'Seussical' Coming to Pitt-Bradford

“Seussical,” a musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss, will be staged with three performances Friday, Jan. 14, at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

Performed by Theatreworks USA, the school matinee series version will take place at 7 p.m. for students and the public. Tickets for the 75-minute program are $8 for adults and $7 for students. Showings at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for kindergarten through fourth grade students, as part of the university’s Kaleidoscope Series, have been sold out.

“This is the first time a Kaleidoscope school matinee production has been held over for an evening family show,” said Randy Mayes, director of art programming at Pitt-Bradford. “If successful we may look at developing a small family series of shows that parents can take their children to at inexpensive prices similar to buying a movie ticket. ‘Seussical’ is a perfect show to experiment with.”

“Seussical” features 12 actors who portray the Cat in the Hat, a Who named JoJo, Miss Gertrude McFuzz, Horton the elephant, lazy Mayzie La Bird and more. Broadway veterans Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens wrote the show, which weaves together storylines from various Dr. Seuss books.

After playing on Broadway in 2000-2001, Ahrens and Flaherty condensed their musical into a one-act version appropriate for young audiences, which premiered at the Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, Mo.
Theatreworks USA’s production of Seussical began its national tour in September 2006 and was presented at Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York in summer 2007 as Theatreworks USA’s annual Free Summer Theatre program. This production received 2008 Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Costumes, in addition to a Drama League Award nomination for Outstanding Musical Revival.

“While this production is sized for school matinees, and is not to be confused with the Broadway tour, which is much, much larger, it is still a notable production that maintains Theatreworks’ reputation for using professional Actors' Equity Association actors matched with a solid script and music,” Mayes said. “We hope that parents and young students will be impressed that they can see quality family theater presented professionally at such a low price.”

Tickets are available at the Bromeley Theater box office by calling (814)362-5113.