On Thursday, March 2, Friday, March 3, and Saturday, March 4, the Apex Peak Players performed Seussical The Musical here at Apex High School. The musical was set to be a family production, friendly to all ages and especially to kids. This differs starkly from last year’s production of Curtains, which may not have been suitable for younger audiences. At one of Saturday’s shows, there was even a meet-and-greet with many of the characters for the younger kids. 

The cast was full of talented students from all grades, and even included a special guest- John Klieman- an eight year old who played the Elephant Bird.

Many underclassmen were awarded larger roles this year because there was such a big cast. This year, in particular, Seussical welcomed many newcomers to the peak players family. From makeup to tech to the performers, all different aspects of the production had new people join in the efforts to put on the best musical they could. 

The Friday night show broke the record for most tickets sold in the history of the Peak Players. It marks a major milestone for the company, and for the school. The seats were sold online, through the Seat Yourself site. 

Saturday had two shows, one at 2 pm and the other at 7 pm. The matinee showing at 2 included a character meet and greet after the show. The matinee was also a relaxed performance. This meant that the house lights were on but dimmed during the show and when there were light changes during the show, they happened over a longer period of time. Noise reducing headphones and other amenities were available at the box office, and the volume was reduced. This type of show can be helpful for young kids, people with sensory sensitivities, and audience members who prefer to move around a bit. This was the first time that there has been a performance like this done at Apex High School.

Seussical follows two main characters-Horton and Jojo- through their struggles. Horton is the only one who can hear the Whos, a whole town of people floating on a speck of dust. He is ridiculed and bullied by the other animals in The Jungle of Nool despite the fact that he is just trying to help because “a person is a person, no matter how small”. Jojo, one of the Whos, is the child of the mayor of Whoville. Jojo gets in trouble for thinking up all sorts of different adventures and characters but eventually is accepted for who she is. 

There is also a subplot where Horton agrees to watch an egg for one of his neighbors, Masie. Masie then runs off to Florida, leaving Horton as a single father, sitting on her egg until it hatches at the end of the play. During this time, the Whos are missing because the clover they were resting on was thrown into a clover patch, and Horton is sold to the circus because he is considered “unnatural” When the egg hatches, Jojo thinks up a new animal, the Elephant Bird, and Horton goes on to build a family with Gertrude, his bird neighbor who aspires to have a tail in a vain attempt to get him to notice her. Horton no longer has to deal with the trials and tribulations that come with single fatherhood, and the Whos are safe again after Gertrude found them and returned them back to Horton.

Seussical was very amusing, and the cast put on a wonderful performance. The ensemble was entertaining and engaging for the audience members, and the main cast put their all into their performances. The crew as well did great putting together a very technically clean show; both tech theater and stage crew.