Seussical the Musical

I give my granddaughter either a CD or DVD of every movie/play/musical we see together. I figure someday she'll sit with HER children and remember me as she watches/listens.Below is not a review of THIS product, though I did purchase it and I did give it to said granddaughter for Christmas. She loved the CD and she wants the really great songs put under her playlist on my Ipod.I DID do a review of a local production of this musical, so below, what the story in the song is all about.====================It was at a local theatre in Milford, Delaware. It's called Riverfront Theatre and as one might imagine, it was a delight to little kids everywhere.Kaitlyn and I saw this local production the very first night it opened. Of course this brings out all the blips and problems and there were a few.I thought the costumes were quite good EXCEPT I had a real problem with the main character, Horton.Horton is based on the Seuss book "Horton Hears a Who" and the musical basically follows this storyline. It isn't easy dressing human beings as Dr. Seuss characters, especially on a small budget that a live theater in a small town in the swamps of Delaware must work on. Thus a lot of symbols must be used to sort of connote the story line.The character of Gertrude McFuzz, for example, wore a normal dress as she was female. Pinned to the back of her dress was a simple feather, the kind one could pull off of a feather duster. Over the course of the show the feather pinned to the back grew bigger and bigger, as this was part of the story line.Still, that simple "costume" was easily understood by the audience. Dr. Seuss can draw his characters from his imagination; human beings playing these parts must make do.And for the most part these Street Players got it right. Except for Horton. For Horton is supposed to be an elephant and again, this is a costume hard to ufsse symbols to make the point. Now Horton did have a little toy horn hanging around his neck and after 2/3 of the show was gone I realized that this little rinky dink thing was supposed to represent Horton's elephant trunk.The concept of a toy horn was a good one because beyond that there was absolutely no indication that the character playing Horton was an elephant. The toy horn needed to be a little bigger is all.

I bought this because I was taking a 5 and 6 year old to a Children's Theater production. They are STILL singing the songs -- a month later!

bought for my granddaughter and she loves it

This review will not cover the actual show, but rather a comparison between the recordings available. The Broadway Cast album page on Amazon is filled with reviews on the actual show, so feel free to peruse there. That being said, this IS more of a musical for kids or kids-at-heart. My husband and I are both of the latter, and big Dr. Seuss fans, and I personally love how this musical meshed several well-loved stories. It's bright and cheery the whole way through and gives a voice to beloved characters. No big, deep revelations here or intense soliloquies, yet it's masterful in what it does. If that's not your cup of tea, Seussical may not be your best choice of music. Now to continue with my review:With the release of this recording, there are now TWO Seussical cast recordings to choose from: 1) The original Broadway cast, and 2) this 2008 post-broadway version from Theatreworks/USA company. What makes a comparison between the two CDs more difficult is that the show was revised by the authors after broadway. They took the lavish and large-cast musical and streamlined it, focused the plot and characters into a smaller-cast, 75-minute production. While some songs and plot diversions have been deleted, everything seems for the better. The only song I really miss is "How Lucky You Are", which is still included as Mayzie's version in the new show.I love that this new recording features the entire show. What a treat! My daughter loves hearing all the dialogue, and never has to ask "what's happening?" because it's all there. Lots of lyrics have been changed, all for the better I feel, but it may throw you off if you're used to hearing the old one. All in all, this appears to be an exceptional recording, with bright clear music, and incredible diction on the part of the actors. And yet the voices on this album are less appealing to me than the Broadway version. Again, if you've not heard the Broadway version, you will not miss a thing. But if you've heard the cute birdy voice of Janine LaManna as Gertrude, the sultry Michele Pawk as Mayzie, and the rest of that stellar cast, you may be a little disappointed. The Cat in the Hat is okay in this recording; no doubt very talented, but her voice took some getting used to for me. While in general I like the SOUND of the Broadway voices, I think that this recording more truly represents the Seuss characters. When you look at the Dr. Seuss illustrations of Gertrude McFuzz and Horton the Elephant, the Broadway voices don't really match. When I listen to this recording, however, the voices really do seem to match the characters.Bottom Line: For big fans of the show, you may want to get both this recording and the original broadway cast recording. For those trying to choose between the two, it may depend upon your interests. If you are an adult buying it for your own listening pleasure, you will enjoy the singing and slightly larger orchestration of the Broadway Cast. If you are buying for a child or as a drama teacher, or are a Dr. Seuss fan, I would highly recommend this album, for its clarity (both in storyline and in diction), and the fact that it includes the entire show. As for me, when I want to listen to Seussical, this is now the CD I find myself reaching for.

My kids love the music!

If your group has decided to do the TYA version of this show, this is the entire show on cd.For those that don't know TYA means Theatre for Young Audiences.

LOve having the entire show (all 90 minutes) on one CD.Great cast & musicians. Michael "JoJo" Wartella especially charming!A must for cast album collectors.ENJOYED it thoroughly.Thanks all!