie O'Donnell, who had actively promoted the musical on her daily talk show. On performances without Rosie, the Cat was played by standby Bryan Batt. Eventually, the role would be played by Cathy Rigby, who had just come off a successful Broadway revival of Peter Pan. In a further move to stunt-cast the show, teen singer Aaron Carter was brought in to play JoJo, the Who boy who's thinks get him into trouble yet eventually save the Whos. When the Tony nominations were announced, however, only Kevin Chamberlin as Horton received a nod. He lost to The Producer's Nathan Lane. Seussical closed on May 20, 2001 after 197 performances and 34 previews.
Was Seussical a bad show? No. The cast album from the show is one of the most enjoyable from its season. There were worse shows on Broadway from previous seasons that had respectable runs. It was noted by Time magazine as one of the best entertainments that year. Seussical's problem may lie in the source material. Generations have grown up loving the works of Dr. Seuss. In an attempt to present them on stage, however, something was lost. In defense of Ahrens and Flaherty, they pulled no punches. Their work was true Seuss in it's style and they presented issues touched upon in original Seuss work that were disturbing in nature, yet never strayed from the heart of the show. However, in a season that also presented the stage versions of The Full Monty and The Producers, Seussical never stood a chance. Like Jane Eyre, A Class Act, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Seussical found itself just another failed musical come Tony-time.
Anyhoo, maybe this will help some theatres in deciding whether or not to place Seussical on their season.
In September of 2000, Cats closed on Broadway. Just as New York was cats-free, Broadway was then visited by The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss's paragon of mayhem. And mayhem was what the long awaited Seussical would encounter on and during it's trip to the legitimate stage. Seussical began life as a child of Livent, the producers of Ragtime and the 1990's Show Boat revival. During the workshop period, The Cat In The Hat was played by actress Andrea Martin, who had won a Tony for her performance in My Favorite Year, for which Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty had written the music and lyrics. Soon after Livent's much publicized financial demise, Seussical was then taken on by Barry and Fran Weissler, who had produced the successful revival of Grease (much to dismay of their numerous critics), SFX Theatrical Group and Universal Studios. The musical, set in and around Horton's home, the Jungle of Nool, included elements and characters from the Dr. Seuss catalogue, created an expansive world where The Cat in the Hat was a kind of tour guide. Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie LaBird and a brief appearance by a reformed Grinch and others sang about home, love, family, loss and imagination -- all "the thinks you can think." Seussical made its pre-Broadway tryout at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, during which Rob Marshall was brought in to doctor the show (his sister Kathleen Marshall was the show's choreographer) after it got mixed-to-negative reviews in its September tryout.. After the tryout, and numerous changes - the Lorax sequence was cut and there were numerous costume and set design changes, Seussical opened to critical pans on November 30, 2000.
From the Reviews:
"ACTUALLY there isn't much wrong with the new musical "Seussical" that a comparatively small earthquake could not put more or less right. In fact, apart from its routine music, limp lyrics and diffuse book, it is really only the concept that goes grievously wrong. It puts whimsy where talent should be...The show, which opened cheerfully enough at the Richard Rodgers Theatre last night, is absolutely waterlogged with sheer vacuity...You can see all too painfully what the self-styled conceivers of the show - Lynn Ahrens (the lyricist), Stephen Flaherty (the composer) and Eric Idle (the Monty Python) - thought they were conceiving. - Clive Barnes, The New York Post
"Who knows? Perhaps those positive-thinking gurus who counsel pageant contestants were brought in for a little last-minute confidence buffing. The songs in "Seussical" were written by the gifted musical team Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty ("Once on This Island," "Ragtime"), who also share credit for the book; otherwise, it is now difficult to say just who is responsible for what in this force-fed hybrid of stories by Dr. Seuss, the eternally beloved creator of whimsical children's books." - Ben Brantley, The New York Times.
"Seuss fans... rest easy. Whatever its earlier problems, ``Seussical,' which opened Thursday at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre, doesn't make mush of the good doctor and his more than 40 children's books chock full of sense and nonsense. In fact, this ``Seussical' sings and dances with style and charm. What's more, it's fun, a quality scarcely found in these days of pre-Christmas bustle and post-election uncertainty." - Michael Kuchwara, AP Drama Critic
"The biggest blunder committed by the now-beleaguered creators of "Seussical" was probably the first and most forgivable: surrendering to the seductive but dangerous idea that the fantastical world of Dr. Seuss could be handily lifted from the page and transplanted to the stage. (The show began as a glint in Garth Drabinsky's eye -- perhaps not the happiest omen.) Of course anything's possible, as Dr. Seuss himself would cheerfully remind us. But the delicate, deceptively simple aesthetic of Theodor Geisel poses challenges for adapters that require an inventive and rigorously refined approach to match his own -- something far from the standard Broadway formulas applied, and in many cases reapplied, here." - Charles Isherwood, Variety
"It is a relief to report no discernible blood on the slick, candy-colored walls of the busily fanciful production credited to Frank Galati but reportedly completed by Rob Marshall. Alas, there also is little reason for anyone over the age of 10 to attend unless forced by a very young child or paid to do so." - Linda Winer, Newsday
"After a catchy, promising opening (“Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!”), and beginning with the “Biggest Blame Fool” number, there’s a forced gaiety about the proceedings, substituting busyness and volume for charm. This contributes to the show’s lack of sufficient narrative interest: As the first act concludes, we don’t care deeply enough whether or not Horton will be able to save the tiny world of Whoville, if JoJo will find his way back to Whoville, or if Mayzie will return to claim the egg she has relinquished to Horton. For too much of the time, especially in its first half, Seussical doesn’t manage to draw us into its world." - Ken Mandlebaum, Broadway.com
"It was probably a clever idea to turn the jingly rhyming stories of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), much beloved of boomers and their kids, into musical entertainment. The gargantuan grosses of Jim Carrey's Grinch will attest to that.... But if families looking for their Seuss fix can get a Hollywood superstar and the latest in technology for the price of a movie ticket, what makes anyone think they'll be willing to shell out $85 (U.S.) for a no-name cast in something that might have trouble making the cut on a Disney cruise ship?" - Richard Ouzounian, The Toronto Star
"The good news is that they develop their idea as well as anyone could expect. The bad news is that it's not a very good idea in the first place... The problem for Ahrens and Flaherty is that it's hard to add anything to Dr. Seuss' books. They already function a bit like musicals. The drawings are the sets and costumes. The words are the book and lyrics. The rhymes and repetitions are the song and dance. So where's the added value going to come from?" - Fintan O'Toole, New York Daily News
Published critics weren't the only ones who had a voice in Seussical's demise. Over the past few years, quite a few shows have had their champions: Jeckyl & Hyde had it's "jeckies", Side Show had it's "freaks", Les Miserables has it's "mezzies" and Cats had its, well, detractors. Seussical was no exception in that its champions were the Seussies. These fans saw the show numerous times at a hefty Broadway ticket price. Seussical had, also, those who didn't like the show and made their voices heard on the internet. Frequently. Damningly. On-line chat rooms were abuzz about the Seussical from day one. On these forums, chaterri posted their often glib critiques of Seussical and Broadway felt the shudder. Perhaps in the first time since Broadway's first bow, word-of-mouth had never taken on such important role in a show's success. From it's first tryout performance, Seussical was labeled a "show in trouble" and it never recovered from those first painful blows.
Potentially, Seussical stood to be THE new "family entertainment" show for the 2000-01 Broadway season. However, musicals based on children's literature tend to have short life spans: The Wind in the Willows, Raggedy Ann, and Alice in Wonderland for example. During the run of the show, the Weissler machine went into motion. David Shiner, as the Cat in the Hat, went on vacation early during the run. His substitute was Weissler favorite Rosie O'Donnell, who had actively promoted the musical on her daily talk show. On performances without Rosie, the Cat was played by standby Bryan Batt. Eventually, the role would be played by Cathy Rigby, who had just come off a successful Broadway revival of Peter Pan. In a further move to stunt-cast the show, teen singer Aaron Carter was brought in to play JoJo, the Who boy who's thinks get him into trouble yet eventually save the Whos. When the Tony nominations were announced, however, only Kevin Chamberlin as Horton received a nod. He lost to The Producer's Nathan Lane. Seussical closed on May 20, 2001 after 197 performances and 34 previews.
Was Seussical a bad show? No. The cast album from the show is one of the most enjoyable from its season. There were worse shows on Broadway from previous seasons that had respectable runs. It was noted by Time magazine as one of the best entertainments that year. Seussical's problem may lie in the source material. Generations have grown up loving the works of Dr. Seuss. In an attempt to present them on stage, however, something was lost. In defense of Ahrens and Flaherty, they pulled no punches. Their work was true Seuss in it's style and they presented issues touched upon in original Seuss work that were disturbing in nature, yet never strayed from the heart of the show. However, in a season that also presented the stage versions of The Full Monty and The Producers, Seussical never stood a chance. Like Jane Eyre, A Class Act, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Seussical found itself just another failed musical come Tony-time.
Current Avatar: Me.
Current Saying: What do you mean it isn't enough being pretty? Have you seen my headshots?!?
Current Saying: What do you mean it isn't enough being pretty? Have you seen my headshots?!?
Updated On: 11/20/08 at 02:02 AM
