Мюзикл «Сьюзикал»: История создания и постановки

Musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

Seussical is a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on Horton Hears a Who!, Gertrude McFuzz, and Horton Hatches the Egg while incorporating many other stories. The musical's name is a portmanteau of "Seuss" and the word "musical". Following its Broadway debut in 2000, the show was widely panned by critics, and closed in 2001 with huge financial losses. It has spawned two US national tours and a West End production, and has become a frequent production for schools and regional theaters.

This synopsis describes the tour version of the show, currently being licensed as "Seussical the Musical" by Music Theatre International (MTI).

Seussical opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on November 30, 2000. It was directed by Frank Galati and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. Marshall's brother Rob Marshall was hired to direct the show when it returned to Broadway from Boston, though was uncredited. Originally, Catherine Zuber was the costume designer who made costumes as close to Seuss's illustrations as possible, and her costumes were seen in the Boston run. However, for Broadway, Zuber was replaced by William Ivey Long, whose costumes were more realistic and clashed with the Seussian set design. David Shiner played the Cat in the Hat, while Kevin Chamberlin played Horton, Michele Pawk played Mayzie LaBird, Stuart Zagnit and Alice Playten played Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, and Sharon Wilkins played the Sour Kangaroo. The show received almost universally negative reviews. A second non Equity production toured from 2003 to 2004. The script for the first tour was reworked extensively after the show's poor showing on Broadway, resulting in the removal or reworking of several songs. The biggest change involved Jojo, who would now initially appear as an anonymous boy imagining the events onstage before the Cat pushed him into the story. Additional dialogue was included, and some songs and their reprises were cut. This version of the show is the one currently licensed by MTI as Seussical the Musical.

A 90 minute Off Broadway production was staged at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2007 by Theatreworks USA. It was directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. This production was downscaled for the National Tour, which had its last show in spring 2018.

Seussical opened on the West End at the Arts Theatre on December 4, 2012, presented by Selladoor Worldwide. It returned in 2013.

Seussical opened at the Southwark Playhouse on 22 November 2018, and ran for only 7 performances.

Seussical opened at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef Cityon December 20, 2019, for the festive season, presented by AndCoSA &CO.

A one act version of the Broadway show titled Seussical Jr. has been created as part of MTI's Jr. series. It is intended to be shorter and more accessible for junior high or middle school students, and has an average run time of 60 minutes. For Jr., various songs are cut and shortened; the subplots based on The Butter Battle Book and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and their relevant songs and characters, are removed to make the story more understandable for younger audiences, though the Grinch retains one line during the song "Here on Who". General Schmitz is replaced in "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!" by the Wickersham Brothers. An even shorter version of the show, Seussical KIDS, is also available from MTI. The 30 minute KIDS version is intended for a large cast of young performers. Notable differences between Jr. and KIDS include the introduction of three Cats in the Hats and the removal of the songs "Biggest Blame Fool", "Amayzing Mayzie", and "Notice Me, Horton". In 2004, Seussical was reworked into a "Theatre for Young Audiences" version. The cast was reduced to 12 actors, with the plot changed to focus more on Horton.