Seuss sightings

Copperstar Repertory Co. presents Seussical at Higley Center for the Arts in March

Don the striped felt hats and ready the green eggs and ham — because all things Seuss are headed our way as families ready to celebrate the March 2 birthday of the man who brought us all those “things you can think.”

Fountain Hills Youth Theater opens its production of “Seussical Jr.” this Friday, Feb. 3. It’s family-friendly fare featuring favorite Seuss characters including Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie and Jojo.

Front (L to R): Elysha Nemeth and Skylar Bickley, Back (L to R): Emily Spets, Patrick Moyse and Peyton Jordan in Seussical Jr. at Fountain Hills Theater

Musical Theatre of Anthem opens its production of “Seussical Jr.” Feb. 17 at Boulder Creek High School in Anthem. “Seussical Jr.” features songs like “Horton Hears a Who,” “How to Raise a Child,” “It’s Possible,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and “All Alone in the Universe.”

The musical “Seussical” presented by Copperstar Repertory Co., in partnership with Higley Center for the Arts, opens March 23. “Seussical,” which debuted on Broadway in 2000, is based on more than a dozen Seuss stories. It’s longer than the later “Jr.” version and contains a military thread removed from the musical’s adaptations for youth.

I took daughter Lizabeth to see “Seussical” when the touring production starring Cathy Rigsby came to ASU Gammage as part of its 2002-2003 season. She was about 10 years old at the time, and loved everything about it. She still does.

“Seussical” features book by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, whose names are as famous to musical theater folk as Dr. Suess is to the rest of us. Flaherty wrote the music for “Seussical,” and Ahrens the lyrics. Their first team venture was a 1988 musical called “Lucky Stiff.”

Lizabeth performed in the Arizona School for the Arts production of “Lucky Stiff” at Greasepaint Youtheatre before heading off to NYC for college theater studies. It was directed by Toby Yatso, who’ll be narrating “Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham” for the Phoenix Symphony on March 17.

Cast members from the Musical Theatre of Anthem production of Seussical, Jr. (Photo: Olga Smirnoff)

“Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham” is being conducted by Joseph Young and performed at the Orpheum in Phoenix. It features Allison Stanford (soprano) and Aaron Zweiback (boy soprano) and Bill Wanser (percussion) as well as Yatso and actors from Valley Youth Theatre.

I first saw the talented Zweiback perform during a Childsplay Academy performance featuring selections from the musical “Grease,” but he’s since performed with Phoenix Theatre and VYT.

The Phoenix Symphony production allows families to “follow and interact with Sam-I-Am as he rhymes his way through Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham.” It’ll feature “a rendition of Gerald McBoing Boing, an animated short film by Dr. Seuss and selections from Seussical the Musical.”

“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” from the creators of “Despicable Me,” opens in movie theaters nationwide March 2. It follows the adventures of a 12-year-old boy seeking to win the girl of his dreams, and features lots of big names from Zac Efron and Taylor Swift to Betty White and Danny DeVito.

One Seuss, Two Seuss. Theater Seuss, Musical Suess. It’s all good. But I’m still not sporting the big hat.

– Lynn

Note: Check your local libraries and bookstores as Dr. Seuss’ birthday draws near for special Seuss-inspired activities for children and families. Click here to explore a PBS Independent Lens presentation called “The Political Dr. Seuss,” and here to enjoy PBS’ “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That.”

Coming up: Here piggy, piggy…