 |
 Phiilp
Lokic plays the lead role of Horton in the Sir Willfrid
Laurier Secondary School production of Seussical the
Musical. Fred Sherwin/Photo |
In
a radical departure of past efforts like Phantom of the
Opera, Annie and The End of the World (With
Prom to Follow), the folks in the theatre department at
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School decided to tackle something
slightly less dramatic this year and instead staged the wonderfully
whimsical Seussical the Musical.
Seussical
the Musical is based on the Dr. Seuss story of Horton
Hears a Who! with the addition of characters like the
Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Maysie LaBird, the Grinch
and others.
It's
also chock-a-block with catchy tunes like Alone in the
Universe, How Lucky You Are, Oh The Thinks
You Can Think and Havin' A Hunch. The production
has 32 numbers in all, which means you need a talented cast
with some excellent vocalists to pull it off. Fortunately,
this year's group is blessed with a wealth of talent starting
with Grade 11 student Partrick Lukic who plays Horton.
I
remember being blown away by Lukic who played the Phantom
in last year's Sir Wil production of Phantom of the Opera.
He's even better as Horton. In fact, he's one of the best
male vocalists I've seen in a high school production in
a long, long time. His solo performance of Solla Sellew
in the second act of Seussical was one of the many
highlights of the this year's play. But
it wasn't the only highlight.
Lukic
was surrounded by a chorus of wonderful voices starting
with Alyssa Rama who played Gertude McFuzz.
Rama's
two solo numbers, Notice Me, Horton and All For
You, were especially strong.
Other
performances that stood out included Jordan Mason as the
Cat in the Hat, Kelsie Smith as Mazie LaBird and Michael
Danso, who was a sheer joy as Jojo and shone brilliantly
during his solo, It's Possible, and in a duet with
Lukic in singing Alone in the Universe.
The
32 member cast shone brightest during the ensemble numbers
like Oh The Thinks You Can Think, the repises of
How Lucky You Are, The Who's Christmas Pageant and
Green Eggs and Ham which brought the production to
a close. But for my money the most entertaining number was
The People vs. Horton the Elephant which brought
everything together.
Kudos
to drama director Sonya Schrum who is the person responsible
for pulling it altogether. And kudos as well to the school
band who provided the soundtrack to the production under
the direction of Megan Schwartz.
But
the majority of the credit goes to the students, both on
stage and behind the scenes. To pull off a production like
Seussical takes horus and hours of reheasal and a
level of dedication and commitment that is truly commendable.
I
mean what I say and I say what I mean, Seussical
was amazing 100 per cent.
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